Miss Becky's Blog

American Teenage Boy Plans to Run 200 Miles for Children's Charity

WOW ... can you image running continuously for 200 miles???? That's what the following young man is planning to do to raise money for a Children's Hospital!!! See the details in the article below:

Teens Vows To Run 200 Miles For Children's Charity

By Michele Gile

(CBS) LAKE FOREST, Calif. An 18-year-old runner will begin a planned 200-mile continuous run to raise funds for patients at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) tomorrow at El Toro High School.

Jesse Zweig will begin his "ultramarathon" at 2:30 p.m. from his alma mater at 25255 Toledo Way, and hopes to finish it Saturday, with the goal of raising $20,000, said Vicki Koda of the CHOC Foundation.

The run, with only short bathroom stops, will conclude at Zweig's home on Chestnutwood in Lake Forest, the hospital's Denise Almazan said.

Zweig plans to pass through Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills, she said.

The distance is the equivalent of 7 1/2 marathons, Almazan said.

Zweig, who competed in track at El Toro High School, became interested in the concept of running an ultramarathon after reading the book, "The Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner," written by Dean Karnazes, Almazan said.

"He has no personal connection to CHOC," Almazan said. "He feels blessed that he enjoys good health and wants to do something for the kids who are not as lucky."

Zweig, a Mormon, is awaiting an assignment for a two-year mission before going to college, Almazan said.

Zweig told KCAL9 that he is making backup preparations.

"This is the second pair of shoes (that) I need to break in, just in case," he said.

"There's no way I'd be able to do this by myself, (without) people, (without) their encouragement," Zweig said. "I've gotten e-mails, just telling me their stories, people who have been to CHOC. They're kind of helping me out. And also donations, they help out a lot."

Last year, Zweig raised about $7,000 when he ran 100 miles for CHOC, Channel 9 reported.

"It's going to be tough," Zweig said. "It'll be tough, I know that, but I'm prepared for it. I'm not going to give up just because it's hurting. So, I'm just going to push through it."

Zweig said he will keep himself going by thinking of the children at the hospital

Owen and Mzee

OWEN & MZEE …

The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

From the Book by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, Dr. Paula Kahumbu and Peter Greste

This is the true story of two great friends: a baby hippopotamus names Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee. The hippo was not always friends with the tortoise. Owen was found stranded the day after the tsunami that occurred in the eastern Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. Here’s the story….

Before the baby hippopotamus became known as Owen, he lived with his mother in a group, or pod, with about twenty other hippos. They fed and wallowed in and around the Sabaki River in Kenya, a nation on the east coast of Africa. When he was about one year old, heavy December rains flooded the river. The racing water washed Owen and his family down the river, until the freshwater became salty and the river flowed into the Indian Ocean, near the small coastal town of Malindi.

For days, the people of Malindi tried to chase the hippos back up the river. But the hippos enjoyed eating the grasses along the shore. Since hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa, (a full-grown adult can weight as much as 8,000 pounds) there was little the people could do.

On the morning of December 26, 2004, the sea suddenly rushed high onto the beaches, and surging waves pounded the shore. Many of the villagers’ boats were damaged, and many fisher-men had to be rescued. Before long, the sea was calm again, but it was a frightening time for everybody. A day passed before anyone thought to check on the hippos. The villagers now saw only one hippopotamus in the sea – a baby without his mother, stranded on a sandy coral reef. Tired and frightened, he was unable to reach the shore on his own.

Soon, hundreds of villagers and visitors were working together to help the young hippo. They knew that he would become sick if he stayed in the salty seawater for long. They used ropes, boats, fishing nets, and even cars to rescue him and bring him to shore safely.

The rescue was not going to be easy. The baby hippo was only about two feet tall, but he weighed 600pounds and was slippery and strong. And the hippo was scared by all the humans. Angrily, he broke through their nets and escaped from their ropes. Hours when by and the people who gathered to watch feared that the hippo could not be saved.

