Treasure and Appreciation of Christmas time

This month at Project Eden has been filled with exciting activities as well as some local outings. As you may know, Andrew, Julie and Tyler Colquhoun have moved back to Australia, but before they left we had a wonderful visit with them. After lunch, the girls spent the afternoon playing games and singing songs with their “little brother” Tyler. We love that our girls have a relationship with the founders of Captivating and that they are learning not only who but how they are being provided an education.

A large part of what the staff tries to impart to the girls is the idea of not only receiving but also learning how to give back. A way that we have seen this impartation grow is through their diligence at school. The girls desire to be the best students that they can be, whether that means waking early to study, seeking a more advanced friend to help them or simply by being an attentive, active participant in class. We believe that the girls realize that this is not an opportunity to be taken for granted and are not allowing it to go to waste. One thing that the Project Eden staff has been impressed with this year is the girl’s ability to take care of their home with little reminding necessary, as well as being proactive in finding solutions to little problems that arise. We are seeing these young women blossom into women who can problem solve, make decisions and begin the journey to independent living. We are very thankful to have others come alongside the staff in making our girls feel loved.

A few weeks ago, our students and staff were invited to a lovely event hosted by the generous Sofitel Dongguan Royal Lagoon Hotel. Joining two other local charities, our students were given Christmas presents and were treated to a delicious lunch buffet. We are very grateful for the hearts of those who desire to give back and make the holidays special for our students and our staff.

Mid December certainly started to look a lot like Christmas around here, as the girls enjoyed decorating the house and for most of them decorating their very first Christmas tree. A dear friend who lives nearby offered for us to come and bake cookies in her home.  The girls spent the afternoon learning how to bake some delicious shortbread cookies. Many of them commented that they love learning to make Western food and also enjoy learning about a different culture. We love having opportunities exposing the girls to these different activities.

We were also very blessed to have a team from the store in Dongguan, Treasures of Hope, visit with us. Treasures of Hope helps to sponsor Project Eden by selling overstock from factories in their store. The proceeds go directly to four local charities and we are honored to have been selected as one of them. The generous staff from Treasures of Hope have hearts that desire to help our students to reach their full potential, as well as make them feel special. Each girl received a Christmas present and we enjoyed sipping hot cocoa and eating some treats together. Christmas morning was very special, as we ate a traditional American breakfast cooked by the staff and took turns around the tree opening our gifts.

Our hearts are truly overflowing with gratefulness to the people who help to make an ordinary day, a special day. As much as the girls have been given this time of year they often tell us that they are truly most appreciative of the love that they feel around them.