R U I N E D

This is a post, RUINED, from our group leader, Shannon, that I just had to share. Tears spilled from my eyes as I found myself laughing and knodding at the truths she writes. Nothing can be more true, but nothing can be more rewarding than what we have done. But there is still more to be done. There are still children waiting.

I traveled with a team of 13. And together we are all feel ruined.

I hope that YOU will search your heart and will be in prayer over if the Lord wants to ruin YOU too. For Him. For His children.

You are not too old.

You are not too poor.

You are not too busy.

Well maybe you are, and if that is the case, then you have a problem.

We can all do SOMETHING. We can be their voice. We CAN change their world.

HOME

HOME.

It’s a beautiful word.

You know the saying, “Home is where the heart is”?

Well, I find myself struggling with that.

My heart is in China, and yet, I am home. I’ve been home for a little over a day now. Haven’t I? Or was I home for those two weeks that I was in China? Hmm… it’s puzzling.

But for now, I have been home in TN for a full day. And it does feel good, even though I do miss China dearly.

It’s the little things that makes life worth with, and so much easier. For instance…

Not feeling like you’re going to die everytime you hop in the car. Or taking a shower in your bathroom. Or brushing your teeth from the tap. Or texting your best friend whenever you want. Or being able to talk to your parents. Watching movies in a comfortable bed. Seeing trees! Going to church. Understanding what everyone is saying in a large crowd. Not feeling like the odd one out. Or being able to hear your sisters giggle and laugh until they can’t breathe anymore.

Yes, after 36 hours of traveling, I’m grateful to be in Tennessee. I’m grateful to be home. I’m grateful to be with my family.

I got home around 10 am yesterday, and wasn’t tired. But I took a shower and sat down to catch up on my tv shows, and soon discovered that I was. I slept all afternoon until about 8pm. I got up, and was sad. I had a head ache, and was feeling a bit miserable. But also feeling almost depressed. Tears filled my eyes as I realized my trip was really over. I wasn’t in China. I wouldn’t wake up to horn honking, and bitty baby faces. I thought to myself, “What would I be doing? This summer will be so boring.” I mean, it’ll be busy… but nothing seemed important at that moment. How could anything be more important than those precious children waiting in an orphanage across the world? I felt useless, because I was not there. Suddenly the rest of my summer seemed pointless. It as weird.

After my little emotional episode, I was able to skype with our foreign exchange student (who is from Shanghai)! She is very sweet, and I am excited to have her living with us. And then I watched a movie with my momma and fell fast asleep. For about 7 hours. My mission for today was to stay away all day long. So far, I’ve been successful. But I’m so tired right now. I could die. BLECK.

Let the record show, that I hate jet lag. It’s the only down side to going to China. :/

Oh well, hopefully I’ll beat it soon.

But yes, my team and I have all made it back safely to our homes. We are all sad to have left China, and left one another. I miss my team. No matter how different we may be… we all had a special bond. We all were at the same orphanage, had the same experience, we are all Team Chenzhou 2011. They were all great people, and I’m sad to leave them. But we are home, we are with family and friends. My team will forever have a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait until our paths cross again.

Okay, I need to stop now. I’ve been droning on and on now, and I’m really sorry. I’m tired, and don’t know when to stop. Haha.

But just so you know, I’ve made it home, safe and sound. :)

Just Chillin in Beijing

(Here is my blog from our days in Beijing)

Well, it Rains in Asia.

I hope some of you got the song reference. Charlie…. I know you did :)

As we landed in Beijing the first night, we were greeted with drips of rain falling from the sky.

It’s funny, because we soon realized that Beijing did not really seem like China anymore. I mean, it was of course, its just so westernized compared to the rural area of Chenzhou that we’d been in, that we felt like we were home.

As soon as we got off the plane, I heard people who could speak English. At the baggage claim, no one pushed and shoved to get to their luggage. Elyssa and I turned around when we got our bags, and Starbucks greeted us on the other side. The bathrooms were CLEAN. They didn’t smell bad. They were western toilets, not the squatty potties, AND they even had toilet paper! It was a nice change of pace.

After we had checked into our hotel that night, we quickly left for the mall to find a pizza hut. YES, pizza. The only thing was, it started raining pretty hard. What’d I tell you? It rains in Asia.