Finally, with a stronger shark net, they were able to catch the hippo. A brave visitor named Owen Sobien tackled him, stopping him long enough to let others secure the net. That is why the hippo is called “Owen”.

At last, the rescuers towed the baby hippo toward land. When they reached the shore, a loud, cheer went up from the thousand people on the beach. Their happy cries could be heard almost a mile away. Wrapped in the net, Owen was lifted into the back of a pickup truck and brought to a shady spot.

People weren’t sure what to do with Owen. They called Haller Park, an animal sanctuary about fifty miles away, near the city of Mombasa. Dr. Paula Kahumba, the manager, immediately offered Owen a place to live there. She explained that he could never be returned to the wild. Since he was still a baby, he wouldn’t know how to take care of himself. And he would never be welcomed into another hippo pod – he would be seen as an intruder and attacked. But they would take good care of him in Haller Park. Dr. Paula and the chief animal caretaker, Stephen Tuei drove to Malindi to bring Owen to his new home.

Meanwhile, others at Haller Park prepared a large enclosure for Owen at the park. They chose a part that had a pond and mud wallow, as well as tall trees and brush – everything a hippo could want. The area was already home to a number of monkeys and a giant Aldabra tortoise called Mzee.

Mzee, whose name means “wise old man” in the Swahili language, was the oldest creature in the park, 130 years of age. He wasn’t very friendly, except to Stephen. Otherwise, Mzee kept to himself.

Mzee’s life was about to change.

When Owen finally arrived with Dr. Paula and Stephen, he was weak and tired. As soon as the ropes that held him were untied, Owen left the truck and went directly to Mzee, who was resting in a corner of the enclosure. Owen crouched behind Mzee, the way baby hippos often hide behind their mothers for protection. At first, Mzee wasn’t happy about this attention. He hissed at Owen and crawled away. But Owen, who could easily keep up with the old tortoise, did not give up. Slowly, as the night went on, Mzee began to accept his new companion.

That night, Owen and Mzee snuggled close together.

Over the next few days, Mzee continued to crawl away, and Owen continued to follow him. But sometimes it was Owen who would walk away from Mzee, and Mzee who would follow. Little by litter, Mzee grew friendlier.

At first, Owen wouldn’t eat any of the leaves left out for him. Stephen and the others worried that he would get weaker. Then they noticed Owen feeding right beside Mzee, as if Mzee were showing him how to eat. Or perhaps it was Nzee’s protective presence that helped Owen feel calm enough to eat. No one will ever know. But it was clear that the bond between Owen and Mzee was helping the baby hippo to recover from being separated from his mother and stranded in the sea.

As the weeks went on, Owen and Mzee spent more and more time together. Soon, they were together ALL the time.

Their bond remains very strong to this day. They swim together, eat together, drink together, and sleep next to each other. They rub noses. Owen leads the way to different parts of the enclosure, then Mzee leads the way. Owen playfully nuzzles Mzee’s neck, and Mzee stretches his neck forward asking for more, just as he does when Stephen tickles him under the chin.

Wildlife experts are still puzzled about how this unlikely friendship came to be. Most have never heard of a mammal, such as Owen, and a reptile, such as Mzee, forming such a strong bond. The reasons are unclear. But science can’t always explain what the heart already knows: Our most important friends are sometimes those we least expected.

News of Owen and Mzee’s friendship quickly spread around the world. People all over have come to love Owen, who endured so much, yet never gave up, and Mzee, who became Owen’s friend when he needed one most. Their photo-graphs have appeared in many newspaper and magazine articles. Television programs and even a film documentary have been made about them.

Visitors come to Haller Park every day to meet the famous friends. (Don't you LOVE the smile of Mzee's face!!!)

Owen suffered a great loss. But with the help of many caring people, and through his own extraordinary resilience, Owen has begun a new, happy life. Most remarkable is the role that Mzee has played. We’ll never know for sure whether Owen sees Mzee as a mother, a father, or a very good friend. But it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that Owen isn’t alone – and neither is Mzee. And that is the true story of Owen and Mzee, two great friends.

