Su Lingyun

August, 2009 Su Lingyun is Accepted into College You can see Lingyun's short scholarship movie at this page. She needs a $500 college scholarship. You can give at this link. Su Lingyun Wants to Study Chinese in College Lingyun was rated second by our scholarship process. I noticed Lingyun's picture the first year we started Blessing Hands because she showed the victory sign in her photo. She is still optimistic even though her mother died last year. She and her younger sister and brother miss her very much. Her sister is 15 and her brother is 17. With three students in the family, her 46 year old father has a hard time supporting the family alone on the 600 yuan ($88US) per person yearly income they get from their crops. Her scholarship essay is featured below. Betty Cutts Blessing Hands Su Lingyun Asks for Your Help Major - Chinese My name is Su Lingyun, and I am from Qinzhou No.1 Middle School. I have been a Blessing Hands student for three years. Thanks Blessing Hands and all kind Americans who have helped us very much. Thank you. What you have given to me is not just money, but love. The love, which is across the Pacific Ocean from America, makes me feel warm. I believe that the love can be spread widely by us. I will try my best to do good things to others. Now, I am a senior 3 student. The national college entrance examination is around the corner. I have been working hard to prepare for the national college entrance examination, and I believe that I will be admitted by a key university, but I worry about my fee. I don't have enough money to pay for my expense of a university. I live in a small village and my family is poor but happy. We love each other very much. My father is a simple farmer. My mother left us forever last year. My younger brother and my younger sister are both studying in middle school. My Father can't afford enough money to support the family, though he works day and night, so I hope that some of you can help me come over the big difficulty. If you can help me, I will get close to my dream. Anyway, thanks to all the kind people. Thank you, Su Lingyun GIve any amount with Google Checkout National Score: 533 You can contact us at this e-mail Or Send mail to Blessing Hands 106 Timber Lane Morehead, KY 40351 Join Our Mailing List!

She Has Hoped for This All Her LIfe

"Let us spread love in every corner of the world." 8/27/09

Lin Jiafeng Meet Lin Jiafeng. She was rated a perfect 10 by our scholarship committee. She is from a quiet rural village in the QInzhou area of Guangxi Province in China. She only has her 85 year old father left. and sadly he is losing his eyesight. All the illness in her family has made her want to be a nurse. She has been accepted by Gangxi Baise You Medical College. Her national college score is 465. I will let her speak for herself. My name is Lin Jiafeng. I am a third grade student at Zhang Huang High school. I am a girl who comes from a low-income, single-parent family. My mother was very ill in my childhood. In order to cure her sickness, my father was trying to borrow money from everywhere and searching for famous doctors. However, my mother's condition did not improve, but it was getting worse and worse. She passed away when I was four years old, leaving my father and me. Since then, my dad and I have been bound by the destiny. We depend on each other when alone and helpless. Not only does my father rush for our daily bread, but also for the demands for restitution of the medical expense, which he owes for healing the illness of my mother. However, our economical predicament is increasing day by day as my father is working as a farmer, who has poor crops without any other income. As I grew up, my father is getting older and weaker, and he is not able to work as hard as before. Therefore, our life has become more and more difficult. What is worse, sometimes we cannot afford to support our one week of living expense, not to mention a large amount of college tuition. I am really grateful to Blessings Hands that backed me up silently when I was most in need of help. During my second and third year of high school, Blessing Hands released my father from being anxious for my tuition. Moreover, because of Blessing Hands' help, I could devote all my efforts to my studying without any interruption at that time. It is because of Blessing Hands that I am able to get back my self-confidence during my school years. "Let us spread love in every corner of the world." It is Blessing Hands who helped me most when I was in the second and third years of high school. I am unable to express with words how much my gratitude is to Blessing Hands that gives me the support in material and spiritual ways. I am pondering in my heart: Blessing Hands, I would like to bless you always. I want "you" to pass on, and the blessing will be sent continually. After one year repeating, I am admitted to college currently. Although my school achievement is not ideal, I will not give up for pursuing a better future. Constantly, I would like to strive for getting into a better university, studying a good major, and becoming a college student who possesses high cultural accomplishments and moral virtue. I want to not only make a positive contribution for my country and society, but also contribute what I can afford to pass on to Blessing Hands. At present, my family's financial condition is not good and the harvest of this year is poor. In addition, my father is old and sick and needs prescription medicine often, so we are unable to make ends meet. Now, my family can't support me to go to the college. Between going to school and quitting it, I am totally bewildered and hesitant. Sincerely, I hope Blessing Hands could help me again in order to come to pass my dream of studying college. Thanks, Blessing Hands. Sincerely, Lin Jiafeng June 23, 2009 Movie of Lin Jiafeng You can see Jiafeng for yourself and see why we think she is so outstanding among our scholarship applicants. Please help Lin Jiafeng be a nurse. All she needs is $500 for her tuition for a whole year. You will be changing her life and the lives of all those she helps in the future. Be a dream catcher and "Spread Love to every corner of the world" with her. Click here to Give a $500 Scholarship to Lin Jiafeng If you want to give toward part of her scholarship just let us know or click on the button to give $100. Checks can be sent to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane Morehead, KY. 40351 USA Sincerely, Betty Cutts Blessing Hands 219 232 8887

