These are the pictures of awesome.

These are women who have the awesome task of caring for little people who need caring for. Through something so simple, so basic, so ordinary, washing their hands and painting their nails, they were shown that they are extraordinary and inspiring and so very awesome.

We think the message was well received.

We believe we learn best who we are and how the world works through our experience of relationships. That’s what our orphanage efforts are all about—building relationships and seeking opportunities to magnify those already there.

Tomorrow morning, our team once again will step out of their own comfort zones and go. They’re all a bit crazy today as they cross tasks off to-do lists and hope for something supernatural to happen as they try to fit a few more things into their luggage. They’re going with full bags and full hearts. The team is offering some medical training which the orphanage administrators specifically requested. They’re also offering the workshop we’ve done in other places that our friends at the Fred Rogers Center have equipped us to do, an interactive community experience designed to encourage, enrich, and empower interactions between children and their helpers. But, most important, each member of this team is going ready to serve children in the best way we know how—through loving well those who care for them day in and day out.

The orphanage work we get to do is for every person there. We want to tell each one of them—little one and grownups alike—that they matter, that they are valuable, and that someone outside themselves is for them.

Be watching our social media posts for glimpses of it.

When we go, we go with full hands. Giving gifts isn’t all we are about as we care for caregivers in orphanages, but it really does matter because it communicates that they matter…and they really really do. We want our next trip to be no different as our team heads East to a small orphanage in 4 weeks. And, we need your help to do it.

We want to give each nanny there what we’re calling a Care Kit. In a custom designed, expertly handmade fabric bag, each Care Kit comes with a sugar scrub to care for tired hands, a quick-dry nail polish to remind the wearer how beautiful she is, and a sweet smelling lotion to keep her hands soft at the end of a long day. But, what makes the Care Kits most impactful is that the first time they will be used will be with us as we sit across from each nanny with a tub of hot water before us, and we wash her hands.

We are inviting you—asking you—to be a part of this with us by becoming a Care Kit sponsor for $25, covering the cost to care for one who cares for many. We want every single one of the women who give of themselves everyday to receive this gift. Help us make sure that happens.

To become a sponsor, click on Donate select “orphan care efforts” from the drop down menu of options. You can add “Care Kit Sponsorship” in the notes field.

We can’t wait to have you join us in this.

A few months back we were all abuzz about our two-of-a-kind tote bags. We posted about them on all our social media accounts, opened up our Etsy store, and told you about the special ones my mom made for Kelly and me, ones that had a piece from all 30 different patterns.

Every one of these bags were tailored specifically for the Chinese ayis who would be receiving them in October. They were colorful, personal, and fun but also useful and practical. The idea grew to not only be a tangible gift for them but an opportunity to tell them that so many people want to support them and the work that they do as women here in the states purchased a bag for themselves and sponsored the bag for an ayi. When I traveled to China last month, 30 bags traveled with me–a number I was grateful for given how packing said 30 totes took pretty much all the space in my carry on. It was so densely packed that TSA decided that they needed to dig through them and thus got a chance to admire the bags themselves.

As our little group got going with what we came to do, I’ll be honest, I was initially frustrated with our limited ability to connect with the ayis. There was a lot happening. Half the site was under construction. Most of the kids were relocated to just one playroom. And, the lack of a full-time translator led to some chaos during our days. The ayis clearly had their hands full and were taking the opportunity while they had it with us there to get other projects done. They were on the move, and we were getting very little time with them. I was feeling like our focus of caring for the caregivers was slipping, and I was struggling with that. I wanted these ladies to know that we came to encourage, support, and equip them, not just to play with children. The week was moving quickly and come Wednesday, we had still barely learned their names. I didn’t want to leave with this feeling of lack of connection.

