Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Love Without Boundaries 2008 Cleft Mission Trip!

It is almost here...Love Without Boundaries
2008 Cleft Medical Trip to Anhui, China!

Many of you know that Jaida was the recipient of cleft lip surgery during the November 2006 LWB Cleft Mission Trip to Anhui, China. Well, another team of volunteers is getting ready to leave in one week to provide this life-saving, life-changing surgery to 25 more children. In one week, LWB will take a small team of ten volunteers to Hefei, Anhui. Leading the team will be John Ness, an outstanding plastic surgeon from St. Cloud, Minnesota, who has offered his skillful hand to help children all over the world. He is very passionate about these sweet children and he looks forward to teaming together with the physicians and hospital staff at Anhui Children's Hospital (ACH) to bring new smiles to 25 beautiful children's faces! We are personally so thankful to Love Without Boundaries and to ACH, as this hospital is the location where Jaida was found when she was left as a newborn baby. It is also the hospital where her cleft lip surgery was performed. Jaida's life was forever changed because of the collaboration of this U.S. Charity organization and this China hospital!

I am writing this to let you know that there are still many children who will be receiving cleft lip surgery during this trip and they are still in need of a surgery sponsor or just a general donation. Even the smallest amount of money can make a difference in the life of one of these children. Please consider donating today by visiting the Love Without Boundaries link I have posted under "Favorite Links" and experience the joy of giving! Enjoy reading "Jaidalyn's Gift" below, which I wrote for LWB to post on their blog to encourage others to donate!

JAIDALYN'S GIFT

With only a week left before the 2008 LWB Cleft Mission Trip to Anhui, China, I wanted to encourage you to become a part of a child’s story. Our story begins in June 2007 when my husband and I opened our hearts to the prospect of adopting a child from China with special needs. With some apprehension we submitted our special needs application to our agency and waited. On August 20th, we received a phone call that has forever changed our lives. Our agency had matched us with a little girl named Na Qun whose special need was cleft lip and palate. The moment we opened up the first picture of her file, we knew for certain that Na Qun was our daughter. We adopted Jaidalyn Na Qun in March 2008 with a repaired unilateral cleft lip and an unrepaired cleft palate. Jaidalyn is a beautiful 2.5 year old who is full of life, a blessing and delight to our family!

But it wasn’t always this way for Jaida…Jaida was born with a very wide cleft lip and palate, which made eating very difficult and required special bottles and attentive nannies. We discovered through Jaida’s medical files that in November 2006, Jaida was the recipient of cleft lip surgery during LWB’s 3rd Cleft Mission Trip to China. We may never know who sponsored Jaida’s surgery or the individuals who donated even the smallest amount of money for Jaida to have this life-saving, life-changing surgery, but every time we see her smile we are reminded of and forever grateful to the team of surgeons, nurses, and volunteers who gave our daughter a smile that can melt your heart and light up even the darkest of rooms!

As the next cleft mission trip to China quickly approaches, I ask you to open your hearts and experience the joy of giving. Yes, Jaida’s beautiful smile came with a cost, but its worth is PRICELESS. “Every Child Counts” and they are counting on us…become a part of their story and donate today!

THANK YOU!

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