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Ranch to host ChinaAid retreat

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Albany News

Locals should not be surprised if they hear a large group of youngsters speaking a foreign language in Albany this week, because Stasney’s Cook Ranch is hosting 34 to 40 children for a week-long family retreat arranged by the Midland-based China Aid Association.

ChinaAid is an international non-profit Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China.

The visiting children, ranging in age from very young to 21 years of age, are coming to Albany from across the U.S., and are from Chinese and Korean families that have had at least one parent persecuted for religious reasons or human rights violations.

“They have suffered either because of their religion, or because they helped others who were downtrodden because of their faith or because of their support of human rights,” said Rebecca Isaacs with ChinaAid. “They will be at the Stasney Ranch to enjoy some rest and relaxation. There will be social activities, time for sharing, and Bible study.”

According to host and retired minister Jon Stasney, the local ranch is expecting a total of 87 people for the event. 

The group will arrive today, June 28, and leave on Thursday, July 5.

“The children will each be accompanied by a family member or guardian, and there will also be staff members and volunteers staying with us,” Stasney said. “The churches of Albany have really risen up, and they will provide many of the meals, while we will provide breakfast at the ranch each day.”

The group is expected to attend the Fandangle, spend time at the Old Jail Art Museum, swim at the pool and the lake, go fishing, see wildlife at the Stasney Ranch, and travel to Abilene for horseback riding and a zoo visit.

All of the children coming to the camp currently reside in the U.S.

“Some have been here for several years,” said Isaacs. “Others have been in the U.S. for less than a couple of months, and some were born here.”

Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, and author of God’s Double Agent, was born and raised in mainland China and was imprisoned for two months for “illegal evangelism” in 1996. Fu and his wife fled to America as religious refugees in 1997.

“It wasn’t that long ago that Congress actually said that refugees could not be admitted into this country because of religious persecution, because it did not occur,” said Stasney. “A Jewish man from the Washington D.C. area spoke up and not only said that religious persecution does happen, but he went to work and got the law changed.” 

The same man was instrumental in Bob Fu locating to Midland, where Stasney served as a member of the Ministerial Alliance and pastor of Christ Church Anglican. 

“Midland is a blessed place, and is really involved in supporting the persecuted church,” Stasney said. “We’ve been supporters of ChinaAid for a while, both as a church, and privately.”

Isaacs said that -ChinaAid is hoping to make the family retreat an annual event.

However, the Stasney Ranch may not be the host site the next time around.

“It is maxing us out to provide enough beds for everyone,” Stasney said. “But it is really neat to be helping these kids, especially when you think about the ranch’s legacy from Mrs. Cook, and all the help that she has provided to children.” 

Missouri Matilda Nail Cook of Albany used money produced by oil royalties on the ranch to found what is now Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, which first opened its doors to patients in 1929.