Harmony Outreach

Our thanks to all of you who prayed for Faith last month as she went ito surgery to insert a rod to strengthen her skeletal frame. God blessed your faith and our Faith in mighty ways.

First of all, He moved in the heart of a Harmony supporter to sponsor her surgery (thank you!).

Secondly, He allowed the procedure to be successful, and Faith is doing great!

I Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers..."

Please pray for Faith, the girl with "bones of glass" who we've told you about in a previous newsletter. She is having surgery this week, and is in need of more sponsors.

Please contact John Bentley if you can help sponsor Faith's needed surgery.

UPDATE: See the latest here.

A few months ago a Harmony friend, Rick, contacted Harmony US Support Group coordinators, Ken and Susan Tarter, about hosting a fundraiser to honor his wife.  Rick was just completing medical school and his wife had sacrificed much during his time in school.  She has a heart for the orphans of China, so he hosted a fundraiser at his graduation party as a way to honor her.  Here is their story in their own words:

“I was able to share about Harmony Outreach as I honored my wife, Kim, for her part in my graduating from medical school.  I had a main table set up with info, books, and Harmony newsletters, and I placed newsletters on the tables where folks were eating so that while they were eating and conversing, they could read more, without having to come up to the main table.  At least one couple asked to have more info, as far as I know.  Beyond the party, I have been including in my thank you notes how the financial gifts have impacted those around the world, as half of all that was given went to Harmony Outreach.  Hence, their gifts were not merely blessings to us, but to children around the world.”

What a testimony to the commitment and ingenuity of Harmony friends to help the orphans in our care.

Ken Tarter recently also had a unique opportunity to share more about Harmony’s work.  He was invited to share about Harmony’s work at the Kaifeng Deaf School.  The distinctive thing about this was that he was sharing with a company in Maryland that serves the deaf and is run mostly by people who are deaf.  They were so touched by the ministry in Kaifeng that the company as well as some of its employees blessed Harmony with a sizable donation to continue our work with deaf students in Kaifeng.

Do you have a heart for orphans in China?  Would you like to learn more about how you can help?  If so, please contact Ken or Susan Tarter.

As many of you know, we partner with a deaf school in Kaifeng, in inland China. Zhang Hong, the headmistress is a kind and caring sister, who daily lives out the Matthew 25 directive of caring for the ‘least of these’. Within the last few days, she has taken in another little boy, hungry, thirsty and in need of medical care. A Kaifeng woman found this little boy as he was trying to find food in a trash can. She later took him to Zhang Hong’s Deaf School.

Zhang Hong called us in Beijing and said this child may be from Zhumadian, a city in the same (Henan) province, but a significant distance from Kaifeng. The child, named Xu Tong, is between 12 and 13 years old and said his mom died and his father married again.  He felt that his parents treated him badly, so he may have run away from his family.

Xu Tong said he got into a traffic accident and broke his foot. Headmistress Zhang Hong took him to the hospital and will need the funds to pay the hospital bill and to help cover the boy’s expenses until we can find his home. The doctors have said that if there is a delay in medical care for his foot, it could cause muscle damage, or even worse, the loss of some or all of his foot due to necrosis. The doctors also plan to do a full physical check up due to the severe scars on his head.

Right now, we are estimating the costs to help Xu Tong will be around $2,000. If you would like to join us to help one of the ‘least of these’, donate now.

We are thrilled to announce that effective immediately Harmony has a brand new outreach to the inland of China – the Dingbian orphanage in Northern Shaanxi province!  One reason we are so excited about this project is because our connection to the Dingbian orphanage was divinely appointed.

A couple of months ago I was in Sichuan province working on water well projects.  I needed information on pumps so I called my friend Mike Haller for advice.  During that conversation mentioned to Mike that we were on the lookout for Chinese Christian-run orphanages that needed help.  Mike was amazed.  Just thirty minutes earlier he had received a frantic call from brother Zheng, a Chinese Christian who operates an orphanage in the city of Dingbian.  He called asking Mike for help saying that they had an electrical fire that damaged the orphanage and destroyed clothing, beds, and appliances.  Mike didn’t know how he could help but said he would pray.  And then just thirty minutes later I called saying that I was looking for Chinese Christian orphanages that needed help!

