Copied from Random Writings

Below was taken from the blog of one of the parent's that attended this past Saturday's I Am A Hero Games.

Having a child with developmental issues is not always easy, I will admit. I don't ever want people to feel sorry for me or have pity on my daughter. We all have struggles in life, just some are bigger than others. With that said, I want to express my gratitude towards the volunteers that came and helped out at the "I Am A Hero" Games this past Saturday. Without you all there, my day would have been ok, but not wonderful.
Maybe I should explain a bit. You see, my week usually consists of hospital visits and usually more than one a week. But, other parents of special needs children go more often than that. We are always the ones to push our children to get them to the next goal, which is usually as simple as sitting or eating. Their therapist and teachers are right there beside us helping us, but we have the the burden of getting them to the goal. Our child is the one that drools, gets laughed at, grunts or makes strange noises in public. Somedays are really hard.
So, on Saturday morning I was sort of expecting to have to be Matthea's buddy. I probably thought this since I helped organize and the expectation I put on myself to help that day. Anyway, I didn't. I cheered with with the others. In fact, it was great to see everyone cheering for the "Little Heroes" participating. I took pictures and videoed just like a regular mom. I can't express all that I feel into words...probably because I process things forever. But, I wanted to say thanks on behalf of all the parents there to those who came and sacrificed a beautiful Saturday morning. You allowed each of us a chance to watch our child succeed. They finished a goal at each event and that was wonderful.
Thanks for letting me be "Just a Mom"!

On a side note, many of the volunteers were students from MCA Taichung and Bethany. You all continue to amaze me. If anyone reading this sees any of those students, please tell them you heard great things about them from me.

First Annual I am a Hero Games

Tomorrow is the BIG day for us. We will be hosting our first "I Am A Hero" Game at the Taipei Municipal University of Education's attached elementary school. There will be approximately 68 students with special needs participating in various sporting events. The events include ball throwing, ball kicking, 40 meter race and 80 meter race. The kids will also have an opportunity to play a game of soccer.

Our focus is on the families. There will be races for the siblings, as well as for the parents of children with special needs.

Also, for this day of fun, we have a balloon castle for kids to jump in, as well as the organization Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog will provide 5 dogs with their owners to come and "play" with the kids. These dogs are trained with their owner to work with people with special needs.

We still have last minute things to do today. We are praying the weather stays true to our name, Taiwan Sunshine. We need the sun tomorrow for sure. The forecast looks good, but today looks a bit cloudy. Hopefully, tomorrow the clouds will be gone!

Tomorrow, #29 Gong Yuan Road, 9am-12pm...."I Am A Hero" Games.

Taiwan Sunshine

Taiwan Sunshine was dreamed about for many months by two families: The Dilley’s and the Maurer’s. We have been so amazed at all that God has done that we thought it best to keep a blog on everything. It is to remind us of all the great accomplishments, but to also hopefully encourage others. So, this first entry has a few dates.

December 20th, 2008 – 1st donation made of 600,000NTD
January 2009 – Apartment chosen for facility use.
- Met with Vice Mayor Wu Qing Ji
- Met with Commissioner of Education, Wu Qing Shan, and discussed “I Am A Hero” games.
February 2009 – Met with the principal at the
February 18th, 2009 – 1st Founders Meeting held
- Constitution approved by the planning committee
February 20, 2009 – 5 air conditioners donated by Morrison Christian Academy