BRIGHT Children International is holding our second annual fundraiser. The time on the Hornblower last year was so enjoyable, we decided to do it again.  This time for a champagne brunch cruise.  The menu is extensive and will have plenty to offer including:

• Chef's Bakery Basket--fresh baked breads, pastires, croissants and muffins
• Seasonal Fruit display
• Salads--Asiago Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons, Asparagus Salad with Queso Fresco and Lemon Vinaigrette, and Couscous with Mandarin Oranges and Ming
• Breakfast--Frehnch Toast Valencia with Vermont Maple Syrup, whipped cream and fresh berries, Farm Fresh Scrambled Eggs with Pepper Confit, Chef's assorted quiches, Smoked Bacon and Breakfast Sausage, and Home Fried Potatoes with Peppers and Onions
• Roasted Turkey with Cranberry Aioli, Ham with Country Mustards, and Hot Vegetarian Pasta
• Desserts--Banana Bread Pudding with Carmel Sauce, Assorted Premium Cakes, pies, and petit fours.

The cruise will travel on the Sacramento River through the Sacramento area departing from Historic Old Sacramento.  The cruise will last for two hours while enjoying the brunch offerings and a glass of champagne.  There will be a cash bar for additional beverages.  In addition, there will be a silent auction with items including jewelry, gift baskets, wine, a Miche bag, Tastefully Simple, Arbonne products, a sterling silver tea set, and much more.

The fundraiser is to raise funds to cover the expenses to send two Music Therapists to Beijing, China August 17-26 in partnership with All God's Children International.  The BRIGHT team will join a team of others to serve children with special needs in orphanages.  The goal of the therapists is to provide interactive music interventions to encourage skill building, provide training to the care providers on how to incorporate music to assist in development of skills, and to spend time assisting in the orphanges.  Two of the orphanages are Harmony House (http:harmonyoutreach.org/default.aspx) and New Day Foster Home (http:www.newdaycreations.com/foster). There is a possibility of also visiting a governement run facility as well.  BRIGHT will be donating instruments to the facilities that the orphanage staff can utilize in the implementation of training provided.  The two Music Therapists are excited to work with the children and provide training and spending a great deal of time at the orphanage during their stay.  The desire is to show the children that they are valued, loved by God, and with support, training, and finding a forever family they will thrive.

It is estimated that there are at least 50,000 children living in orphanages in China.  Many of these children have minor, correctable special needs.  Due to their special needs, they are left alone.  All God's Children International's focus is to provide care and life saving surgeries and a safe place to children with special needs.  An important part of improving the lives of children with special needs is to provide effective training to the care providers and methods to implement to assist the children to develop to their potential.  All God's Children partners with therapists to provide this training on their trips.  In addition, All God's Children International has implemented a program to supply appropriate nutrition to government orphanages that cannot afford proper formula for its children and also assists needy families who are attempting to raise their children by making home improvements and providing needed food and household items.  BRIGHT is priveledged to partner with AGCI for the second time and be a part of life changing efforts.

The total cost of the trip including fundrasising expenses, travel, accomodations, and training is $8,900.00  To date BRIGHT has raised $3,800 through donations and scholarships obtained.  We are grateful for the donations that have been received and are trusting that the necessary funds are raised and that the trip will be a great success.  How can you help?

• Prayerfully support the team members and the ministry as they prepare to travel.
• Attend the fundraiser on May 19, 2012 from 11-1.
• Donate silent auction items for the fundraiser.
• Provide a monetary donation via paypal or mail.

We appreciate your support in any way that you can.  We will be sure to share our progress and the experiences during the trip and beyond.  We are searching for the next area to serve in 2013, so if you know of any orphanages or organizations that could benefit from what BRIGHT has to offer, please feel free to contact us at any time at bessie@brightchildreninternational.org.  Thank you.

Day Three- Discovering Haiti

Sunday morning greeted us with the same rooster that had woken me up each morning since our arrival. I asked our host 'mom' if we could have rooster for dinner, but this was apparently not heeded. We got dressed and joined the children at the orphanage for their Sunday morning service. They had already begun by the time we arrived. It was such an awesome experience to see them praying fervently, singing beautifully, and preaching powerfully.
The younger children performed a song, then the older boys, followed by the older girls. Check it out... so awesome...




We also sang a few songs in English so as to contribute to the service. Two team members shared their testimonies while Dan translated. Monica shared how God has healed her, and Kristin shared how God has moved her and called her to a life much larger than her own.

