Everybody has their own dreams. And everyone’s dream has a different purpose and story behind it. Losing her father at a young age, MY also has a dream with a story full of purpose behind it. At the age of seven, she inherited Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease. Since then, the visibility in her eye worsened over time to such an extent that she was only able to see a small shade of light. In 2002, her mother found out a school for the blind in the southwestern part of China. So she entrusted MY’s sister to be taken care of by her own parents (MY’s grandparents) and moved with MY to attend the School for the Blind. They rented a very small room with other roommates. MY’s mom picked up trash on the street to provide for themselves. The money they got was not much and the amount was very inconsistent. And it had to go towards MY’s younger sister’s living expenses and MY’s education. Life was very hard on their family.
Even though MY struggled to survive as someone who’s disabled and also living in poverty, this young woman didn’t take pity on herself or look at her disability as a crunch. She kept fighting on and never gave up. It was MY’s childhood dream to go to college to learn all kinds of things and become a well educated person. In 2005, Rainbow Missions staff members visited the School for the Blind MY was attending and got to know her personally. Seeing such a kind, mature, hardworking girl with a love of learning and living in poverty, we were so touched that everyone agreed to support her and to help her accomplish her dream of furthering her education. There’s an old Chinese proverb: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” In 2013, through strenuous hard work and diligence, MY successfully got accepted into a college in a northeastern coastal city in China to major in Massage Therapy.
Although MY had a relatively stable financial support,she didn’t rely on the sponsor but worked harder than before. One time, she needed to buy a learning machine to practice her spoken English and do research for her study. In order to purchase this machine, she went to pick up trash on the street with her mom during summer holidays. The first time she picked up trash on the street, MY needed someone to tell her the direction. Even though it was not easy, she still tried her best to improve her life and pursue a better result on her study. Thankfully, MY will be graduated from college next year!
During the process of achieving dreams, each of us needs to have the support and care of others so that we can face the challenges and live a life which is full of blessings.
Rainbow Mission Fundraising dinner will be held on 16 September (English), 17 September (Mandarin) and 23 September (Cantonese) this year. We will invite MY who will come to Seattle from China to be our guest speaker. She will personally give thanks to her sponsor and share her life experience. If you are interested to come and join us, please email us at fundraisingdinner@therainbows.org for RSVP before 10 September or contact us by phone (206)764-7000 for more information. Due to limited seating, please register as soon as possible.
Not every child in China is living in a happy home. If you have a tug at your heart, want to open your hearts to live out God’s love, and be a blessing to the disabled children to accompany with them to achieve their dream step by step, we would like to invite you to donate $42 per month to support their 1 year tuition. Please send your check to Rainbow Missions, PO Box 40145, Bellevue, WA 98015. Please specify “Sponsorship”. Thank you!
Introduction: Rainbow Missions is a faith-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization set up in US Seattle exclusively for charitable purposes. The Rainbow Project, through Christ’s love, serves children with disabilities and their families in China. Welcome to browse our website @ www.therainbows.org.
夢想背後的足印
每一個人都有屬於自己的夢想，而每個夢想的背後都有著不同的意義和故事。從小已失去父親的MY也不例外。只是，當她七歲的時候，不幸地被診斷患上了視網膜色素變性(病變)，從此她視覺的能力逐漸衰退，最後只剩下微弱的光感。2002年，母親得知在國內西南邊的一個城市有一所盲校，她就決定把MY的妹妹委託給外公外婆照顧，獨自帶著MY到那邊上學，母女倆和別人合租非常窄小的一套房，靠著撿垃圾來維持生活。收入微薄又不穩定，加上要支付妹妹在老家的生活費，還有MY的學費等，她們的生活十分拮据艱辛。
MY雖然在貧困與殘疾中掙扎求存，年紀輕輕的她卻沒有因為坎坷的生活與身體上的缺憾而放棄夢想。從小MY就希望能夠上大學，學習更多知識去幫助其他有需要的人。2005年，彩虹工程的同工有機會在盲校認識了MY，看到這個善良懂事又勤奮好學的貧困孩子，實在讓人心疼又心酸，於是大家決定資助她，給她一個繼續接受教育的機會，讓她實現夢想的距離推進了一步。中國人有句話說：「有志者事竟成」，經過不斷的努力，MY在2013年順利地被一所在東北沿海城市的大學錄取，修讀按摩療法。
雖然經濟上有了比較穩定的支持，MY仍然盡量自力更生，沒有完全依賴别人的資助。有一次，她在學習上需要買一部學習機來練好英文口語以及方便資料搜集。為了購買這部學習機，她就在暑假的時候跟媽媽一起去撿垃圾賺錢。剛剛開始的時候，MY也是要依靠別人告訴她方向才撿到垃圾的，雖然十分不容易，但她還是努力不懈，不斷在學習和生活上追求成長。非常感恩，MY將於明年大學畢業！
其實，在許多夢想實現的過程中，都需要有他人的支持和關心，讓這充滿挑戰的道路上，留下了一個個盛滿祝福的足印。
彩虹工程今年的籌款晚宴將於9月16(英語) ，17(普通話) ， 23(粵語)日舉行，我們特地邀請MY從國內前來西雅圖跟大家見面，親自向多年來一直資助她的家庭致謝，並分享她的心路歷程。若你有興趣，歡迎在9月10日之前電郵至fundraisingdinner@therainbows.org報名預留位置或致電(206)764-7000查詢更多有關資訊。由於座位有限，請預早報名。
幸福不是必然的，不是每個孩子都能够在安然的生活中成長，倘若你有感動，要把心中這一份愛活出來，成為國内殘障兒童的祝福，伴隨他們一步一步去實現夢想，在他們的生命中留下一個個充滿祝福的足印，歡迎你每月捐款42美元，資助他們一年的學費。請把支票寄往Rainbow Missions, PO BOX 40145, Bellevue, WA 98015，並註明「助學計劃」。謝謝！