************************* MORE ********************************************

Owen and Mzee and the Tsunami of December 2004: The towering waves of the tsunami were caused by a massive earthquake under the ocean floor near Indonesia. More than 175,000 people lost their lives, and entire towns were destroyed. By the time the tsunami traveled 4,000 miles to the shores of Kenya, the waves had lost much of their force and damage there was less severe. But the whole world was shocked and saddened at the news of this disaster. The story of Owen’s rescue and friendship with Mzee filled people every-where with hope. It reminded us all that even though terrible, unexpected things happen, the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life will prevail.

The caretakers plan to keep Owen and Mzee together as long as they both wish to be together. When Owen seemed ready for the company of other hippos, he was moved to a larger pond where the park’s other hippos live, including a lonely female, named Cleo. Mzee was moved along with him, and they are still close companions.

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE . . .

Would you like to be a "Secret Agent" and help us carry out an exciting ADVENTURE to recognize and honor Ken (some of you know my husband as "Smiley") on his 70th Birthday, which will be on October 26, 2006.

Our mission will be to WALK, JOG OR RUN 7,000 MILES IN 7 WEEKS TO SURPRISE AND HONOR KEN/SMILEY AND TO RAISE MONEY FOR OUR SUNSHINE PROJECT IN CHINA.

You may not know that Ken had a "heart attack" last May ... he's OK and we are very grateful for the MIRACLE of modern medicine and the doctors tell us he should have several more years to enjoy on this earth. (The complete story is posted on this BLOG in the article entitled: "Smiley's HEART Miracle" and can be found by clicking on the category "Miracles" or "My Family".

We are very grateful that Ken is doing really well physically, he was back to golfing less than a week after the "heart" experience. He's done some jogging, lots of outside work in our backyard, some "hoops" and is now busy officiating American high school football games. This experience has made us more grateful than ever for the blessing of healthy bodies. I know he would not have done so well, if he had not been "jogging", playing "hoops" and staying activity the past several years of his life.

To encourage better fitness and heart health in our family and among our friends, we will celebrate Ken's 70th Birthday AND raise funds for the SUNSHINE Project that we started in Nanjing, China in 2003 (complete information and pictures of this ongoing project are also posted on my BLOG ... go to the category "Sunshine Project.)

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE--is the name of our project, because Ken doesn't know anything about it ... we want to SURPRISE him ... so PLEASE DO NOT SAY OR WRITE ANYTHING TO HIM ABOUT THIS. Please reply to this e-mail address only: missbecky@xmission.com

THE EVENT: We are planning a special running/jogging event called SMILEY'S FUN RUN, here in our hometown of Logan, Utah. It will be on Saturday, October 21, 2006 and we'll Walk, Jog, or Run seven (7) miles. For "fun" we are using the number 7 because Smiley will be 70th years old! Ken does not know anything this. One of his friends will make a "golfing" date with him that day and when he arrives at the Golf Course, a number of friends and family members, will be waiting to "surprise" him. We'll begin SMILEY's FUN RUN there and other family members and friends will join us along the way. We'll "jog" past many special places in Ken's life including the high school where he coaches basketball now and the university where he worked for 30 years. The "finish line" of the "run" will be at our home for food and celebration with friends, family and neighbors!!!!

It will be very meaningful to Ken/Smiley to have so many of the people he loves participate in this physical fitness activity, because he KNOWS how important regular exercise is to keeping your heart healthy...especially now!!! Also, recent research has concluded that the NUMBER ONE thing you can do to keep your brain healthy, young and smarter, is to "Move It" ... get regular aerobic exercise. (See article on my BLOG entitled "Seven Ways To Make Your Brain Smarter" under the category: "Art of Living".)

You do not have to live in Logan, Utah to participate in this event ... you can select any seven mile route and Walk, Jog or Run it that day. Those of you near a university campus could use the track at the sports field (four laps around equals ONE mile). Not all of our family or friends will be able to come to Logan, but they are planning to participate where they live, for example our daughter, Kara, will run in Boston, K.C.'s family will run in Las Vegas and friends will be running in Provo and California.

