Help Phoebe Lim Complete Her Education

Pictured above: Charmaine, Catherine, Phoebe, Joe

In 2007, I was deeply moved by a family whose self-sacrifice and dedication to serving others left an indelible mark on my heart. Let me share the remarkable story of the Lim family.

I first met Joseph and Catherine Lim on a church missions trip to China in 2007. The Lim family operated a non-profit daycare center, focusing on the education and well-being of a disadvantaged group known as "China's left-behind children." These children, left in the care of relatives or alone for much of their lives, were the offspring of parents who had moved to larger cities to earn a living.

Witnessing the Lims' unwavering commitment, I was privileged to walk through the rice paddies and interact with these children. The experience was transformative. Seeing God’s grace manifested through a family dedicated to empowering and educating an entire generation was nothing short of extraordinary.

The Lims' journey began in August 1999 when they moved to China with their firstborn, Charmaine, who was just over two years old. In 2001, their second daughter, Phoebe, was born. Driven by their mission, the Lims launched a sponsorship program in 2004 in the rural mountainous region of Hunan Province. This program aimed to help impoverished children, known as left-behind children, complete their education and receive emotional support and unconditional love, bridging the gap left by their absent parents.

For the next fourteen years, the sponsorship program supported an average of 150 students annually. Although the Lims relocated to Hong Kong in 2008, they continued to run the program until 2018, when Chinese authorities abruptly terminated their efforts. Despite numerous challenges, including raising funds for the sponsorship program, local staff stipends, and a drop-in center in a remote county, the Lims persevered. They also had to secure funds for their own living expenses throughout their mission.

The Lims made significant personal sacrifices, selling their home in Singapore to finance their daughters' university education in the U.S. Charmaine and Phoebe, homeschooled with U.S. materials from grade school to high school, attended Messiah University in Pennsylvania. In 2019, Joseph was banned from entering China due to his work with vulnerable children, prompting the family to return to Singapore in 2021 during the pandemic. Charmaine has since graduated and begun her career in Singapore, while Phoebe is two years away from completing her nursing degree.

However, the family faces a financial shortfall. They need an additional $30,000 for Phoebe's final year of university and $7,000 for a car essential for her clinical internship at a hospital far from Messiah University.

Your support can make a tremendous difference. By contributing to the Lim family’s cause, you help continue their legacy of selfless service and ensure Phoebe can complete her education and continue her family’s mission of compassion and care.

Thank you for your generosity and for standing with the Lim family. Together, we can provide for a family that has sacrificed so much for others. As it says in James 2:17, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." God desires us to be the answer to someone's prayers, demonstrating our faith through our actions, even in small ways, can make a profound difference in God's Kingdom.