The sidewalks in China are funny… they’re not the type of pavement that we have here… they’re slippery when they get wet. And we all had flip flops on…

Plus, half of our group forgot umbrellas at home, so we all were sharing them. Shannon, Elyssa, and I all squeezed under my tiny little thing. It was very windy, and halfway through our walk, it completely flipped inside out, just like in the movies, we’re all screaming, and slipping around, grabbing each other for support…even though we know the person next to us will slip as well. Haha! I’m sure we were quite the sight.

But hey, it was worth it for pizza hut. The warm taste of pizza. Mmmm, it was good. :)

The next day we met in the lobby and drove to Shepard’s Field. It’s about an hour away. It took us a little bit longer though, because our bus driver was confused as to where we were actually going. HA. We finally got there though, and we were immediately amazed by how great the facility was. It was like a little city…

We brought our donations into the main building, and unloaded them all. I was actually surprised because we had so much stuff to give them. It filled the long table they had laid out. The two people who greeted us told our team that with all of the donations we gave, we basically gave a child a surgery… all because they saved that much money on buying every day supplies. I thought that was amazing.

We came at an hour where the kids were all sleeping, so we had time to kill before they woke up. We were brought into the gift shop to look around and see what they had. They had some really cool things that I really enjoyed. All of the profits made from merchandise went towards the kids at this foster home, so I was really excited about that.

We were happy to see some other Americans there… they were there to help out for a few weeks. What’s cool to me is that they actually were able to stay at the Foster Home in a “hotel” above one of the houses, and hung out with one another while the kids slept. They worked hard trying to get sponsors for the kids, as well as advocating for their adoptions.

We ate lunch, then sat down with a few of the people who work there to find out all about what they do there, and what Shepard’s Field is all about. Basically what they do at Shepard’s Field is this: take kids from orphanages from all over China who would not receive the care they need. All of the kids at this Foster Home have some sort of disability, and receive the proper care they need. Many orphanages ask them to take the kids, so they will get attention/receive surgeries they cannot fund for. It really is an amazing organization.

We took a look through all the buildings they have. They have a lunchroom, school area, crafts area, a garden, huge playground, 4 houses, and they’re in the process of building a therapy building. They teach the of all ages English… partly to make their transition easier if they’re adopted, and if not adopted, it’s a life skill that could get them far. They also work hard to train the kids who will not be adopted in some skill that they enjoy so they may be able to make a life for themselves some way or another. They want these kids to have a life… not just locked up in the foster home for their whole life.

We then were able to split up into four groups to each go to a house to visit with the kids. The ratio of nanny to kids in this foster home is 1:2, they said. And it was apparent to us this was probably true. Most of the kids were in school when we visited, but there was plenty of help. In the house we were in, 3 kids, 4 nannies, and 4 of us. It’s a very rare thing to say… but there weren’t enough kids to go around! Ha. At points I felt almost useless… all the kids had their own little partner (or two… or three).

I think Shepard’s Field is one of those places you almost have to go for a few days to actually be able to help. The kids are all disabled, so it was hard to know what you could and couldn’t do with them—we needed to know their story and we needed people to show us how to care properly for them, but we just didn’t have enough time. So for that reason, I felt useless too.

So, at that point I was able to go look around the wall of tiles. They have a fundraiser where you can pay money to have a tile put up on their wall, and you can write whatever you want with your name. Well, when we were waiting for Miyah, we made a tile for her… and I was able to find it and take a picture of it for her:)

After that, our visit came to a close. Where I did feel useless at points, I was very glad we came. It was a great experience, to see the good these people are doing. They have an amazing foster home, and the only better place these kids could be would be with a forever family. They are in such great care here.

On our last day, Lori pointed something out. There is a huge contrast between the kids at Shepard’s Field, and the Chenzhou SWI. The babies were more active, and talking more at Shepard’s Field… where at Chenzhou, most kids did not babble, most could not stand on their own let alone walk.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Chenzhou is a bad place. They do care for the kids, and they do the best they can, with what they’re given. It’s just that they don’t have as much help, and they don’t have as much time to care for each kid individually. What the people at Shepard’s Field are doing… is just amazing.

We left thankful we were able to visit.