After service, we quickly hopped into our caged truck for an hour + ride up the mountain side with the Baptist Mission being our destination for souvenir shopping and lunch. However, when we reached the top, the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. Since virtually everything in Haiti happens outdoors, everything was closed. We turned around and traveled the hour back down the mountain with the cold and wet rain pouring in through the sides of the truck. We reminisced about the trip and chatted freely with one another until we reached a part of Port-Au-Prince we had not before seen.
The affects of the earthquake were everywhere. The palace was still sitting broken. Adults and children were running through the streets looking for a dry place to stay. Tents were set up everywhere- 600,000 people are still living like this because they have no home.



(Tent pictures taken by Julie Davis)

I spent the afternoon talking with Katia and learning about some of the children's stories... so heartbreaking. Kerby's mom dumped him in the toilet when he was 2 days old. Junior's dad is dead and his mom is mentally unstable. Children have seen their parents murdered and beheaded. This is the world they live in.
We were able to see the children one last time Sunday evening. They had a small presentation for us, where they sang good-bye to each team member in Creole. We bought them all ice cream- some of them had never had ice cream. Here is Jhonley's first experience with ice cream :)


What could be a better image with which to leave you?

Day Two- Extending a Hand

Dan, the President of Faith Mission International and one of our team members, had been made aware of a specific orphanage in Port-Au-Prince. We spent the morning visiting with them and learning about their predicament.
The man who ran the orphanage was a pastor, and he had accumulated 30 children before the earthquake in 2010. The earthquake destroyed their facilities, so they were living out of tents and buildings provided by US AID. The tents slept 6 to 7 children each, and they had one main building for eating, schooling, worshiping... everything.
The irony of all of this was their location. A wealthy relative was allowing the pastor to keep the orphans on his property... in the back yard. The house was large, even for American standards. I wouldn't be surprised if it had 10 bedrooms. The man lives in the US so the house is usually unoccupied. Unfortunately, this man has now decided that he no longer wants the orphans on his property and has told them they must leave ASAP. This pastor doesn't know what to do; they have no where to go.
Righteous anger fills me when I think about the large, empty house that could be sheltering children who have lost so much, but instead they are asked to leave the back yard.



We brought the kids sandwiches and juice, as we didn't know how much they had and wanted to bless them. We sang songs for them like "This is the Day" and "Hallelujah/Praise Ye the Lord." They also sang for us, but I can't tell you the names of those songs! We then took some instruments and passed them out and played with them. They followed directions for loud and soft, but were having so much fun they really didn't want to play slowly!
It was great to be able to be a part of building trust between the American mission teams and the Haitian people. Music is so powerful!

We went back to Gift of God orphanage after lunch and Jonas had brought his guitar! I was able to play and sing "Lean on Me" and the children sang along as they have been learning this song. We also sang "This Little Light of Mine" and simply did worship with drums and shakers. Eventually, we put the instruments away and one sweet little girl just had so much music in her so continued to drum on the bench. I don't think 5 year olds have rhythm like this in America...



Later that evening, I was told the story of Smith and Katia, the couple who housed us and run the orphanage. They were young when they met, fell in love, and got married. Katia was the only Christian in her family, so she was shunned. She never felt loved until God gave her Smith.
Smith and Katia have one son, who goes to school in Tampa, FL. Katia shared with me that she has had 6 miscarriages, but then she said "But God gave me 50 babies!" referring to the orphans. What an amazing woman.
Smith and Katia were kidnapped and held for ransom at one point. Their abductors believed they had connections to American money. When Smith and Katia were thrown into their holding cell, Katia's heart stopped. They pulled her back out and took her to the hospital. Smith didn't know if she was dead or alive. Assuming he was going to die, Smith spent his time witnessing to his captors; one of whom accepted Christ, and the other whom was killed shortly after. Meanwhile, Katia is at the hospital, and a friend that happened to be a nurse working their smuggled her out and helped her escape. Somehow Smith's family paid the ransom for his freedom, and the two were reunited.
Stuff like this only happens in movies, right? How can two people I know that love the Lord and serve him daily deal with this? How blessed are we that we don't often experience horrors like this.