5 K Run for Families

Blessing Hands Newsletter

Announcing 5 K Run for Families Saturday, September 26, 2009 Registration 7:30 am Morehead, Kentucky Blessing Hands & Morehead Habitat for Humanity Team Together for Families Ezra Dike, executive director of Morehead Habitat for Humanity, has agreed with Blessing Hands to sponsor a 5 K Run for Families and Fun Walk. Together we hope to raise money for our charities, which help families help themselves. Money raised will be divided equally. Habitat makes affordable homes possible for Morehead area families by using volunteers, low interest loans, and sweat equity by home owners. Blessing Hands gives educational aid to help students in our Sister City, Yangshuo, China, rise above their rural roots and help their families improve their futures. "Changing Family Stories Around the World" Preregister Forms at Coffee Tree Books and US Bank Starting Point Moonlight Stage on First Street by Rowan County Library Awards and categories will be divided by age and gender into classes for Runners and walkers + a Grand Prize for the fastest time overall. Door prizes will be drawn for merchant donated items at the Awards Ceremony around 9:30 am Runner Ages: 18 and under, 19 to 25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, 56-65, 66 + Fun Walkers: Men and women categories with no age limits Fund Raising Teams: 10 person teams are encouraged to raise money before the race by getting their friends and neighbors to pledge contributions. Entry Fees Students - $5, Adults - $10 Children 12 and under free ($10 T-Shirts Extra) People Raising $35 in Donations Get a Free T-Shirt The Person and Team Raising the Most Money Will Get Special Recognition. Volunteer by calling 606 784-8408 or email: moreheadhabitat@yahoo.com Sponsors Platinum Level Sponsors: Holbrook Drugs, Whitaker Bank, St. Claire Medical Center, Good Shepherd Printing, Sustainable Morehead, Hamilton, Inc, Commercial Signs, Emerson, Inc. Freedom Radio FM 91.7, Dr. James Daniell Gold Level Sponsors: US Bank, China Café, All Seasons Florist, Wholesale Auto Parts, Creations by Jacquelyn, Silver Level Sponsors: Sloan Market Fund Raising Teams 10 person teams are encouraged to collect pre-race donations. Any team that raises $500 or more will receive special recognition. Greeks, school and youth groups, family, and business teams are welcomed. Print out the team fund raising form to fill out and mail or bring the day of the run. Entry Forms/Fliers and Preregistration: US Bank, 122 E. Main St., Morehead, KY, 40351 and Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop, 240 Morehead Plaza, Morehead, KY, 40351 Benefits: Your generosity will help families have new homes in the Morehead Area and educate students in our Sister City of Yangshuo, China. If you can come to Morehead on September 26th, run or walk for our Blessing Hands Kids and their Families. Sincerely, Betty Cutts Blessing Hands

The 5 K Run for Families is the same weekend as the Cave Run Story Telling Festival. Come to the "Run for Families" in the morning and enjoy the festival the rest of the day. Walkers are welcomed. Children under 12 are free. Bring you whole family and enjoy the fun walk. Quick Links Mapquest Map to the Moonlight Stage Blessing Hands Web Page Morehead Habitat for Humanity Directions: Turn North from US 60 at Trumbo Ave / Bridge Street near the Rowan County Library. You can see the outdoor stage from the East 60 By Pass also called W. Wilkerson Blvd. Public Parking: Near Rowan County Public Library and Morehead Conference Center Want to Volunteer? Contact Ezra Dike or Mary Berglee Moreheadhabitat@yahoo.com 606-784-8408 Contact Information: Ezra Dike MoreheadHabitat@yahoo.com 606 784 8408 Betty Cutts BlessingHands@gmail.com 606 784 4785

Wonderful Chinese Trip

Fabulous China Trip Newsletter: August, 2009

Blessings Overflowed in Yangshuo and Qinzhou, China Our team is back from China and ready to report about a great trip.

