In Pursuit Of Him: June 2008

I received word today that one of the newest orphans to arrive at Harmony House died. Below is the email that I received from the director of Harmony House. The first one is taken from a newsletter that I receive, telling about the little boy. The second one contains the sad news. Please take some time to pray for the staff there as they grieve this little boy's death. Praise the Lord that he was with them for a short time-I know 100% that he was loved on while he was at Harmony House. In all the pictures that I see of the kiddos from Harmony House, I always notice how happy they look. That shows you the level of care they are receiving there. Please pray for this ministry and for the lives that are changed through it. I know our lives certainly have been changed.

Two New Orphans Find Refuge at Harmony House

Harmony House has two new peanuts – little Ken and tiny Corrie. Both came from the Shangrao orphanage in Jiangxi province.

Ken has a very severe heart defect called Pulmonary Atresia and urgently needs surgery. In the short time he has been in our care he has had three heart incidents and turned purple. Doctors have advised us that his condition cannot be treated in China but can be treated in the US or Australia. If any e-newsletter reader knows of a hospital or doctor who would be willing to donate services to save Ken’s life, please send an email to John@HarmonyOutreach.org.

Corrie was found abandoned shortly after her birth possibly because she is female or because she was born with anal atresia. She is named after famous Dutch evangelist and holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom. If you would like to be our partner in changing the life of Corrie by helping with the cost of her surgery or by sponsoring Corrie or Ken, please send an email to John@HarmonyOutreach.org.

Special Update from Harmony Outreach

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 oureNewsletter--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 ourThree 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, RelieveOften, 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.

--John Bentley

Our case worker from our agency called yesterday to let us know that our dossier is on its way to China. It should arrive on Friday. Early next week, it will be hand delivered to the Chinese government agency that processes all applications. The usual processing time is 12-17 weeks, but lately the CCAA has been processing them as fast as 10 weeks. We were told to hopefully expect 10-12 weeks. Then we will receive our LOC (Letter of Confirmation). We sign it, overnight it back to China, then wait for our TA (Travel Approval) to go get Max!!!!!!!!! If everything goes smoothly, then we could be traveling as early as mid-September. We were so excited to get the phone call yesterday. I have seriously been working not to think about when everything was going to get moving...I was just trying to be patient. So I was not expecting to hear from our case worker yesterday. What a joy it was when she told me, though.

Here are some pictures of Max from Children's Day. It was just celebrated in China. Just think, in 4 short months, he may be home with us!!!! We'll be celebrating EVERY DAY!