August 26th, Meeting the Children

Despite the hurricane weather, the Haiti team made it into the country safe and on time with the exception of two members from Nashville who flew in Friday morning. We organized our donations and instruments, and slept well Thursday night.
Everyone was excited on Friday morning to pile into the back of a caged truck and drive the short three blocks from the mission house to the orphanage. When we pulled into the yard, 50 children began yelling, screaming, and running towards the vehicle in which we were caged. They were so excited that the team had arrived. They hugged each member as we climbed out of the truck. After passing out name tags and trying out our French Creole, we set to work on various stations for the kids. Myself and Monica, of course, did music, while other team members did sports, crafts, English, bird house building, etc. Monica and I had discussed and agreed that we wanted to see the teenagers first, so we met the 13-15 year olds. Dan, one of the leaders, agreed that this would be most beneficial for them.
Let me tell you, giving Haitians rhythm instruments is like giving a fish water. They needed no direction or guidance. We didn't have to say anything in Creole or English. They just went to 'play.'

The adult was our translator, Jonas. He was also a musician. We played together for a while, allowing the music to be our conversation. We did improvisation with drums and other rhythm instruments just to get to know each other. We were able to drum our names, favorite foods, favorite colors, and favorite animals. The teenagers were very focused and were able to follow physical cues from the therapists.
We implemented a musical game that allowed each child to talk about their feelings. A ball was tossed around to music, and when the music stopped, the child with the ball removed a piece of tape from the ball. This tape had a feeling on it. We talked about what made them feel that way (happy, sad, proud, shy, thankful, etc) and then played that feeling with the instruments. At one point, we all went around the circle and said what we were thankful for. One boy said he was thankful when other people send him money to take care of him (he has a sponsor). One girl said she was thankful for nothing... it broke my heart.
The second group we got was the 8 to 12 year olds. They were loud, energetic, rambunctious... It was fun. It was much less focused, but it was so enjoyable. They were able to cooperate musically with one another in their playing, and they followed musical directions. They did a lot of exploring and turn taking. I enjoyed playing with them immensely.



What a morning! What a joy these children bring to the lives of those attempting to share joy with them. We left for lunch and we were then blessed with an amazing opportunity to visit the land that was just purchased a few days before by Global Orphan Hope to build a new orphanage. They are taking three construction teams down in the next three months, and hope to have everything up and running by June of 2012. Both Mike and Sue, the leaders of this project, have children with special needs, so they have a heart and a desire to care for the children of Haiti with special needs. What a blessing to be able to meet them!


We returned to Gift of God Orphanage and spent the afternoon with free interactions. Monica did one-on-one singing and I (Amy) played with the kids, drew with sidewalk chalk, interacted with an English lesson, and loved on children. Monica showed the children photos of her family, and by the end of the day, most children had one. Monica, Wade, and their two children are on the bedroom walls of a Haitian Orphanage.

We parted around 5pm, as that is when visiting hours end at the orphanage, and went back to the mission house for dinner and a time of reflection. God is so good!

BRIGHT is heading to Haiti!!

As many of you know, we had advertised that we were planning a trip to Beijing, China in September of 2011.  The trip was going to be partnered with All God's Children International and would have been a two week long trip.  As volunteers, it is difficult to commit to that much time off from a paid position.  It was difficult to find individuals to participate.  In addtion, the cost per individual plus airfare was more than we could do.  I contacted my contact at All God's Children and asked what other options were available that were a shorter.  This is when she shared the opportunity to go to Haiti.  We opted to take the opportunity.

All God's Children will be taking a team of 12 individuals, including three from BRIGHT Children.  The team from BRIGHT includes two Music Therapists and another member who will be assisting with construction and serving where necessary with the orphanage and orphans.  The Music Therapists will be providing interactive Music Therapy groups for all the children in the orphanage on two different days.  In addition, they will present a training for the orphanage staff on how to incorporate musical interventions into daily activities for the children.  BRIGHT will also assist in construction for new Hannah's Hope to prepare for more children to be served.  We will also be donating instruments that the orphanage staff can utilized based on the training provided.

The FMI Orphanage has 49 children, 19 girls and 30 boys, ranging in age from 4 to18.  Most children are between the ages of 6 and 12.  75% of the children at the orphanage were orphaned as a result of the tragedies from the earthquake.  The children are facing very different needs from our last trip.  While we don't have full details of the specific needs, we anticipate serious issues of loss, trauma, and malnourishment prior to arrival at the orphanage.  We have heard that there are some individuals with Autism and developmental delays.

The trip will be August 25 through 29.  BRIGHT will be a part of a group of 12 who will meet in Miami and fly to Port-au-Prince.  The All God's Children individuals will be helping clean, prepare meals, teach English, play sports, and do crafts and activities with the children.