THE SUNSHINE PROJECT -- It is common in America to raise money by getting donations and participating in special running events or marathons. We have had family members and friends do this in the past. We'll raise money for the Sunshine Project, by inviting friends and family to make a finanial donation to the project as a Birthday Gift to Ken. Each participant in the FUN RUN will pay a "registration fee" which will also go to the project.

TRAINING MILES COUNT -- Now is the time to begin training and preparation for this event ... it's SEVEN weeks away. When Ken and I ran a marathon, which is over 26 miles, we trained and prepared for over three months. So if you start this week, you can be "ready" by October 21st to do SEVEN MILES. Remember you don't have to RUN the whole way ... a combination of walking and jogging is best AND you can even WALK the entire way if you want, but it should be fast walking to get your heart rate up!!!!

It would be so AWESOME to have American and Chinese people BRIDGE the huge ocean that divides our countries, and come together, "heart to heart" bringing SUNSHINE into the lives of these special deaf children. If we were to build such a BRIDGE, from American to China, it would be about 7,000 miles long. Our GOAL in this project would be to meet in the middle of that imaginary bridge by counting all the "training" miles each individual does, along with the 7 miles of the FUN RUN! That means the Americans need to total up 3,500 miles and the Chinese need that same amount. Working together WE CAN DO IT!!!! Start this week with your preparation and record the number of miles you are able to do each day ... if you did 10 miles a week by the time of the FUN RUN you would have done a total of 70 miles!!! Our group goal will be to do 7,000 miles in 7 weeks!!!!

YOU are INVITED to participate in this TOP SECRET ADVENTURE in any or all of the following ways:

* E-mail me your Birthday wishes and thoughts for Ken/Smiley, giving an update on your life and what you are doing now and send a current picture of yourself. I'll print it out and put in a special Birthday Book we are making for him. Please send to me at: missbecky@xmission.com .... do not tell Ken, this is part of the "secret".

* Register to participate in SMILEY's FUN RUN, by sending me an e-mail message (missbecky@xmission.com) with your Chinese name, English name, correct e-mail address and the location (city or area) that you will be in on October 21st to do your "running". I will e-mail you back giving you the name of the contact person in your area. You will need to pay them your "registration fee" which is your "donation" to the SUNSHINE Project. The amount of the fee is whatever you can pay from 7 to 70 RMB. (In honor of Ken's "70th" Birthday, we use the number SEVEN as offen as we can!) People can give any amount they can that ends in seven, for example 7 yuan, 17 yuan, 27 yuan, etc. This "donation" or registration fee tells us they are committed to participating in the FUN RUN. All who successfully finish the seven miles that day will earn a prize.

* Begin your TRAINING now, by "jogging" each day ... except Sunday. We've found that a day of "rest" is really good for the body and I run much better on Mondays when I've rested my body on Sunday. Research also shows the same health benefits for those who do six days of aerobic exercise and those that do seven days. It is also good to "rest" your body the day before the race ... that's what runners do when they run marathons. Record (write down) the miles that you do each day.

* EACH SUNDAY REPORT YOUR TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK TO ME ON E-MAIL at: missbecky@xmission.com. I will post an UPDATE each Sunday on my BLOG giving the total number of MILES for both the American and Chinese teams, so you can see what progress we are making toward the Total Goal of 7,000 MILES. Be sure to check my BLOG each week to get the latest information on this project! When you go into my BLOG, go to the listing of Categories on the right hand side of the screen and click on ADVENTURES -- TOP SECRET ... that will be the best way to get the latest update on the project.

* After, finishing the FUN RUN, on October 21st, REPORT the total miles you "ran" that day to me on e-mail OR to your contact person.

* You are welcome to invite other friends to participate, sharing the opportunity and blessings it will bring.

By your participation in this project you will be giving a special

* GIFT to Ken/Smiley, a

* GIFT to the deaf children in Nanjing China, and a

* GIFT of better health and fitness to Yourself.

TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER, HAPPIER PLACE -- KEEP SMILING!!!

P.S. ... Remember to keep this a "secret" from Ken/Smiley

SUNSHINE PROJECT UPDATE

The following report and pictures were sent by Hua Wei, one of the special ladies who has continued to direct the project since we've left China. Thanks to all who have continued to support this effort and bring SUNSHINE into the lives of these children.

GAOCHUN DEAF SCHOOL .... 06/03/06

The Children's Day this year is not on a weekend, so we planned our annual trip to the Deaf School today (06/03/06).

The girl named Lv Xiaohong and the boy who is good at sports, named Wan Qiwang graduated already and was admitted to

a high school for deaf students in Nanjing.

There are more students this year than ever before at Gaochun since the school has now

added more than 10 mentally disabled kids. Altogether there are more than 70 students now in the Gaochun Deaf

School.

This year another PROJECTOR has been placed in the classroom, so there are two projectors now

supported by our Sunshine Project. The teachers praised a lot for these two instruments since they

find them very useful in their teaching.

Another girl supported by the Sunshine Project, named Yang Shuwen, was honored as one of the Ten

Disabled K-12 Students in the Nanjing Region, while one of the 100 Best of Most Excellent K-12 Kids.

The school has three new teachers this year. The kids have some new performance.

 

Deaf Student performing for us.

(From Left to Right: Jing Hong, Bola [student leader] BYU Teachers Mrs. & Mr. Rusts, Hairong, Miss Yuan & Hua Wei)

We have another couple of BYU teachers, the Rusts, to be with us today. They were performing games on the stage and making

dumplings with the kids. Jinghong's daughter, Hairong, who is now a high school student also joined our trip.

And another faculty member, Miss Yuan, form the Network Center of NJU also joined our team.

More students performing ... a new teacher on the right.

Their computer lab really is looking nice, especially compared to what it was like when we started the project.

The school's teachers hope to have another Projector next year from our project, but Jinghong and I are not sure

about our budget. We said we will try to raise more funds and wait until we have enough support. But what

becomes more urgent is that the money from the Hong Kong people is less this year. Anyway we will try to work

hard.

************************************************

This is the end of Hua Wei's report and I would just like to express my thanks to her and all those who traveled to the school and who donated money to the project ... you are making a difference in the lives of these special children. My daughter Kara, who is currently working on a PhD in Education, was able to visit the school last year and she was so impressed with the project. She is giving some support and is encouraging us to continue to support this project, as well.

I have a good project in mind for raising some funds as we each work on becoming more physically fit and "smarter" .... Look on this site for more details to follow.

More about the SUNSHINE Project

An UPDATE on the SUNSHINE Project:

Visit to the School:

On Saturday, April 19th, over 20 NanJing University students, along with some NJU teachers, family members and friends of Ken and Becky Mitchell, the BYU China Teacher at NJU that year, traveled by bus to the Gao Chun Long Xiao School for deaf children.

We took with us a student with computer skills to connect the printer and scanner that we had purchased for the school. He also serviced the computers and promised to return to provide proper care for the computers, on a volunteer basis.

The deaf children led us on a tour of their school and classrooms, we put name tags on all of them, and the University students paired off with the students, communicating in writing and body language.

The deaf students performed for us, and we for them:

We shared lunch, played a variety of games, including baseball, made “rainbow” bracelets with the children and the older children accompanied us on a short field trip in their town.

The above students were some of the ones that we sponsored ... they could not have attended the school without the money we donated to the school.

At this time we discussed with the Director of the school other needs. We were given information sheets on ten deaf children who will not be able to return to the school the next year, unless we could get the money to pay their fees. These fees include their board and room as well as school costs. We also discussed their need for some projectors in the classrooms.

Both the deaf students and the university students had a WONDERFUL experience on April 19th. Before the next Saturday, five of the deaf students had written letters of appreciation to the University students, who have replied and sent pictures, etc. Future visits were being planned.

