The Deep Calling the Deep

"There are moments in life when words feel too small - and this is one of them. … From the deepest part of my heart, (I want to say) ‘thank you’. You didn’t just help me organise a trip. You stood beside me in the most fragile, tender space I’ve ever stepped into. You gave me strength when I didn’t know I had any. You held space for my emotions without needing to fix them. You were there - quietly, lovingly, without condition. And that presence changed everything.

Seeing my host family again shattered me in the most beautiful way. It was like looking into a mirror that reflected not just faces, but years - lifetimes - of longing, absence, and hope. I still don’t know how to explain what it felt like to see them again. I still don’t know how to explain what it felt like to see them again. To be held by them. To see myself in them. I never thought I’d have that moment. And because of you, I did. Because of you, I had the courage to face it….”

… my gratitude for you doesn’t begin or end with this one trip. It runs far, far deeper. Thank you.”

- Bastien

The above excerpt is from a letter I received from 22-year-old Bastien, after he visited Qinghai and Hong Kong in May 2025. When he was a baby and arrived at Xining Children’s Home — he was fragile, yet quietly strong. We named him Qing Shan and placed him with his foster parents, who lavished their love on him. In 2007, Bastien was adopted by the Patrick and Veronique, who raised him in Belgium and nurtured him into the remarkable person he is today.

I am incredibly proud of Bastien and the way he embraces his heritage, carrying the essence of both East and West with pride. For me, Marlon and my colleagues, it has been an honour to be included during these deeply personal moments of searching. Just as Bastien expressed, it has been a journey of finding a reflection in someone’s face, a rhythm in the language, a memory in the landscape that gently whispers: “Welcome home.”

Just as God has done with Bastien, I pray that He blesses you, that He keeps you, and that He makes His face shine upon you.

Siew Mei

Matthew 25:40 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Young Qing Shan (Bastien)
at Xining Children’s Home.