That night we were all pretty tired and ready to go to bed. I don’t remember what we really did… except for the fact that I was exhausted.

The next day we woke up bright and early to climb the Great Wall. We drove out there for about 1 ½ hours. Elyssa and I soon discovered that we had come back to the same place we went last year. And it wasn’t any easier this year, haha. We were all so tired, feeling pretty sick by the time we made it to the top. But I must say, out of the 13 people in our group, 10 of us made it to the top:) Along the way I was documenting how steep the climb us, and there were Chinese people who kept up the same pace as us, and soon realized I was taking pictures. Everytime I turned around to take one, this one guy would throw up his peace signs and smile. Ohhh the Chinese…

Shannon told me I should get a punch card for frequent visits… my 4^th time up to the top, I think I should get in free, don’t you? Maybe next year… ;)

At the top we were greeted by a nice Chinese man who was selling tiles saying you made it to the top with the date and name engraved in it. I had one already from Mei Lin’s adoption trip, so I didn’t get one. But I think everyone else did. As he handed them their tile he said in a very enthusiastic voice, “You deserve it!” haha. He was very funny.

At the bottom, we got our group picture, and Elyssa and I got our annual picture in front of the wall which we got last year… only this time without Charlie :(

After the Great Wall, we went to the Jade Factory for lunch. No one really wanted anything from there… so it was kind of a waste of time. But, oh well.

We then rushed back to the hotel to change quickly and run back to the Silk Market. By the time we got there, we only had 1 ½ hours to shop before we had to leave. Elyssa and I were on a mission… and we dashed through the place getting the best deals we could on the items we wanted. Many people told us we were really hard bargainers. Once, I had just closed a deal with a girl and the chick in the store next to us looked at me and said, “ohh you are very smart, and drive a hard bargain.” Haha, why thank you :) I was sad to hear that most of the people in our group didn’t like the silk market… apparently it was too stressful to get the deal they wanted. I don’t know why, but I kind of got an adrenalin rush everytime it came down to “what’s the price”? haha.

After our shopping, we went to the Flying Acrobat Show. I was really impressed… I mean, the things these people could do was insane. Their flexibility, their strength, their balance. Amazing. I would recommend to anyone who is going to china to try and go to the acrobat show… it just seems so much cooler when you’re actually in China, I think.

That night we didn’t get back until late, and we ran to McDonalds for dinner. Of course. The next day we had to leave, so we still had to pack all of our stuff up, because we had to check out of the hotel pretty early the next day, before we went sightseeing. I was up late that night.

The next day we woke up and got ready, ate breakfast, checked out, and went to the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city. WE somehow managed to make it through both of them in 1 ½ hours. Which, I can’t complain. It was my 3^rd time being there… I wasn’t too thrilled to have to go again. I mean, it’s cool and all… but it’s one of those places that you go, get your picture, and you probably never really want to do it again. But that’s okay. It was still fun going with our group.

We came back, changed our clothes, and threw the souvenirs we’d bought at the Forbidden City into our suitcases and we were ready to go to the airport. But not without a cake and celebrating Elyssa’s 15^th birthday first! :) We got a cake and celebrated for a little bit. It was really nice.

On the way to the airport, we had devotions time. We sang for a little bit, and went around and shared what the most amazing part of our trip was. It was great to hear how everyone felt, and how each of us has grown emotionally and spiritually.

I’ll tell you, if this trip was nothing else, it was emotional.

And if this trip was nothing else, it was faith building.

I realized that this trip was all about faith and love. Faith to raise the funds, faith to trust in the Lord. Faith when we had a rough start to our trip—that everything would turn out fine. Love—for these kids. I found myself so many times as I held a baby, or laughed with a kid, how much I loved them. I genuinely loved each and every kid, and their spirits. And as I prayed over their lives, and as I sang and dance with them, I realized that the Savior of my life, my Father, loves me so much more than I love these kids. Not only does He love ME, but He loves each and every one of those kids… with a Love that is far to extraordinary for me to fully comprehend. He loves us. No matter if we know Him, or if we don’t. No matter if love Him back or not. No matter what we’ve done, no matter how undeserving we think we may be. HE LOVES US. Every single one of us… and that became so apparent to me on this trip.