SARS Prevents Visits . . . Due to the SARS problem, both the NJU and Deaf School campuses were locked down and no other visits were permitted. The students and teacher hope to resume regular visits when the fall semester begins. But the following things have still be accomplished:

Library Started . . . NJU Teachers purchased and sent several new books to the school to begin a little library. Other books will be added at others times:

Ten Students have been sponsored: NJU Students, Teachers, Friends and family members from America and Hong Kong have sent the money to pay the fees for 10 students to attend the school for the next school year. The cost is $175 or 1400RMB.

Future Plans . . .

· After the SARS problem was over the NJU teachers delivered the money and other items, clothes and school supplies, that we had collected to the school. They are continuing to find and purchase some audio-visual equipment for use in their classrooms.

· They will plan with the NJU students future visits to the school for activity days and perhaps bring the older children on a fieldtrip to Nanjing, etc.

· Will continue to communicate with the school director to plan for and purchase needed audio-visual equipment for the school to use.

Our goal: Bringing more SUNSHINE into the lives of these special children.

SUNSHINE PROJECT VISIT -- 2004

SUNSHINE Project Visit – March 13, 2004

Return to China -- In February 2004, Miss Becky and Smiley (Ken) Mitchell returned to China to teach for one semester in Beijing at Peking University. One of the things that make this such a wonderful experience was the opportunity to meet and visit with many of our former students and friends in China.

Visit to Gao Chun School -- The wonderful Nanjing teachers (Hua Wei, Jin Jian, Yang Jinghong, Gao FengHua and student leaders organized a special visit to Gao Chun School in March of 2004. Ken and I took the night train from Beijing to Nanjing and had a wonderful reunion with many special students and friends there. Several helped us prepare materials to take to the deaf students, including puppets and “snowballs.”

Here deaf student shows one of the puppets that the NJU students made and presented to the school.

Here are the 18 students that our project supported this school year -- without the funds we provided, they would not have been able to attend the school this year. Adult and student project leaders are also in the picture.

Note in the picture that many of the students are giving the "sign" for "I Love You". There was lots of LOVE and Sunshine shared that day!!

One of the Teachers demonstrated the projector that our project purchased for the school this year. The teachers all loved it and found it a great teaching tool.

One of the highlights of this visit was getting the school, ONLINE. The NJU computer students got them connected and we paid for DSL service. As you can see here, the students LOVED it. Many of them have continued to communicate via e-mail with their NJU student friends.

(See hand "sign" for "I Love You" on the back wall. Some of the students performed and . . .

The students from a middle school in Nanjing who joined our group performed as well as. This group had raised money and collected clothing to bring to the school.

Everyone liked the performances.

One of our NJU graduate students arranged for a TV station to send a filming crew to cover the story of our visit and the SUNSHINE Project. Here they are interviewing one of the oldest, most talented boys, who is using "sign language" to communicate -- he can speak a little.

This is the entire group of students and visitors.

It was a WONDERFUL day for everyone. We played games, (the students especially liked UNO), did some crafts, played some sports, ate lunch, communicated one on one in writing and made some special friendships. It was the first time for some of the visitors to come to Gaochun school. They were very impressed with the school, especially the children and teachers and many promised to continue to support our project. A special THANKS to all the NJU students and teachers who made this special day possible ... TOGETHER we are able to "make a difference" in the lives of these special children.

Several of the NJU students expressed to me how good it felt to share "sunshine" with others. One of the NJU students who had visited the school the year before, decided to volunteer once a week in Nanjing at a school for deaf students close to her, so it did not take as long to get there. She plays with and "loves" a five year old deaf boy and they have become good friends. She told me, "I feel good when I make someone else happy."

That's the secret of HAPPINESS ... to forget about ourselves and love, serve and care about others ... then HAPPINESS and JOY will come to us!!!

