From a letter by International China Concern's Member Care Director - Recently I was in China and had the privilege of working in the government run welfare centre in Hengyang for a couple of days.
I held a tiny baby that only weighed a couple of kilos. I built blocks with little boys. I watched as flies settled on unwashed faces, cries went unattended and children suffered. Hunger, dehydration and neglect were clearly written on many of the children's bodies. Some flourished, being well looked after as they had nothing wrong with them and there was hope that they would be adopted. The ones who suffered were the weak, the sick and the disabled.
As I sat and held a child on my knee and comforted another with my free hand, the thought came to me that there were too many children and too few hands to meet their needs. I remembered Jesus’ words, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out labourers into His harvest field.’ Many who work for ICC would not be here, were it not for your fervent prayers.
Please continue to pray for more labourers to come, so more children can have love, hope and opportunity. I’m convinced that prayer moves the heart of God. He is the only One who can turn peoples’ hearts around to respond to His call. Would you also pray for caregivers in welfare centres across China, that their hearts would awaken to the value of each child in their care? Pray that feelings of futility, frustration and despair would be replaced with hope, kindness and compassion.
You are so vital to the ministry of ICC and we are so thankful for your faithful prayers and your commitment to make a difference. The battles we win in the natural and the ground we take are the evidence of battles already won by people on their knees. Please stand with us and continue to pray so that the battles for the least, the last and the lost will continue to be won.
Thank you,
Susanna Lynam
Member Care Director
Love, hope and opportunity for every disabled child
Learn how you could help create love, hope and opportunity for every disabled child in China by visiting International China Concern
Wings As Eagles
16Jan11
Following is the content of With Wings as Eagles Chapter 8 China's Least of the Least
Once we had settled into our apartment on the Hong Kong Gold Coast and Suzanne was established in her school routine I began making enquiries as to what voluntary Christian organisations were available to get involved in. With my military pension coming in back home in Australia and Suzanne earning good money, financially we were under no pressure. Also it was not possible for me to seek paid employment due to my “dependant” visa status.
Over time I was given the names of several organisations and I set about following them up. One of them was International China Concern, or ICC. The international office of ICC was located in the Tai Po area of Hong Kong’s New Territories, but their work was actually carried out in an orphanage in mainland China.
Any work involving children, especially orphans, was of particular interest to me so I rang the ICC office and made an appointment to visit with them. A few days later, and by a combination of one bus, three trains and another bus, and involving nearly two hours of travel I found myself at the ICC International Office at Tai Mei Tuk where I was shown over their three-storey apartment building.
The office on the ground floor was staffed by two women full-time and another part-time. The two upper floors of the building provided accommodation for the full-time staff, and for any staff in transit to and from the mainland.
In time I was introduced to the office manager, Ramona Bauman, an American. We exchanged pleasantries following which Ramona asked how I thought I may be able to help ICC. I was rather hoping she would have some suggestions herself because other than a desire to help I really didn’t think I had much else to offer.
Eventually she mentioned in passing that they had two washing machines on the roof which weren’t working properly and, “...could you please take a look at those?” I am not a naturally mechanical person, but fortunately the repairs turned out to be of a minor nature and I was able to fix them fairly quickly.
In doing so, and in moving around the building I identified areas which needed a man’s touch. Apparently the landlord wasn’t particularly helpful and was very slow in getting things fixed, so some routine maintenance had been left undone. There were also two vehicles which required looking after by way of servicing which I could involve myself in.
Ramona seemed pleased that these issues were going to be addressed, so it was mutually agreed that I would come one day a week as a sort of “handyman”. I read some literature on ICC during my breaks and also took more with me to read on the long trip home.
ICC began in January 1993 after the Executive Director, a young Briton by the name of David Gotts, at the tender age of 22 travelled to an orphanage in southern China and saw the conditions many of China’s orphaned, handicapped and abandoned children were living under.