We decided to change the pace and take a step back on Thursday. We told them there would be no formal trainings on that day as originally planned. Instead, we asked for intentional time to simply be with. We wanted to sit with the ayis and pour into them specifically. We also decided to go ahead and give them the tote bag gifts and tell them about each having a matching friend across the sea, something we had thought we’d do Friday. I was oh-so grateful that it turned into just the moment I was hoping for.

As I pulled out the collage of pictures we had received from some of the women in America who helped make this work, we could see the understanding and excitement light up their faces. They were excited about the gift, yes, but knowing they were connected to a matching partner was clearly meaningful for them. The executive director jumped up to help distribute the bags, his servant heart and care for these women clearly on display. The giggles and chatter that filled the room as each ayi picked their own bags was just the encouragement I needed.

They got it. At that moment, I really think they understood the point we were hoping to make with the totes. It wasn’t just our little group who cared about them; there are so many more behind us. They caught on that we saw them as valuable, worthy, important. They poured over the pictures, hoping to find the friend who matched them, who held their bag on her own shoulder, and asked us their names.

It was a game changer. The ayis were much more willing to try their broken English with us. They wanted us to know about their families and their own personal story. They knew we saw them for who they are, and I finally felt like we were on our way towards the goal of caring for them, the caregivers, even if in only one small way.

Erin Garrison has been a pediatric physical therapist since 2010 and was first introduced to The Sparrow Fund through serving on an orphanage trip in October of 2016. It was during this trip that her heart was stirred, and she was drawn to a big move and career change in order to serve children living in orphanages and their caregivers both for a season and forever. Her passion is to help equip and train the orphanage staff on developmental and handling techniques to assist in reducing delays. As Family Services Coordinator with The Sparrow Fund, she  seeks to be a resource for families as they transition children to home and get connected to the services needed. You can contact Erin directly at eringarrison@sparrowfund.org.

And, I love that they’ve come to expect it.
I love that they know I’m never going to come and forget them.
-Kelly Raudenbush

Caring for caregivers. It’s more that just a tagline or our favorite hashtag. It’s literally the heartbeat of our mission. Everyday, it’s what we seek to do stateside or on the other side of the world. One of my favorite ways we tangibly do this is through gifts, something special intentionally chosen for the orphanage ayis. It’s one way we say, “we see you, you are valuable, and you are treasured.” Every time we go, we take joy in deciding what we will take for our friends who work long hours with little recognition. On our last trip, we took handmade aprons that each had a unique pattern so that every ayi could pick one to fit her own style.

My Mom has become permanently recruited as a resource when our gift idea is something handmade. It’s her way of being a part of our mission, of playing a role in caring for these women, the caregivers. When we hatched the creative idea of making totes as our next gift, she got busy sewing right away. We loved this idea of two-of-a-kind tote bags and are filled with anticipation to tell the nannies about it. We hope that it makes them feel extra special to know that for each bag they pick out for themselves, there is a sister on the other side of the world carrying the same bag. We want them to know that it’s not just us who think they are worthy of these gifts but that those who bought a matching tote remember them too.

But my Mom knows our heart and our intention behind our gifts. She knows that we use the gifts to connect with the nannies. She has learned that our gift giving is more than just giving a gift but speaks love. With that in mind, she made an extra special gift for Kelly and I.

These two totes have a square from all 30 patterns of bags made. She made these unbeknownst to us and slipped them in with the last shipment of totes. Beyond making us our very own beautiful tote bag, she gave us a very tangible gift of caring, and we can’t wait to show the nannies this bag. We love that this bag will express in ways that words cannot that we carry a piece of each of them with us.

With every gift we’ve given, the nannies always gush on about how they can never forget us. Now we’ll be able to show that we won’t forget them either.

Want to be a part of this? Click HERE to see the few remaining two-of-a-kind tote bag packages we have available to help us raise a portion of the funds needed to keep our efforts going.