This small room sleeps 16 orphans!


Wayne and I with Brother Zheng and the Dingbian orphans

People from that whole region of Northern China have heard about Mr. Zheng and his heart for orphans and bring abandoned children to he and his wife who raise them as their own.  He has been doing this for so long that many of his children are now grown, married and in jobs.  But as fast as a child grows to emancipation, a new child will come to him - so that he currently has 36, mostly teenage, orphans in his care.  Mr. Zheng supports all of these children out of his own resources so the conditions are spartan.  When we visited, one bunk bed was used by four teenagers – each having their head on opposite ends.  Can you imagine sleeping every night with someone’s feet in your face?!

The timing for beginning our partnership with Mr. Zheng and his children coincides beautifully with the spirit of the Christmas season when God became flesh, was born in a manger and attended by shepherds.  In the West we celebrate Christ’s birth by giving gifts to one another.  But times have changed and these days most of us have everything we need and so we wrestle with what gifts to give one another.  Well… we have a beautiful and unique gift idea for you!  You can sponsor one of the Dingbian orphans as a gift to someone else.

Chinese Minority Dolls

The recipient of your gift will receive the orphan’s photo and dossier and twice a year will receive updates.  They can even correspond with them as pen pals since the children are all learning English.  It would be a great thrill to these young people to get their very own letter from a friend in the West.

As an added bonus, we will also send a Chinese “minority doll” to your friend.  China has 56 official minority groups all with their own distinct clothing and cultural heritage.  These dolls come dressed in the traditional clothing of their people group and are hand made by deaf Christians in South China.

If you would like to participate in this program, go to our Donate Now page and fill out the form.  Upon receipt of the sponsor/gift card and Checkfree form we will promptly mail out the doll and sponsor information to the name and address of the recipient of your gift.

Please sponsor our new orphans. You can see their pictures and bios here.

We need your prayers for Corrie who is in the hospital right now fighting for her life. We are not clear what is wrong with her although one possibility is the tainted milk that we have all heard about in the media. Thankfully, we do not use this brand at Harmony House but we cannot say what she was fed before she came into our care. When she got sick today, Lily tried taking her to several Beijing hospitals who refused to take her in not wanting her, in her frail condition, to die on their watch. Lisa contacted Beijing United Family Hospital – the American hospital – and they agreed to immediately take her in and are providing her first class Western care for free. But it is still very much touch and go whether she will live. Her health problems are complex and compounded by the fact that we suspect that she has down syndrome.

Due to our heavy workload in China it has been difficult for us to get out timely newsletters.  We have also been blessed with a lot of sponsored surgeries and while we are overjoyed at this, designated giving does not really support the daily costs of the ministry.  Or maybe it is economic uncertainty in the U.S.  – but whatever the reason we find our financial reserves are running low.
 
We are grateful for your support and interest in joining us in our work to bring hope and help to our vulnerable brothers and sisters in China.  Just the last two months alone have seen FIVE Harmony children adopted to loving families in the US, four new children have come into our care, and we have sponsored five life-changing heart surgeries for people in the inland of China.  As I write this appeal, Li Tongren is in the hospital in Beijing preparing to receive facial-tumor removal surgery!
 
If you are in a position to help us I know that the Bentleys and all the those who benefit from the work of Harmony would be grateful.
 
Please mark your check “Operation Funding 2008”.
 
Agape!
 
Ken and Susan Tarter
U.S. Support Group Coordinators

Please donate now.

In 2003, when we asked our then 8 year old what he thought about adopting a baby sister, his answer was, "What! A baby in the house?  I don't think so."  Okay, so much for being honest.

Fast forward two years, and I sat my hubby and son down and simply stated how much I wanted to be a mother again, how much my heart ached for another child and how much love I still had to give to another child.  I explained that God had rooted this in my heart and soul, and I waited for their answer.  This time, our almost-ten year old said, "Mom, when God puts something in your heart, you just have to do it!  Let's go get her!" 

If it were only so easy.........