He found children locked in rooms for 14 hours a day; small children tied to potty chairs over open drains and left in the sun for 14 hours; babies so malnourished and neglected that many of them were dying. The shock of seeing the environment and conditions these unwanted children were subjected to made David Gotts ask himself the question, “Is this what God really wants for these children?” So David became inspired to intervene and seek to make a difference in their lives.
From that experience ICC was established as an international Christian charity, providing a “window of hope and opportunity” for those with no voice; the poor, the disadvantaged and the oppressed children of China. ICC then, as it still does today, aims to improve the lives of orphans, abandoned children and children with disabilities from throughout China, giving them hope for the future.
As well as the international office in Hong Kong ICC had national offices in Australia, Canada, Holland, Switzerland, the UK and USA. Initially ICC organised teams of professional people such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists to visit orphanages in China.
These teams became involved in the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, but with the aim of ultimately training local workers to do this work. ICC also acted as a channel through which finances, medicines, clothing and rehabilitation equipment could be given to China’s orphanages.
ICC oversaw a project in mainland China at the No.1 Welfare Centre in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province in southern China. Through a government recognised ICC training program, welfare workers from throughout China undertook a three-month training course at Changsha to better equip them to care effectively for the children, especially those with disabilities.
The ICC foreign staff worked in a voluntary capacity receiving their support through family, friends, and churches back home. Meanwhile ICC’s “Hand-in-Hand” Child Sponsorship Program helped address the day-to-day costs associated with the care of the children.
Through this program caring people could become involved in giving the children under ICC care a new life. By helping to meet the daily costs of their sponsored child, sponsor parents invested in the future of the children and helped ensure they received the best possible care.
Since 1993 ICC have been taking teams of people from around the world to help in China’s orphanages. These teams, known as a Short Term Team or STT, run four times a year, last for two weeks, and provide the opportunity for people from all walks of life to bring God’s love to needy children in a practical way. This supplements the love and care the children receive from the full-time volunteer staff, and local Chinese carers.
The STT members effectively become the “hands and feet” of Christ in ministering to His abandoned and forgotten children.
I had been volunteering with ICC for a number of months when the decision was made to relocate the international office from Hong Kong to the UK. Co-incident with this was a further decision to maintain a continuing presence in Hong Kong, and not only that but to expand it from a simply local Hong Kong responsibility, to that for the whole of Asia.
I indicated my willingness to take on this role, and so it was that within 12 months of arriving in Hong Kong Suzanne and I became the Asia Office representatives for ICC. We had a spare room in our unit, so we turned this into the “ICC Asia Office” where I could work from home. I was flat out for the first couple of weeks getting things up and running; changing the post office box, organising phone and fax lines, changing bank signatories and numerous other things.
I was keen to make contact with church groups and service clubs in order to arrange speaking opportunities on behalf of ICC, until it was explained to me that my role was basically administrative and that there were already ICC supporters in the Hong Kong community whose responsibility it was to do this.
My daily workload therefore involved simply handling calls from the public and responding to emails from Changsha and the UK. At some stage I received a call from a Japanese businessman, Taro Usami, who was passing through Hong Kong on his way through to his factory in China. A long term supporter of ICC Taro wanted to meet with me to make a donation to the work of ICC.
We met for coffee and a chat and he concluded with an invitation for us to look him up if we were ever to visit Nagoya in Japan. I didn’t think much of this at the time as it didn’t appear relevant.
In October 2003 at the ICC annual retreat held in neighbouring Macau, I indicated the willingness of Suzanne and myself to assist in promoting ICC in the community and to basically get involved to a greater extent than we had been in the past. I was given the green light to do this, and Suzanne and I discussed it when she came from Hong Kong to stay with me for the last weekend of the retreat.
We devised a plan which combined both our love of travel with doing God’s work by promoting ICC within Hong Kong and throughout Asia. We had already decided to see as much of Asia as we could whilst living there, so it then became a matter of trying to organise speaking opportunities which we could work into our travel plans and vice versa. In doing so we would hopefully be creating a greater awareness of the plight of China’s orphaned and abandoned children.