Erin Garrison has been a pediatric physical therapist since 2010 and was first introduced to The Sparrow Fund through serving on an orphanage trip in October of 2016. It was during this trip that her heart was stirred, and she was drawn to a big move and career change in order to serve children living in orphanages and their caregivers both for a season and forever. Her passion is to help equip and train the orphanage staff on developmental and handling techniques to assist in reducing delays. As Family Services Coordinator with The Sparrow Fund, she  seeks to be a resource for families as they transition children to home and get connected to the services needed. You can contact Erin directly at eringarrison@sparrowfund.org.

There’s a book in the Bible called Exodus. It’s all about God’s faithfulness and grace towards a people who didn’t deserve it and His power to do the seemingly impossible. In it, God saves the Israelites from slavery bringing them right through the Red Sea, they wander the desert with God providing manna from heaven to meet their needs, God gives them the ten commandments, and He comes to dwell among them in the tabernacle. In chapter 18, Moses takes a breath from it all and has a heart to heart with his father-in-law Jethro. Moses tells him all the good stuff that’s been happening, all the things worthy of celebrating, the stories he never imagined he’d be able to tell. He also tells him all the challenges they’ve faced along the way and where they’ve seen great victory and where they hope to see victory still. Jethro listens and affirms and encourages and then he challenges.

Why are you doing this all alone? You’re going to wear yourself out and if you do, what will happen to the people you serve? Moses, this job is too heavy a burden for you to try to handle all by yourself.

Here in our little corner of a suburb of Philadelphia, in our brand new office, that’s the message we heard. We need some help to both carry our burden and increase our capacity for whatever burden God trusts us with.

Last week, help arrived pulling a U-Haul trailer with Texas plates.

When our favorite physical therapists weren’t able to make our orphanage team trip this past October (new babies have a way of affecting plans), I told them I understood entirely…and that they’d have to recruit two doctors to take their place. One of those doctors was Erin. They told me she was faithful, mission minded, an excellent pediatric physical therapist in Texas for over 6 years, and delightful. They knew she’d been feeling a nudge for something but she didn’t know what. China was never on her “bucket list,” but she was willing. They told me this was the perfect trip for her, that it would meet our need and Erin’s as well. They were right.

The October orphanage trip moved her profoundly. That place she had never been particularly drawn to now captivated her. She was overwhelmed by how hard the staff worked in attempts to meet the needs of the children. She was humbled by their servant heartedness to do this work for years on end with little to no recognition. She was astounded by the resilience of the children to overcome. Life changed for her. A second trip with us to a new orphanage only a couple months later sealed the deal for her and for us.

A few weeks ago, Erin finished her last day practicing physical therapy in Forth Worth, Texas and started packing up her bags. Last week, she packed those bags into a trailer with her little dog Calvin by her side and started the journey to the Northeast to join our team!

While practicing physical therapy privately here part time, she’s going to be a part of everything that The Sparrow Fund currently does to provide support to adoptive families and children without families and their caregivers as well as seek out and pursue growth opportunities to do all that better.

Join us as we celebrate all the parted waters and manna He’s provided, and join us as we welcome Erin!

When I made the call to travel with The Sparrow Fund to serve at an orphanage in China this past October, I knew that I wanted to get my kids involved. They weren’t boarding a plane with me to go…at least not this time! But, this trip was their trip too. Mommy was leaving and for no short time. The best way to prepare them for that was to engage them and help them grasp the vision for engaging their friends too.

So, I went to their teachers. I told them about The Sparrow Fund and about the trip and asked if they would consider being involved in two specific ways: (1) allowing me to send home a letter written by my children asking if families would be a part of the effort by sending into school specific items from our team’s wish list and (2) letting me come into the class when I was back to share about the experience. We were thrilled when they were thrilled by the ideas.

Over the next month, we collected stickers, toy cars, stickers, play dough, stickers, beach balls, and more stickers! When I finally left for China, I had a suitcase literally half full of stickers (which were a huge hit) and came back with a suitcase literally half full of little Terracotta Warrior excavation kits I picked up along the way that I thought my kids’ classmates would like chipping away at when I came in to share.