Our journey began on September 22, 2005, the day we were approved to adopt a baby girl from China.  We didn't know how long it would take, but we "decided" that one year was a wait that would work for our family, since we wanted the kids to be about ten years apart, and our son was now ten.  We also agreed that if the wait were going to be more than a year, we would not proceed.  We spoke with the agency we had chosen and were told we would have our daughter home in 9-12 months.  Almost immediately, the wait began to lengthen.  Throughout the next 2 years, we talked about how long we would wait, and each time we thought we could stop, something tugged at my heart and I had to tell my husband, ‘Not yet, just not yet.  Let's keep waiting, please.’

The months wore on, and we were all so very patient.  While we tried to live a normal family life, we did put things on hold, like vacations, in order to save money and time away from work.  We wanted to be able to spend some time at home with our daughter when she finally arrived.  We anxiously awaited the baby referrals each month and as time passed, each month brought an increase in wait time rather than a decrease. 

It was in January 2008, that we finally made the most heart-wrenching decision of our life.  We agreed to stop the adoption altogether.  The update that month had our wait extended to early 2009.  We made the decision and told our son when he arrived home from a church retreat weekend. 

Our now-twelve year old's response was, "Mom, I know God put adoption on your heart, but was it adoption from China?".   His church retreat speaker had been sharing about Haiti’s children who needed families.  We took a few days and really prayed about the situation and ultimately decided to stand by our decision to stop the adoption.

Apparently, God did not see this as the end for us, because ten (10) days after we made one of the most difficult decisions of our life, a very special little girl was brought to our attention.  She was on a Waiting Child list with a different adoption agency.  I remembered my son's comment about God putting adoption in my heart, but maybe it was in the special needs program.  All of the sudden, we really felt like this was the direction we were supposed to be taking.  Since she was brought to us, we really saw this as an intervention from God, and we knew she was meant to be part of our family. 

We spent the first five months in 2008 paper-chasing again and compiling a completely new dossier that was sent to China.  We no longer wonder why the path was so long and confusing.  God knew the deep desires of our hearts and truly blessed us with this gift.  We see our journey as a testimony of faith and learning how to really put our trust in the Lord.  He provides everything we need in His time.  We are even more certain of the Lord's hand on our family because the day we were united with our daughter was 9/22/08, the 3rd anniversary of our application to adopt her.  Instead of a baby, God sent us a beautiful 2 1/2 yr old daughter, which means, our children are still only 10 years apart.

Prior to our getting married, I brought up the question to my husband, "What would we do if I were not able to get pregnant for some reason?"  I had always thought about adoption as an option, even while going through health issues as a child.  Without pausing he answered, "Well, then we would adopt".

We had always planned to have children and, after ten years of marriage and no pregnancies, we decided to see if there was a cause.  The doctors could not really give us a reason for our infertility but offered us fertility treatments.  My husband and I both felt very strongly that fertility treatments were not right for us, but we knew that God had meant for us to raise a family.  We realized that God's plan must have been for us to build a family through adoption.

We started to look into adoption in the US but were getting frustrated and really didn't feel strongly about it.  I was home one day and happened to hear on the radio an ad for a national adoption agency having an information meeting at a local church that weekend.  I decided then that we were going to go!!  It turns out that a couple that we knew from our church that had adopted from that adoption agency was there to give their story and share their Gotcha Day video.  We knew of them from church but had never really spoken to them.  Not only did they share their story but passed along that they were starting the process for their second adoption with the same adoption agency. 
From that day, we knew which adoption agency we would use and that we were going to adopt internationally.  Almost from the beginning we have also felt strongly towards adopting a special needs child.  We just felt based on our careers and background a special needs child would fit well into our family.

We received our referral in January of 2008, prior to completing our dossier.  We knew from the time we saw his picture that he was meant to be ours.  We had been told our son was in foster care, but our agency could not tell us where.  We later found out that he was at Harmony Outreach.  I belonged to an internet discussion group that was for families adopting children from our son’s province.  After corresponding with another parent in that group and sharing information about my son, my new friend emailed me that she thought she had found our son’s foster home because her son just happened to be there as well!   She sent me the link to Harmony Outreach’s website and the picture of him with his information.  There was our son!

