Dates: July 21-31, 2016
Leader: Toni Benton
Location: Guangdong
Cost: $4,000-$4,500

Storyteller mission teams serve in orphanages that partner with America World Adoption Agency. Our purpose is simply to be the hands and feet of Jesus, as we love, care for, and help meet the needs of an orphanage full of babies and children. Your week might be spent in a wide variety of ways: from holding and feeding babies for hours on end, to playing with the toddlers, to participating in or leading fun exercise and game times, to creating arts and crafts. You might even get the opportunity to participate in field trips, which allow the older children to leave the orphanage and experience life outside of the walls of the only place they know as home. You will also have the opportunity to meet children whose files are at AWAA, and who need people to tell their stories and advocate for their adoption.

As a team, we will raise funds so that we can provide for some of the tangible needs of the orphanage, like diapers and formula.

Many of the children that we work with are considered special needs, and they will touch your heart and change your life. There are also many older boys and young men living in these orphanages who need strong male role models. If you are a male and feel the urgency to go on a trip to China please know that your visitation to these young men can have a profound impact on their futures. Will you consider joining us?

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About China
China is a country whose culture dates back to the earliest records known to man. At first glance, some of China's beliefs may seem quite different than those we hold in the western world. One example of this is the cultural preference for a male child. There are several reasons why Chinese families might prefer a boy over a girl. In rural provinces, a family's livelihood depends directly on the output of its family members. Because of this, a family with sons would be at a considerable advantage over one with daughters. Historically, it is also the son's honored responsibility to take care of his parents in their old age. A daughter, however, would be expected to care for her husband's parents rather than her own. In this regard, the Chinese believe that having a son is crucial to their livelihood, as well as a form of social security for the parents when they grow older. Although China has done much to change these belief systems in recent years, many families, especially in rural areas, still strongly favor the birth of a male child. This situation is further complicated by China's One-Child Policy, which prohibits families from having more than one child. As a result of this policy, there are potentially thousands of abandoned children throughout China.