Foreign Teachers Seeded SUN PROJECT

SUNSHINE Project visit to Gao Chun Long Xiao School for deaf children, March 13, 2004:

This Nanjing University journalism student, holds a flower made by the deaf students which was presented to her and the name tags that we used ... note the "smiley face". She wrote the following article about the SUNSHINE Project and our visit for a Chinese Newspaper. She also did the English translation for us, which follows:

Foreign Teachers Seeded “Sun Project”

The Gaochun Special Education School was in the sunshine on Mar. 13th. The students were welcoming the “Sunshine Deputies”, including American teachers Ken Mitchell, Becky Mitchell, Mr. Nielson, Mrs. Claton, and the staff and students from Nanjing University and Nanjing Foreign Language School. People gathered and held a party in the school hall. On the stage, children were singing Seed A Sun by sign language: “I have a wonderful wish, wish I could seed a sun.” Off the stage, the “Sunshine Project” has seeded the sun of love and hope here.

“Sunshine Project” was initiated on Christmas Day, 2002. Associates of “China Teachers Program” of “David M. Kennnedy Center for International Studies” Mr. Ken Mitchell and his wife Becky Mitchell, Mr. Richard Criddle and his wife JoAn Criddle with their Chinese students discussed about doing something for the Chinese children. They raised an amount of money and donated it to the Gaochun Special Education School with the help of NJU teachers Hua Weina, Yang Jinhong, Jin Jian and Gao Fenghua. This benevolence was named “Sunshine Project”. Thanks to the project, over 50 thousand Yuan and some educational devices such as projector, copier, and scanter have been donated to the school; a little Reading Corner has been built up to facilitate the students’ study; 18 students who were initially too poor to go to school could go back to the classroom again. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, Mr. and Mrs. Criddle also called for help from their relatives and friends after they went back to U.S.A last year. And now more and more warm-hearted people gathered into the “sunshine”. Liu Cui’er, a Hong Kong doctor and many students of Nanjing University and Nanjing Foreign Language School have participated into this activity.

Li Xin, a student majoring in Business Administration at Nanjing University, drew 200 yuan from the National Scholarship she has won and contributed it to the “Sunshine Project”. Zhu Guang, from the Mathematics Department at Nanjing University, has come to the school for the third time. He and his classmate Kong Linhong helped the students set up ADSL to facilitate their surfing the Internet. The students in Class 10, Grade 2 at the Nanjing Foreign Language School has brought lots of books and 400 yuan, and also with their well prepared entertainment programs.

In the hall, every student was wearing a card printed a smiling face and a smiling face ring, which were both made by Miss Becky. She hoped the students could communicate by smiling. Beginning with smile, “Sunshine Deputies” brought out their gifts such as candies and books; their partners presented their self-made Lucky Stars and Paper Roses. When the party reached its peak, Miss Becky played snowballs with the children. The children were so happy, smile on their checks, and sunshine in the hall.

“I love children very much,” said Miss Becky with a smile, a colorful hand made necklace around her neck and several paintings and calligraphic works in her hands. Those were all gifts the disabled students made for her. Miss Beck said, “I will continue to help them till they graduate and become a person useful to the society.” She showed the photos of her family to the students Yang Hui and Lv Xiaohong and said, “I have seven grandchildren, and now I have the eighth and the ninth child. You are the members of our family.” Yang Hui and Lv Xiaohong received the photos and happily took photos with their “foreign grandmother”. Yang Hui expressed “Thank you” and “I love you” by sigh languages. Yang Hui, 20, once wanted to enter the high school but quitted because of financial problems. Now she fortunately became one of the objects of the “Sunshine Project”. She smiled and told her wish, “I want to enter the Nanjing Special Education college to major in designing.” Her dream is to become a fashion designer.

The “Sunshine Project” not only sent sunshine to the disabled students, but left sunshine in the heart of the participators. Zhou Yin, a Politics major at Nanjing University who’s kept in touch with Yang Hui for almost a year, said, “They seldom communicate with the outside world and lack confidence. I hope to spend more time with them and help to build up their confidence.” Wang Jianni, from the Nanjing Foreign Language School said, “I think this activity is meaningful. It makes you learn to help others when you live under a relatively normal condition.”

