PingYu Home of Hope

Let me begin with taking a minute to explain Patch’s name; he is named after our brother-in-law, Joel Patrick Hogg. Patrick is apparently too hard to say for our children and when we asked them to say Patrick, it came out Patch…so it stuck:) We have been in awe these past few days in how well Patch (Liu Yin Hang) is doing. When we met him in his home, he acted like he was crazy. His grandmother also treated him like he was crazy and would constantly pull his arm, tug on his ear or hit him causing him to fight back. Before he moved in here with us, we wanted him to come here on a few short visits to see how he would react around our kids.
The first day, his grandmother dragged him in from the street with him kicking, hitting and screaming. Once he was in here and playing, he was fine. Then when it was time for him to leave, it all started back up again. We expected him to be like this when he came in, so immediately we brought him in to our office to go over some of the rules. I (Ben) sat him down and loving touched his face with my hands explaining to him that we use our hands for creating and love, not for destruction or hurting others. After talking to him for a bit, I again touched his face to show him love and asked him if he could do the same thing to me…well, in his excitement to show me love…a lot of love that is, he smacked his hands together on my face…kind of set myself up for that one:)
Since his arrival, he has not hit one person. He helps out our housemothers, he listens very well; once we tell him something once he does it right away. Our children have really been watching out for him and showing him the ropes, which has really been a blessing.

Our friend makes these Tie Dyed shirts and wanted to donate one for all our children and staff. The kids and staff love the shirts and so does everyone else who has seem them!

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Fun at the Park!
Most all of our kids have roller blades. We love to skate to the park and play there. What parks lack in playground equipment here in China, they make up in sidewalks for us to skate on:)
On the way to the Park
Wendy on the left and Noah on the right going down the big bridge that goes over the pond; the kids all love going up and down that bridge!
Snack Time

The weather was so nice and the park was so fun that everyone was full of smiles!

Chris on the left and our new son Patch on the right
Graham on the left and Becca on the right.
In the center of the park is a big pond with these fountains. The kids really liked watching how high the water could shoot up in the sky. Thomas is on the left and Zoey on the right.
Most parks in China do not have the typical playground equipment we see in the States, but they do have a lot of exercise equipment that gets played on just like it was playground equipment!

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Blessings for our Middle School Children!
Our middle school kids go to 2 different schools. Both schools being about a 10 minute walk each way. The problem is, they leave by 6am and get home at 12pm. Then leave again by 12:30 and don’t get back until 8pm. We wanted to get them bicycles to help them get to and from school a little bit quicker. One of the teachers that volunteers here, asked if she could buy the bikes for them! The above picture from left to right is, Abby, Wendy, Carissa(Teacher who bought the bikes), Eddy, Gabe and Debbie.

Blessings from Grace
When we were in the States, Grace Church donated 1 iPad for each one of our bedrooms for our children and one for each one of our boys to help them with school. When they were watching a movie in our house, we pulled the iPads out and surprised them.
Room 5 (I think Graham (far right) wanted to be the one who held the iPad and did not get to; which explains the sad face
Room 6
Room 8
room 17
Room 18

Blessings from a Belleville East High School Class
One thing we like to do each time we go back to the United States is teach about China. We have gone to a few different High Schools, and a couple different grade schools to share about China’s culture. We get to share at Belleville East High School often; it’s located near our hometown in Illinois. This time when we went back, one class raised money for us to gear up for the cold winter. This picture, the kids are showing their new long johns and new shoes! A big thanks to the kids for raising the money and to Belleville East for allowing us to come share.

Back to School
Our boys had an extended summer holiday because of our trip back to the States. Michelle made them a “Back to School” fruit cake!
Our eldest son Jaxin is in the 7th grade.
Our middle son Eli is in the 6th grade.
Our youngest son Tyler is in the 5th grade.

Play Time
On school nights, Michelle and I go to a different bedroom 30 minutes before bed time, to give a little more time and attention to each child. This is the boys in room #6.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this update. If you would like to know how you can get more involved with spreading love here to our Home and to our children, please click HERE for children sponsorships or HERE for our small list of needs.
Blessings
Ben and Michelle