Tuesday evening, August 3rd, 2010, our beloved wife, mother, and friend went home to be with the Lord. She was at home, surrounded by her family and close friends, prayer and scripture reading. Her passing was peaceful and free of pain. Over the past few days we have been constantly reminded of her passion and love for China and the work she hoped to do there.

As some of you know, over the past eight years our family has been working closely with Living Hope International (LHI), a ministry that operates orphan training centers in China. Prior to Mom's illness, our family had decided to live in China semi-permanently and work in the orphan training center in Fujian province.

Mom and Dad's heart for disadvantaged children has been evident throughout their lives. After college, they worked in a home for troubled children in Philadelphia. They also had plans to move to Africa and work in a children's home there. Instead, throughout the 80s and 90s, Mom and Dad raised and provided for their six children: Matthew, Nathanael, Bethany, Andrew, Elizabeth (adopted from China in 1993), and Anna (adopted from China in 2002).

Anna's adoption was facilitated by Living Hope Adoption Agency, which was our first contact with LHI. In 2005 Bethany, Dad and Andrew traveled throughout eastern China to visit the centers operated by LHI. Although Mom did not travel with them, she shared the same love for China and vision for working with Living Hope.

Dad and Andrew visited China again in the summer of 2007. Dad was deeply moved, so much so that he returned a few months later with Mom, Elizabeth, and Anna. It was Mom's first time at the orphan training center, but her love for the children was instant and deep. She began mentoring the staff in parenting and relating to children. Through a tough language barrier, she imparted her wisdom to them. The children had seen a lot of people come and go and did not easily form emotional attachments, but they loved Mom deeply from the moment they met her.

During the trip she started coughing (the first sign of her advanced cancer) and the children waited on her hand and foot, not allowing her to leave the office for any reason. She told us, with a laugh, that she would try to go watch the kids play badminton, only to have one of the children, Justin, mime coughing, shake his head, and take her by the arm back to the office.

The return from China was bittersweet. Mom told Dad that she understood and shared his heart for the children of China. Plans were made to return to China for long-term ministry. Six short weeks after returning home, Mom was finally diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and the plans to return to China were put on hold.

Once Mom recovered some strength, she was able to send letters to China with Andrew's help translating. The children in China were sad that our plans to be with them had to be set aside. They did not stop thinking of her over the next two years of her struggle with cancer.

In June of this year, Dad and Andrew traveled to Fujian again, and were overwhelmed by the display of love for Mom. On the final day of the visit, the staff and children put together an elaborate program, singing and dancing under the banner "For Patty." They filmed it and instructed Andrew to relay and translate it for her. At the end of the video, each of the staff and many of the children spoke directly to Mom, expressing their love and admiration.

Just a few weeks ago, she was able to watch the video and saw first-hand the love the workers and children had for her. She cried, saying how much she wanted to see them again, how much she wanted to help them. We don't understand why she wasn't able to do this, but we hope her legacy inspires others to partner with LHI in support of the mission for which she cared so deeply.

We, in cooperation with LHI, have established the Patty Yellis Memorial Fund for the Orphans of China. Mom wanted the best for the disadvantaged children of China, specifically the children in Fujian. We thank you for joining with us to honor our Mother, Wife, and dear friend.

Sincerely,

The Yellis Family