Mr. Ken also expressed his admiration to the students, “If I could not speak and listen, I would not know what I should do. But they are all so happy and active. I truly admire them.” He expected more people to participate into this project, “I’m happy to see so many students come this year. Maybe there will be more next year. It’s true that every city and every place have this kind of need and we can’t help everyone, but it’s better to help one than to do nothing.”

The “Sunshine Project” has seeded a sun in the Gaochun Special Education School, more care and help from the society are expected, as was sung by the children in the Seed A Sun, “It’s enough to seed one sun, one sun is enough; it will grow many, many suns. And every corner of the world will become warm and bright.”

LDS Church Responds to Indonesian Quake

The following article tells how the Church I belong to (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is assisting the victims of the world's most recent natural disaster, the earthquake in Indonesia last Saturday.

My church has a wonderful "welfare" system and humanitarian effort designed to help people, all over the world, who are in need. In a future article I will tell you more about this organization. There are huge storage buildings to prepare and store food, clothing, books, medical equipment, etc. that can be used by others all over the world located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Then our Church works in cooperation with other churches, governments and humanitarian organizations all over the world to ship and get the basic things to the people when needed. There are members of our church all over the world and it's the local members who really do a lot to help those in need when disasters strike ... like last year when Katrina sruck here in America, one of our Church buildings was damaged, but the others were used as a refugree center and we served meals, got people clothese, etc. before the government was into action.

Within hours after the Indonesia earthquake last Saturday, May 27, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned a local chapel (a chapel is what we call our church building where we meet to worship and learn together and also have social activities there) in Solo into a food kitchen. By Sunday night, the food kitchen was relocated to a chapel in Yogyakarta, the city that suffered most of the destruction.

The Church has responded with assistance to 177 major disasters between 1985 and 2005, including such efforts as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Africa measles vaccination campaigns in 2004 and 2005, and the Florida and Caribbean hurricane relief in 2004. Within the last 20 years, the Church has also distributed 51,480 tons of food, 7,697 tons of medical equipment, and 68,923 tons of clothing.

Church Responds to Indonesian Quake

By Abbey Olsen, Church Magazines

A 747 cargo jet full of emergency supplies is expected to arrive in Indonesia today, May 31, as part of a combined effort by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) to respond to an urgent appeal by Indonesian government officials after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia on Saturday. The quake killed more than 5,500 and left tens of thousands injured and homeless.

“Our timely reaction here is really going to save lives,” said Mokhtar Shawky, a member of the board of directors of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW).

More than eight semi-truckloads of medical supplies, hygiene kits, and other supplies from the Church's welfare and humanitarian storehouses in Salt Lake City were loaded into the cargo jet on Tuesday afternoon. The Indonesian Embassy has indicated that upon arrival, helicopters will take the items from the jet and move them to areas most in need. The Indonesian government and IRW have teams working together in Indonesia to continually assess the situation and then communicate the needs in the area.

“We're coordinating it all so that we're not duplicating what other organizations are doing,” said Garry R. Flake, director of humanitarian emergency response for the Church's Welfare Services Department. “It's a very relevant response and a very quick response.”

After the quake struck near Yogyakarta, Church leaders and members in Indonesia immediately responded by preparing and serving 2,000 meals for people in need, as well as distributing hygiene kits and purchasing and providing cots, mattresses, and blankets to an orthopedic hospital where hundreds came seeking medical attention.

The quake, which struck 230 miles from Jakarta on the island of Java, isn't the first natural disaster to bring the Church and IRW together to provide relief to victims. They also teamed up to help after the tsunami in 2004 and the earthquake in Pakistan last year.

“It's a tremendous relationship,” Mr. Shawky said. “We really appreciate what the Church is doing. We feel like we complement each other. . . . The end result is helping more people in more parts of the world. . . . Nothing compares to that.”

The IRW, under its mission to eliminate poverty and suffering, works to first provide relief and then help people rebuild their lives.

The Church's ability to respond with supplies so quickly is due to donations from Church members and Church leaders' emphasis on preparedness and reaching out to help people in need.