Not only had I found my son's foster home but also the future parents of his playmate.  I then discovered I had gained so much more.  Learning about Harmony Outreach, the Bentley’s story, the work they do in China and having a connection with my son’s foster family has truly been such a blessing to our lives.  We have been so grateful to know where he is and that he is being so well cared for while waiting for our adoption paperwork to be processed.

Now that we are home with our son, we can see that he was well-loved and nurtured while he was at Harmony Outreach.  What a blessing he is to our family.

Since 1990 November has been National Adoption Month in the US. During the month, there are many activities, special events and observances to celebrate adoption as a very positive way to build a family. Many families, communities and organizations help to raise awareness in various ways, and we thought we would raise awareness through this e-newsletter by telling a few family stories.

At Harmony House, we have experienced the joy of adoption four times, as US families came to China to bring their children home. Our new ‘graduates’ of the Three Steps to Hope program are Tom, Charlotte, Maggie Brown and Max.

As this newsletter is being written, so are the stories of these newly-united families. The four Harmony House children were all friends, each with individual stories. Each family has traveled a unique road in their journeys to their children. Here, two of our Harmony families share their journeys with us. Both stories recently added new chapters as they adopted Harmony children.

We have just completely overhauled our website. We will be posting all of our news updates on this blog. There are some older news items that we will be adding to this blog as well.

Our goal is to make our communication through this site better, especially in connecting you with opportunities to bless the lives of the children and families we touch.

In the last e-newsletter, we made a note asking for prayers as John Bentley visited the US to share about the work of Harmony Outreach. Well, prayers were answered as John had a safe, healthy and blessed visit, and he even experienced several ‘Divine Appointments’.

One of his appointments was on the Daystar Celebration show as one of the two guests to be interviewed for that program. While preparing for the television interview, John was meeting the other guest who was a pastor from Cape Girardo, MO. John asked him at random if he knew a Dr. Tobin. He did a double take and said, ‘Yes as a matter of fact I do. He is the chairman of our deacon board, and we just had dinner together‘. John shared with him that Dr. Tobin had volunteered to perform their son Levi's face plastic surgery for free. What a moment that was! The televised interview went well, and as a result of John’s sharing, the host said they wanted to plant a seed and support Harmony.

John spoke about “abundant living” to a church in Texas and brought a family who is truly experiencing the abundance of the Lord to share their testimony. They shared how God has moved in their lives to adopt their child at Harmony Outreach. Many were touched, and John had an opportunity to visit with them after the service. Their abundance pervaded their lives to encourage those around them - That is truly abundant living!

The entire three week visit had moments like this. God really seemed to be touching hearts, opening minds and transforming the lives of many in China through the kind-hearted individuals John met. What a wonderful experience it is to be a part of the work God is doing in the hearts and lives of people all over the world. Thanks to all who prayed for a safe and rewarding visit, and a special thank you to those who traveled (sometimes far) to visit with John. You have been a great encouragement.

We are working to establish communication centers/micro chapters across the United States and in other places around the world!

Our dream is to have small support chapters set-up all over the United States and other parts of the world. That way, we can more easily contact and mobilize the micro group organizers for assistance when there is a medical or financial need, such as medical contacts, financial support, or fundraising – there are lots of ways to partner with us. We recommend that micro chapters consist of approximately 5-7 families or individuals with an interest in helping orphans in China through Harmony Outreach. The micro chapter members can be made up of friends, neighbors, church members, family members, professional organizations (Rotary, Lions, Junior League, etc.)

Please let us know if you would be interested in organizing a small support group in your area. Contact Ken and Susan Tarter at tarters@harmonyoutreach.org

Many of you may have sponsored or prayed for little Ai Xin while she was in our care. She came to us in dire condition in the spring of 2007 after having received a tracheotomy to help her breathe. She suffers from a rare condition in which tumors grow in her voicebox, slowly cutting off her air passages. She had many rigorous surgeries to remove the tumors, but the condition makes them grow back.