My previous conversation with Taro Usami from Nagoya came to mind so I contacted him and asked about the possibility of us giving an ICC presentation in his place of worship in Japan. Taro sought approval for this on our behalf and he became the point of contact between us and the Nagoya English Fellowship (NEF).
Eventually we received a welcome approval to give a talk one Sunday in January 2004. We planned this to coincide with Chinese New Year when Suzanne had ten days off work.
Following is from a letter home to my brother Rob, who was not a believer at this time:
…Rob it is hard to come to grips with the fact that not too many years ago my life seemed bleak, had no purpose, and was not worth living. Here I am now with an area of responsibility which takes in more than half the world’s population. This only goes to show what can be achieved when you put God first in your life...
I had a conversation recently with someone who refused to believe this “God stuff”. His comment was ‘What if it’s not true?’ The reality is it’s a win/win situation. If we’ve got it wrong we spend the rest of our life doing God’s Will here on earth, and if we’ve got it right we also get to spend eternity with Him in Heaven...
One morning in January 2004 just prior to departure for Japan I was sitting in a taxi in Hong Kong contemplating what I was going to say by way of introduction for our first international presentation. I reflected on the incredible change which had been brought about in my life since I had given it to Christ in 1994.
From another letter to Rob:
…The change in my life occurred immediately I made the choice between flying (my false God) and the one true God over that moral dilemma in PNG regarding Michael Geuder’s death. I chose God, knowing that my career as a pilot could very well be on the line, and it was; I haven’t flown a day since.
Think about it – a number of serious depressions over many years, a failed marriage, feelings of inadequacy and unfulfillment (the first words in Rotor… “All my life I had felt different, unfulfilled…”).
Within two months of making that decision I had met Suzanne, and despite a vow not to get romantically involved again (so soon anyway as I’d only been divorced six months) I asked her to marry me four months later. Six months after that we were married; another six months and we’d applied for Hong Kong; and eight months later we’d arrived.
So here we are now, with our first of hopefully many presentations to come. I couldn’t be more fulfilled if I tried. God is great. It’s one thing to know He is always there for you, but it’s just awesome to know He is actually using you to do His will.
For the first five years after giving my life to Christ very little happened as I continued to pursue a return to flying. It was not until Michael Gueder’s untimely death in PNG that things began to change. It was those unfortunate circumstances which had resulted in my writing the email to the Chief Pilot regarding Kristina’s entitlements.
In drafting that email I was being forced to choose between pursuing flying, or doing what was right and completely submitting myself to God. It was almost like God was saying to me, “Well Ray you’ve tried it your way up until now and things haven’t worked out all that well, so now let’s do it MY way”.
“I can sense a great power in you, Ray. I feel the Lord is going to use you in some way. I can see that God will use everything you have been through, all the suffering and heartache will be used for His glory….”
Ten years after hearing these words from Kath Rankin I was preparing for a presentation to a church in Japan as a representative of an international organisation caring for China’s orphaned and abandoned children. The more cynical person would say it was just coincidence or good luck.
My years as a search and rescue helicopter pilot were the best years of my professional life, but the reward from all the successful rescue missions undertaken was the personal satisfaction achieved. In other words it was all about me.
It was not until I put God first in my life and chose to serve Him did my life take on a whole new meaning, and the promised reward lasts for eternity.
Just prior to making that first presentation we received the latest ICC prayer list and were greatly encouraged by the opening scripture which promised:
May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us…Psalm 90:16-17
Our time in Japan was memorable to say the least. We had booked a tour out of Hong Kong which had us fly into Osaka from where we did a four-day bus trip up the southeast coast of the main island of Honshu to Tokyo. Here we visited Universal Studios and Disneyland, as the tendency for the Hong Kong Chinese tours was to concentrate on these sorts of venues. Theme parks seemed to take second place only to “shopping”, as opposed to places of cultural interest.
