Journey to Working with ChildrenMy journey to join Hope Station began when I was about 5 years old. I remember having a dream of running an orphanage. At that point in my life, I decided I wanted to one day work with orphans. My parents were keen on teaching my siblings and I how to serve others. They took us on many trips around the world to serve children in orphanages, people living on the street, and people living in remote villages. My dad is a doctor and my mother a teacher. They have been able to serve communities in ways that are very much needed. My parents also gave us opportunities to serve in our local community. My parents taught us, that the careers we each chose to pursue should give us tools to help others. After seeing my mother interact with children with her teaching skills, I decided to become a teacher. My hope was that through teaching I would be able to touch the lives of children and maybe work with children in need one day. Journey to Working with Children with Special Needs Upon entering 3rd grade my teacher and my parents discovered I was struggling academically. I began going to a tutor after school to help me learn to read. In 6th grade, I was officially diagnosed with dyslexia. Throughout my time as a student I struggled with my dyslexia. I was able to figure out how I best studied material and learned to give myself grace if I couldn’t pull the grades I wanted. When I went to school to become a teacher, I had a desire to learn how to help children with learning disabilities. I began asking my parents, my professors, and principals I knew about pursuing a special education endorsement. It was pointed out to me, that if I went through with this endorsement I would more than likely be put in a classroom with children of a vast array of disabilities. I wouldn’t just be working with children with learning disabilities. This thought scared me and I did not know if I had the heart to work with children with other disabilities. I decided to not get the endorsement. Last year, I learned that I did have the heart for these children. A student with Autism was put in my class. Within the first 30 minutes of meeting her, I thought, “How am I going to do this!” Those early days of having her in my class were really hard and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to teach her. But within the next couple of weeks, I grew to love her. She was so loveable, once I could see her and not the behaviors that made teaching more difficult. I began trying out different behavior plans with her. She gave me feedback very quickly on what worked and what didn’t work. I did not have any training in this area, so I know that I made mistakes and that I did not do a perfect job. However, I look back now at that experience and can say I loved working with her in that capacity. Teaching has always been an area I liked, but I loved what I was able to do with this student. This experience pointed me in the direction of working with children with special needs. Once, I saw that I could do this, and that God had put these children in my heart, I knew I wanted to pursue learning to work with more children in this area. Meeting Rebekah Wilder I began taking a class in Chengdu, last fall, that focused on working with people with special needs. Through this class, I got to know Rebekah Wilder. Rebekah is a behavioral therapist from the United States. She started Hope Station three years ago. She invited me to go with her to visit an orphanage just outside Chengdu. I began going with her once a week and often twice a week. Interacting with these precious children has been a highlight in my life. Many of these children have varying needs. I have enjoyed playing with them, and watching how these interactions can bring joy into their lives as well as mine. I get to see children learn and grow, week to week. Observing and learning how to do therapy from Rebekah has been an incredible opportunity. Currently, she is helping a young girl to begin to understand the world around her and the world around her is beginning to understand her. I’m very excited to come alongside Rebekah and learn how to be one of the champions these children need, and how to enable and aid the nannies that are these children’s daily champions. My Hope for the Future As I continue to learn from Rebekah, I hope that I can help her transform the lives of many children. I also have a desire to see Chinese equipped to serve these children. My Chinese husband and several Chinese volunteers have been coming with us each week. Their interactions with the children are so fun to see and be a part of. I would love to one day see more Chinese training Chinese to serve these children and be the champions in their lives.
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Stephanie (Rommen) Li"Every child needs to be loved in gigantic quantities and with unbelievable quality." Archives
December 2018
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