Ai Xin was adopted in March of this year, and her family immediately began medical treatment with a 50% chance of putting the tumors into remission. Below is an update from the family, sharing Ai Xin’s condition, God’s intervention and the power of prayer.

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
~Proverbs 25:25

"When we were initially told about Ai Xin’s condition, we were informed that she would need 4-6 months of monthly operations to medicate her disease. Along those lines, July 16th was Ai Xin's second throat surgery, and the surgical staff decided not to give her medicine. Last month (the initial operation) the doctors were surprised by the profuse amount of tumors andrelated that this was the most severe case that they had ever encountered. There had been only a 50% chance that Ai Xin'shealth would improve,and the odds worsenedthe initial diagnosis.

"Well, her Baba was called to theoperating area again yesterday, and yet again, thelead surgeon was standing in the hall shaking his head. They had not given Ai Xin any more medicine because there was no trace of disease (tumors) in her throat at all. The three doctors in the surgical staff were amazed, and Ai Xin’s Baba was able to share about the Jesus’ healing power through prayer. The response to that was that the disease could show itself again at any time. Ai Xin is scheduled for surgery on August 13th and September 26th, and the doctors want to see if the illness has begun again at those points. If not,discussions can begin about possibly removing Ai Xin's trache. Obviously, we are praising the Lord and will follow Him through her progress and illness as it ebbs and flows.

"We are so grateful for the prayers of our friends and family like you. We know that it is because He heard your prayers that we had such an encouraging day with no tumor re-growth. Thank you so much for praying. Please continue to remember Ai Xin as her next surgery is in mid-August right before kindergarten starts for her."

Ai Xin’s testimony reminds us of God’s power to heal, not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. Her story is one of the many blessings we have experienced as we daily trust the Lord for his provision in the lives of those that Harmony Outreach is touching. If you would like to learn more about how you can partner with us to bless a child’s life, click here.

Harmony Outreach helps to transform the lives of people in inland China by a number of different means. Sponsoring a much-needed surgery is a tangible way to make a lasting difference in a life, a family and a whole community. By sponsoring surgeries, the friends and supporters of Harmony Outreach bring healing and the chance of a brighter future to those whose prospects were formerly dim. Below is a translated letter received from one of the young men who received heart surgery through the generosity of Harmony friends. More than just healing, he also received the gift of hope.

If you would like to join Harmony Outreach as it brings a light to the lives in inland China that have been dimmed by medical needs, click here.

Ken


Jeffrey

At approximately 2:00 p.m. China time Harmony House manager Lily Huang called to advise me that little Ken--the new orphan we recently took in and featured in our eNewsletter--died in the hospital of massive heart failure. Lily could barely choke out the words to tell me the news. Ironically, just two hours earlier Lily had called me to introduce me to the new adoptive parents of Harmony child Jeffrey, who had just flown in from Florida. On the very same day, mere hours apart, one child graduated from our Three Steps to Hope program and another went home to be with the Lord. I couldn't help but recall the motto of one of our sister ministries who also works with special needs orphans.

- Comfort Always, Relieve Often, Save Sometimes -

Lisa and I are deeply grateful to all of you who emailed in response to that eNewsletter appeal for help with Ken. The response we received was overwhelming and full of love and prayers for him.

As many readers know, there was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake on May 12, killing over 80,000 people, 7,000 of which were children, and leaving 5 million people either homeless or displaced. There are currently over 400 children confirmed orphaned as a result of the earthquake and over 1000 still searching for living relatives. Many people are living in tent cities after losing houses or the structural soundness of their buildings. In the midst of the heat and humidity of summer, daily living supplies, tents and medical supplies are needed, but most of all....hope is needed.

That is where we can help - to bring hope.

Harmony Outreach has been blessed with a generous grant from a Christian brother, and we plan to live out the instruction of the Galatians 6:10 by ‘doing good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.' There are many brothers and sisters in Christ who have many needs right now in the Sichuan province. We hope to meet those needs and bring encouragement to our fellow believers with the funds we have been granted.

If you would like to join us in being a blessing to Sichuan brothers and sisters by donating funds to minister to those in need, please click here.