A Week To Be Grateful!

It's been a very busy week, but the care of Zhuo Ma, who I told you about last week, must top the list of things for which I'm grateful.  During a scheduled visit to Qinghai, I was able to visit her and also meet with officials from Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the provincial Civil Affairs Department, who kindly listened to my request, on Zhuo Ma's behalf, for help with her medical condition, even though she was not a victim of the Yushu earthquake.

I'm hopeful that Zhuo Ma will receive much more financial help because in her malnourished state it will be a while before she can face surgery, and it will be a costly exercise to provide the personal care she will need before and after surgery.

I am also deeply grateful to all the doctors who have assessed the condition of this poor girl.  They have consulted with each other in a wonderful unity of purpose and care for someone who has had no one to care for her throughout most of her young life.  So a big Thank You to the doctors in Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital; to Drs Xian-Lun Zhu and Hoi Tung Wong, Division of Neurosurgery, and Professor Simon Ng, Division of Colorectal Surgery, all at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong; and Dr Jonathan Juzi, Pediatric Surgery Department, Qinghai Red Cross Hospital, Xining.

Conversation with 18-year-old Zhuo Ma is difficult, but that's to be expected from someone living in a remote region who has cared for two people with mental disabilities for most of her life, and who has never had a family of her own.  When I asked her how she felt, Zhuo Ma replied, 'Fine'.  I suppose I'd say the same if I was lying in a comfortable bed for the first time in my life, and didn't have to worry about where the next meal was coming from or how I would provide for two disabled people in my care.  Understanding a child's background is so important in our work.

I was also very happy and grateful this week to take several Christian Action supporters to visit our work in Qinghai for the first time!  It's great to spend time with you face to face and show you what Christian action looks like in the orphanages and our fantastic Rehabilitation Centre as we work to provide helpless children with the best care we can give them.

Finally, THANK YOU to those who have already donated to Zhuo Ma's care - that's yet another thing I'm grateful for this week!

God bless you all,

Siew Mei.

Donations for Zhou Ma