After two days in Tokyo we separated from the tour group and did our own thing for the remainder of our two weeks in Japan. From Tokyo we had our first experience of the shinkansen (bullet train) down to Nagoya. The shinkansen reach speeds of up to 300km/h yet are incredibly safe, having had no fatal accidents in more than 30 years of operation.
The efficiency of shinkansen travel has to be experienced to be believed. For example your ticket not only indicates your carriage and seat number, but platform signs indicate exactly where to stand for your carriage entrance. The train pulls in with precision timing and the carriage door you require is right in front of you. If you reach the platform 30 seconds after scheduled departure time you’re too late.
We arrived in Nagoya to be met by hosts Taro and Zelda Usami and young son Justin. We stayed with them in Nagoya for a few days where our ICC presentation for the NEF met with a good response. We had people interested in attendance on STT, fostering children, and a number signing up to join the weekly prayer list. All in all we considered the whole experience worthwhile and were confident the children under ICC care would be blessed as a result.
From Nagoya we took the shinkansen down to Hiroshima for two days where we visited the Peace Memorial Park and associated museum. The Peace Park was built to commemorate the dropping of the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It is located in the area around the atomic explosion’s epicentre, and houses the PeaceM emorial Museum and other related monuments.
A cenotaph in the park contains the names of over 200,000 known victims of the atomic bomb, the dropping of which along with a second on Nagasaki three days later precipitated the Japanese surrender and subsequent end of WWII. The cenotaph frames the Flame of Peace which will only be extinguished once the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed.
The Peace Memorial Museum, more commonly known as the A-bomb museum, exhibits in very graphic detail the death and destruction wreaked on Hiroshima and its inhabitants on that fateful morning.
From Hiroshima we spent a night in Kyoto then travelled back to Tokyo where we caught up with one of Suzanne’s nephews, Anthony Timbrell, and his Japanese wife Takako for a couple of days before flying back to Hong Kong.
Buoyed by the success of our first presentation on behalf of ICC we did many over time, including a number in Hong Kong, one in Singapore and several in Australia.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute… defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9
Wings as Eagles
17Oct10
We at Wings As Eagles have had the pleasure of knowing Chen Shi (John) for many years through our involvement with International China Concern (ICC) in Changsha, China.
In spite of being wheelchair bound he is always smiling and positive in his approach to life, which we follow with great interest.
It was wonderful therefore to recently receive this update on John from ICC's Pastoral Care Director, Susanna Lynam:
Chinese New Year has come and gone here in Hong Kong and this one has to be my most memorable.
Chen Shi (John) was five when he came into ICC’s care, one of the first to enter ICC’s care at Oasis House. Born with Spina Bifida and unable to use his legs, he would daily drag his body along the ground to get around. The sores on his bottom were so deep and infected that they took months to heal.
Bright and creative, Chen Shi entered school and thrived. He went on to university and studied Graphic Design and has just recently graduated with distinction. As a result of years of having love, hope and opportunity sown into his life by committed and faithful people, he has realized some of his amazing potential and is now working and living independently in Shenzhen.
For Chinese New Year, he received permission to leave China for the first time, traveling to Hong Kong to spend this special holiday with my family. I have never seen someone so excited and taking so many photos of everything! To see his joy was both humbling and inspiring and it has reminded me of John 10:10 where it says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
At 24 years of age, Chen Shi knows what it is to be given life to the full. He continues to deepen his relationship with God, and God continues to open new doors of opportunities for Chen Shi to embrace and explore.
Every one of ICC’s children and adults need your prayers so that they can grow in their relationship with God and walk into their inheritance of “life to the full.” This verse makes no exceptions and together, in faith, we continue to ask for the fulfillment of John 10:10 for each of the precious lives that God has entrusted into our care.
