"A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet" ...

... so said Lau Tze in his wisdom as one of China's great philosophers.

For my husband and I, our greatest life journey began deep within our hearts when we adopted our daughter from China in 2006. And it has been our single, most spectacular blessing! As well as the joy that entered our lives when she became part of our family, we continue to be gifted with friends, opportunities and experiences that we might otherwise not have been fortunate to welcome to our lives.

Earlier this year we became associated with the Scottish charity, Hope4China and it has been one of those good fortunes that continues to bless our family. Hope4China is a charity dedicated to raising awareness of children in orphanages in China, and girls from poor home lives in rural areas, with little hope of a formal education.

(Read about Hope4China at their website: http://www.hope4china.info/ and find out what they are up to at their blog: http://hope4china.blogspot.com/)

We had been considering how we could support our daughter in staying connected to her birth culture, and sponsoring a beautiful young girl through Hope4China was our answer. As I learned more about Hope4China, I soon realized that my heart was wanting to be more involved in somehow making a difference in the lives of the girls associated with Hope4China.
So I have joined their team of incredibly talented, compassionate and devoted individuals who are sharing their life gifts in ways that fill my heart. (You can read a bit more about what this charity is up to by visiting their blog at the link above.) As much of my career has been nurtured in environments teaching and mentoring young people and adults, it seemed serendipity to now have this opportunity over the coming years to directly inspire some of the girls who are sponsored through this Charity.

In October, I will have the ultimate privilege of meeting some of these amazing girls and engaging in creative expression activities with them, which will be the beginning of what I hope is an ongoing pleasure to help these girls navigate their lives with a stronger sense of self-acceptance, to believe in themselves with a more robust sense of self-confidence, and to trust themselves to know how to navigate their world to bloom in the fullest way they can.

Years ago I read that, in our lifetime, each of us has the capacity to touch more than 10,000 lives. The kindness we offer, the compassion we share, the respect we show, the empathy we give to others, our willingness to teach what we know ... all of that has a way of multiplying through experiences over the generations.

Sharing of my time and the wisdom I’ve been blessed to accumulate over the years may feel like I am only reaching a small tiny percentage of China’s population. But the reality is that when we reach out to one soul, we prepare that soul to do the same for others, and thus our good intentions begin to spread. So it is my deepest hope that my compassion, along with that of the rest of Hope4China’s devoted team, will live on in the many ways that the young people we meet will pass on what they’ve learned from us – through their behaviours, through the compassion they show others, through the ways they teach their wisdom, through the empathy they offer, and especially --- through their strength of character and the belief that their futures can be brighter than they may have once imagined.

So, for two weeks at the end of October, Cowgirl and I will be in China. A blessing for us, but unfortunately daddy isn’t able to join us due to work commitments. We are travelling in very good company, though, with two of the most amazing women I've ever had the privilege to know ... along with their girls who, like Cowgirl, were also born in China. So we will all have the best of companionship on our journey.

We will spend our time in Guangxi province, which is very near to Cowgirl’s birth region. This particular visit is devoted to working with the girls at Hope4China, so we won’t be visiting Cowgirl’s specific hometown this time. That is something we want to do as a family, and our intention is to return again in a year or two so that we can take Cowgirl on a proper heritage visit to China. Though we are fortunate in that we will be in the general region of where her ethnic minority is settled, so in many ways, Cowgirl and I will most certainly experience the spirit of her birth region.

So, a lot has been brewing for our family in recent months and I am delighted that I can now share it all with you! If you are interested in knowing more about our adventure or would like to know how you can help Hope4China, please feel welcome to be in touch with me (follow the ‘email me’ link at the start of this blog on the left side at the top) Or, visit Hope4China and explore their story.

I’ll write a bit more about our adventure between now and when we depart, so come back and visit!

E xxx