Gifts Received by Mayor Zhou, Subprefect Zhu, Friends, Teachers and Students Before going to China, Doris Wells collected many McDonalds' learning DVDs and also basketballs and other items donated by Pikeville College and Morehead State University. She had a great time giving them away to teachers and students, especially her student, Zhuge Dehai, who loves basketball. Abbie Oney brought Beanie Babies, and MSU Pubic Radio sent over a hundred music CDs of Americana Crossroads. We gave them to government officials, scholarship students, visiting scholars, and other friends of Blessing Hands.They especially like country music in China. The lovely new subprefect mayor of Yangshuo, Zhu Juanping, enjoyed looking at the scrapbook that Carolyn Franzini sent from Sister Cities. I invited her to visit Morehead, Yangshuo's Sister City. She is studying English and interested in coming to the USA. Meals with our Scholarship Students It is time for college sponsors to give for the fall 2009. We set up four scholarship meals in Guilin, Yangshuo, Nanning, and Qinzhou. I love getting to see our present scholarship students, especially now that they know more English. We had a great time together sharing volunteer activities and college progress. We made movies of them thanking their sponsors. You can see some of the movies and photos at the addresses below. Guilin Dinner Yangshuo Dinner Lunch in Qinzhou James, Joy, Sunday, Alice, Sally, Bamboo, and Hua are shown having fun at our meals. It is time for sponsors to renew their scholarships for the fall. We hope that you all support your special students again. We ask them to keep a 75 grade point average and do three hours of volunteer work a semester. We want them to be blessing Hands. It is Scholarship Sponsorship Time Again The scholarship committee is selecting the first students to feature online and in our newsletter for $500 scholarships. We interviewed 9 students in Yangshuo and 12 in Qinzhou. If it was up to me I would give them all scholarships, but really it is up to you, our sponsors. Listening to their stories of hope and need, I cried along them when the pressure of nerves, grades, and family bore down on them during the interviews. They have worked so hard to get into college. Some are on their second try, having repeated their senior year to try to get a better national score and so qualify for their dream, key college. You can see their photos and some videos at these two addresses. We will feature their essays and videos in future e-mails. Yangshuo Students Needing Scholarships Qinzhou Students Applying for Scholarships GIve $500 for a College Scholarship with PayPal Give $500 by Google Checkout Blessing Hands on Video Our China trip was well documented this visit. Abbie Oney took a lot of videos of students and schools. One of our own college students, Bamboo Chen, took videos to make a movie, and YSTV in Yangshuo sent Yang Yonyguan with us for a day to record Blessing Hands' activities for the Yangshuo evening news. Malan Cai (in red) was our faithful volunteer interpreter for the time we spent in Yangshuo. The camera followed us to Yangdi Middle School where we gave gifts from Crossroads Charity in Hong Kong, We were also able to see the students sponsored by special sponsors, who sent gifts for their children. We even visited the Mo home where I again met Grandmother Mo, who is raising her two orphaned grandchildren,Her devotion to her grandchildren had touched me three years ago, inspiring me to help. Thanks for all your support for our kids. We hope you will send in your support for the fall semester for your special child now or select a student to sponsor for college. Checks can be sent to the address below. The Lexington Chinese Christian Church Vacation Bible School raised $200 toward our food fund for lower middle school students. The kids were great and got Blessing Hands postcards for their efforts. Thanks to all of you, Blessing Hands Betty Cutts 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY, 40351, USA

Off to China Through Hong Kong

Hong Kong Visit to Crossroads July 2009 Crossroads Gives Blessing Hands Items We are in Hong Kong picking up items from Crossroads Charity for the schools in China. Crossroads collects new and used items from Hong Kong businesses and gives them to other nonprofits all over the world. Volunteers from many nations stay there to assist in packing containers, gathering supplies and managing the charity. In the first picture, you can see Doris Wells and Charissa Gafoor, the volunteer local staff member of Crossroads, with the donated suitcases we are using to carry items into China. I sure do appreciate Charissa's dedicated work that makes items available for nonprofits. I have a letter from the the Education Department of Yangshuo that will explain Blessing Hand's good standing with them and help us get our extra items through even if we do have to pay overweight fees. We have gotten new children's English language books with CDs, five small regular computers, musical instruments, microphones, and even one set of ping pong paddles and balls. We especially appreciated the computer department. We still have to put operating systems on the computers, and they need monitors since they could not go in our suitcases. Maybe someone would like to donate money to buy monitors in China. Donate by Google Checkout Eddy Wu A Friend of Blessing Hands Three years ago I had the blessing of sitting beside Eddie Wu during an airplane trip into China. When he found out what we were doing for Chinese children, he was eager to help. When I come into Hong Kong he is always gracious to do anything to help us. Without his help we never would have found our way to Crossroads or gotten our suitcases back to our hotel. Here we are packing the suitcases into Eddy car. He also took us to famous local temples and lunch. He supports two of our Yangshuo students and is sponsoring the digging of a well at one of the primary schools. He is also full of Chinese history and knowledge. He has recruited some of his friends to help the students as well. I hope he will come to Yangshuo with us someday. Abby Oney is Our Photographer Abby is a college student who loves taking pictures. Most of the pictures in our newsletter this time are hers, so she not in many of the pictures. Her family supports two Blessing Hands college students that she is eager to meet. She is also interested in biology and was thrilled with the bugs at the museum shop encased in plastic. I tell her she is on an assignment like a National Geographic photographer. She snapped over 300 pictures just the first day. You can see more of her pictures at this link. She found folded peace cranes in a shop window and managed to make them fly into the clouds. If you wish you were here. Sincerely, Betty Cutts Blessing Hands

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