Love, hope and opportunity for every disabled child - International China Concern
Wings As Eagles
20Mar11
Some children in ICC we have for just a short time and some we have for a long time. No matter the length of their stay, their lives are important and leave a lasting imprint on us.
Baby Lan (or Lara as she became known to us) was one of those we had for a short time. I have a photo of my daughter Sabay holding baby Lara at a Christmas lunch we shared with the team at Heng Yang.
It clearly shows Lara’s spotty face (she was recovering from chicken pox) and Sabay holding her as carefully as she could. I remember the love that surrounded her and the joy that she brought to our family as we shared Christmas with her.
Soon after returning to Hong Kong, we received the devastating news that Lara had died suddenly in the night. A couple weeks later, Sabay and my other two children broke out in chicken pox.
Lara left a legacy in more ways than one. Her life has certainly shaped us and left an imprint. We are grateful that she is still held in loving, heavenly arms.
When ICC first started in Changsha, a young boy born with spina bifida named Chen Shi was one of the first who came into our care. My husband met him on his first trip into China and immediately formed a close bond with him. Over the years, we have watched him grow into a wonderful young man.
With the help of ICC and faithful sponsor parents, he has fulfilled his dream of becoming a graphic designer. Just this week we received news from him that he has moved to Shenzhen to take a job in his field there.
Our family is so excited to see this young man, who started life in an institution, now loving God and living an independent life. We are doubly excited because he is living just over the border from where we live in Hong Kong. We will have the joy of continuing to shape and be shaped by his life.
Both of these lives speaks loudly of what prayer, love, hope and opportunity can achieve. Our family counts it an awesome privilege and joy to be a part of the story unfolding in the lives of the children, young adults and staff in ICC’s projects in China.
Be encouraged and inspired by these two stories. Your support is making a difference; it’s shaping and changing lives.
From ICC's Pastoral Care Director, September 2010.
Wings As Eagles
03Oct10
Some time back there was a well-publicised case in the media of a young three-year-old girl abandoned by her father at a railway station in my home town of Melbourne, Australia before he fled overseas to the USA.
The fact that he had murdered his wife (the girl’s mother) in New Zealand some days before was obviously the man’s motivation for dumping the girl and simply walking away as he did. Fortunately he was captured and brought to justice, and the young girl was eventually re-united with family.
The case made front-page news in Australia and New Zealand as authorities attempted to identify the toddler, who was dubbed "Pumpkin" after the Pumpkin Patch brand of clothing she was wearing when she was found.
I guess there were many, ourselves included, whose heart went out to the little girl who had lost her mother in such tragic circumstances, and who was simply left standing in a busy railway station, totally incapable of looking after herself at such a young age. She will now be raised by other family members, while possibly never seeing her father again.
Unfortunately, although under different circumstances, children are being abandoned daily all over the world, but of course it never makes international news. Daily, children are born to young girls and women who, for any number of reasons, choose not to keep the child.
Of those fortunate enough to survive, some are adopted very quickly and go to loving families, maybe never learning of the circumstances of their birth, while others are simply institutionalised and never get to know the love of real family.
Fortunately, organisations like International China Concern (ICC) exist to provide a sense of family, God’s family, to many children who are abandoned by their own parents. Often this happens because the child is either physically or intellectually handicapped, or perhaps in some countries for no particular reason other than the fact that they are girls.
Our foster daughter Deborah is both physically and intellectually disabled; however neither of these was probably evident when she was abandoned at three weeks of age into the care of the welfare authorities in China. But we believe that it was only due to God’s love and intervention through ICC that we came into her life, and she into ours.
Sadly, we have just been made aware of six new children being abandoned into ICC care, from around ten days old to 14 years of age. Some are left with simply a note with the child’s name and date of birth, but most not even that.
Please read on to learn more about ICC and how you can help them, either physically, financially or prayerfully, to provide God's love and support for China’s orphaned and abandoned children.
Wings As Eagles
02Aug08