By age 7, Samuel was an expert at scouring the streets for food. With both of his parents imprisoned and his grandparents under house arrest, Samuel lived like an orphan, abandoned and alone.
But Samuel said he continued to hope in the possibility of his parents’ release from prison.
Even when he was sent to a forced labor camp, Samuel waited for the day when he would be reunited with his parents.
The couple was finally released four years later but shortly after gaining their freedom, Samuel’s father was killed and his mother suffered a mental collapse.
Feeling truly alone, Samuel saw suicide as an escape.
It was at this desperate time that he met a Christian woman who told him about Christ.
Suddenly there was a new hope, a new reason to live.
Today, Samuel inspires that same hope in 76 Chinese orphans at a World Orphans facility in Shanghai. The home, called a Training Center, houses 76 children in 10 apartments where they live with house parents.
The children attend one of the best schools in the province during the week and participate in specialized martial and performing arts courses during the weekend.
Samuel is hoping to open the center to 26 additional orphans, but due to a lack of funding, the vacancies will have to wait to be filled.
The project is available for a Western church partner that will be able to take short-term teams to work with the children at the training facility and those in the outlying community.