I was so excited to go into that class with those excavation kits in hand as well as lots and lots of pictures of those stickers in action. Kids recognized the same stickers they had picked out themselves stuck on the faces and fingers of children on the other side of the world. It was if those stickers made the connection between them.

I shared about China and the kids and the orphanage building and how we helped. One little boy’s hand went up right away when I explained how nearly every child who lives in the orphanage has some sort of special need.

“I have ADHD and ‘personal space’ issues. Are there any kids like me there?” he asked.

Another child almost fell out of her seat trying to get my attention. She signed with so much facial expression that I felt I understood even while I awaited her ASL interpreter’s explanation.

“All the kids in those pictures are orphans?”

My yes only spurred more questions from her that she continued to sign with her face full of feeling.

“None of them have a mom or dad? Why would their parents ever want to give them up?”

I did my best to answer their questions. I don’t know if I satisfied them with my answers. I felt at peace regardless. My answers were a window into my own process as I have faced the realities of broken relationships. I hope they planted some seeds as they start their own process and were made aware, some for the first time, of children just like them on the other side of the world who do not have families.

I have been back from China over 7 months now. The effect of my experience isn’t growing smaller as time passes; it’s growing bigger as opportunities to share continue to arise. Each of these opportunities is a gift because they serve to remind me and keep it all close. Every time, I get to relive those moments that changed my life forever.

I had an idea.

I was up early this morning, making a list and checking it twice. But, this list wasn’t a Christmas list; it was the list of gifts we are taking to China when we leave on January 6th. We’re heading to South China on this trip, to an orphanage in Guangdong province that has never had a team there before.

It’s considered a small orphanage with about 150 children in their care. And, while they are not new to adoption, they haven’t placed many kids until now. But, they’re partners with a good agency now and are on board with making children paper ready, even kids they thought were too old or too sick or too something. And, we get to go in and encourage them in what they are doing.

As I was counting out the gifts for ayis and the ladies who work in the office and the directors and the foster moms, I had an idea. Wouldn’t it be neat to give them something from a child adopted from China? Something that sends the message that children adopted from China are okay and that what they do to serve those kids now matters…wouldn’t that be great?

I’ve come to discover that good ideas don’t always come at convenient times. And, today is hardly a convenient day as mamas everywhere are scurrying around to Target for stocking stuffers and making cookies for class parties and using up all their Scotch tape wrapping boxes. But, some things are worth some inconvenience. This might be one of those things.

Here’s what we need:

a piece of artwork on card stock, an index card, or watercolor paper no larger than 5″x8″
a printed photo of the artist with his or her name written on the back, the year he or she was adopted and from where (e.g., “Sam Smith, adopted from Guangzhou in 2010”)

Mail no later than December 31st for an arrival of no later than January 4th to:

The Sparrow Fund Art for Ayis
124 3rd Ave
Phoenixville PA 19460

Questions? Email us. Help us bless these people and magnify the good.

Want to do more? You can.
Order a few of the supplies from our wish list for us to take with us.
Order an Oh Happy Day shirt and wear it with us on the first day we serve on Monday, January 9th.
Sign up to pray for the team HERE.
Find out a bit more about joining a future team.

Kelly founded The Sparrow Fund along with her husband Mark in 2011. She works alongside Mark in his full-time purposeful work in China and works part time as a therapist at the Attachment & Bonding Center of PA, Kelly has a particular interest in (a) encouraging parents who are struggling to attach with their children, (b) helping parents walk with their children in understanding their own stories, (c) helping couples continue to pursue each other and grow together while they parent their children as a team, and (d) training and supporting orphanage staff in China to build relationships with children and each other. Kelly and Mark have been married since 1998 and have 3 biological children and 1 daughter who was adopted as a toddler from China in 2010. You can learn more about their journey on Kelly’s blog.