We need to raise funds to cover the expenses to send three team members and leave instruments in Haiti. To fully cover the expenses of this trip, we need to raise at least $6,000.00.  Please consider making a donation.  We have just received our designation letter and are now officially a 501(c)3 organization.  If you opt to make a donation, check with your employers regarding matching gifts.  We have a chip-in on this blog and a paypal button on our website at www.brightchildreninternational.org.  Another way you can contribute to BRIGHT and have fun in the process is to attend our Family Fun Fair on July 23.  Details to come very soon.

Here is a 60 Minutes segment on Haiti:  The Lost Children of Haiti

Orphanage “Nezabravka” and Samaritan's Women's Shelter

March 21 was a full day of work and fun.

Our day began with a morning visit to Orphanage "Nezabravka"in Stara Zagora.  We met with the orphanage director and she shared some of the things that her children do and are involved in.  This is an orphanage that is more involved in the community and offer many more things to their children.  This is also a facility for children ages 4 to 7.  This orphanage is working with some biological parents to provide education and training to properly raise their children and regain custody.  We asked how many children had special needs and the director identified one child with Autism, who found out later was lucky to still be there at this facility at the age of 10.  The director said that they used to have a child with hydrocephalus but they sent it away with a shooing type motion with her hand.  As we observed there some other children with hearing impairments and vision impairments.  While the children did not display special needs in the way of genetic disorders or developmental disabilities, these children do have special needs.  They have experienced loss, separation, the must share attention with many other children, they do not have a father or mother, they have experienced abuse, and much more.  The needs are deeper and not defined. In addition, the director stated that these children would, however, only be adopted internationally.  When asked why, she said that many of these children were children of Gypsies and they had darker skin and were not accepted by society.  This just made me cringe especially as these children are healthy and children who are only being prevented a family because of the color of their skin.  I would have loved to have tucked these children into my bags and taken them home and shown them the love they deserve.

During our morning visit, we did music with the four and five year olds, and the one child with Autism, who were not yet attending school.  We provided many interactive activities where the children learned some new activities, were able to play with the instruments that we had brought, and interact with us.  We provided the children to be children and play, dance, play instruments, and sing.  They had a blast!  The language was not the barrier that it was when working in the Women's Shelter.  The children made attempts to sing along with us even with the English songs.  Their favorite was "Matilda the Gorilla", much as it is here with children of the same age.  We were allowed to take pictures but were asked to limit the face shots of children.

                                                      Matilda the Gorilla with motions

Matilda the Gorilla with motions

After our group with these children, we went and met with the directors and psychologist of Samaritan's Women's Shelter.  They were curious on what Music Therapy was and how it could be utilized with women and children at the shelter.  This was the day before our visit to the actual shelter.  We shared some ideas on how Music Therapy techniques could be incorporated into the therapy that they provided. The staff was very excited about what we brought to the table and wanted to arrange a training with their foster care program.  Unfortunately, this trip did not lend itself to this as the time was too short.  The director pleaded with us to organize another trip and to spend more time and provide training in the future to their staff and find ways to get Music Therapy regularly for those in both the women's shelter and the foster care program.

After a brief lunch, and locating another string for the guitar we were borrowing, we returned to Orphanage “Nezabravka” for a visit with the six and seven year olds.  We were greeted by the children with a little performance.  A few children sang a song while the national music teacher played accompaniment.  A few girls provided a dance that showcased some of the gymnastics they had learned, and a girl played a duet on a national instrument that resembled a violin but with approximately twelve strings. We, again, did a variety of singing, movement, and instrument playing activities.  The children had a blast and enjoyed participating in our activities as much as entertaining us with their familiar activities.  The children in this group especially enjoyed the gathering drum.  One could see the personalities of the children displayed in the way each played the drum, whether quiet and reserved, playful, or assertive and strong fisted playing.

                                                                  Good old action shot.
The bows and costumes seen here were from the mini performance that we received from the children.

Since my birthday was this day, I had learned that Bulgarian's celebrate birthdays a little bit differently.  The birthday individual shares gifts or sweets with those he/she comes in contact with during the day.  We decided to share in this culture with the children in the afternoon.  We brought a box a chocolates and shared them with the children.  Each child greeted me with a saying that wished me health and happiness as I gave them a chocolate.  This was obviously a special treat as the chocolates disappeared quickly in hopes that maybe there would be a second piece.  The orphanage director then presented me with a present that was pieces of artwork that the children had painted and typically sold at a craft fair.  The pieces included a hand-made card, a painted bowl and jar, and a hand-blown egg that had also been painted.  These are treasures that I will hold dear forever.  It reminds me of these faces that so desire a family of their own.