Another thing that struck me was this: you can build relationships with people halfway across the world. I was amazed to see how happy the orphanage was to see Elyssa and I come back, and to see how that by the end of the week the nannies were comfortable with us, and how the director wanted to take us all shopping, and even pleasure shopping as well. It was incredible. We really need to keep that relationship up with them… I think if we do, amazing things will happen for that orphanage.

I also think I found that I would love to live in china. I would love to work in a foster home, or in an orphanage and help in anyway I can. The kids need help. Many won’t give them the proper care they need… and if no one steps up to the plate… they won’t get it. So why should I expect someone else to? If not me, then who? I think my eyes were opened on this trip to see that.

By the time we had all finished going around and prayed, the much dreaded ride hour or so ride to the airport was over. It was weird to grab all of our luggage and check in for our flights. The lady at the desk asked me, “Your bags go all the way to San Francisco?” I felt weird.

Should I really be leaving China?

Was our trip really over already?

I just didn’t seem right. It felt like we had only arrived there yesterday. To be honest, I wasn’t homesick yet. I was content with where I was. I felt like I was at home. Even in Chenzhou, where everything was so different.

Why was I leaving???

I dreaded going through security and onto our gate, where I knew I would be on a flight for so long. Where I knew I’d be traveling for an even longer time. It would take me 4 flights, and many layovers to get home. EW.

The flights were actually not that bad. The long flight wasn’t full, so Elyssa and I had an empty seat in between us, which we took turns laying down and sleeping. I slept for 6-7 hours on that flight, which was a miracle.

All of our flights were great though. Fairly bumpy, though. But nothing we can’t live without. I could’ve lived without the problems Elyssa had with her flights, and the problems Delta gave us trying to figure them out… but that’s okay. Everything worked out just fine, and I am home safely.

One of my connections landed in Cincinnati, and when Elyssa and I got off, we immediately looked for food. The one thing we had been saying we were looking forward to was Chick-fil-a, but realized we were going to miss the breakfast time by the time we reached home. BUT WE FOUND ONE THERE. It was the happiest moment of the day. I couldn’t believe it… it was sent from heaven, I’m sure of it. ;)

Anyways, Elyssa and I parted there… and it was just weird. I sat at my next gate waiting, by myself. It took me all of 30 minutes to realize that I really truly missed her. Already. Haha. She was such a great travel partner, eating buddy, and roommate. I’m so happy I was able to share this experience with her this year.

And I suppose that’s the close of my China trip, I guess. It’s sad… but true.

Until next year…. ;)

Last Day at Chenzhou SWI

Nine days now since we've been here! It seems like its been weeks since I left home, and yet these past few days at the Chenzhou orphanage have gone by so quickly--too quickly.

Sunday night we had a great devotion time. We spent a lot of time talking about the orphanage and such, too. All of those kids have blessed and touched each and every one of our lives. As we prayed, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. I knew that saying goodbye the next day was going to be hard--a second time, a second year.

Am I crazy? I put myself through this last year, and I wanted to do it... AGAIN?

I mean, I started this whole journey this year saying "Call Me Crazy" (blog post). I guess I am. Its worth it to see these kids. The joy that they have, and the joy that they bring others is just amazing.

Elyssa was tired and fell asleep before devotions, and I let her sleep. When I got back to the room I slipped into bed. I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing the faces of the kids. Those who are fortunate enough to be adopted, but mostly those who were not. Those who have the possibility of being stuck at this orphanage for life.

This one girl in particular. She's 13. The cut off age in China for children to be adopted is 14 (on their 14th birthday they become ineligible for adoption). THIS IS HER LAST YEAR TO BE ADOPTED, or she'll be here forever. She's such a sweetheart. I've seen her help out with the babies, playing and caring for them, but she's also a kid at heart. She plays along with the others, and enjoyed the activities we laid before her. She has the most infectious smile and laugh. Her favorite color is yellow, and she says she wants to be adopted. She wants a home, and she NEEDS a home. The only thing "wrong" with her is that she has cerebral palsey (sp?) In her left hand. She has learned to work around it, though. I often times forget about it when I watch her play. There is no reason why this girl should not have a home by now. I can only pray that she will find a home that loves and cares for her.

As I laid in bed, I cried. I knew the next day at the orphanage was our last. Maybe my last forever. While I hope that I will be able to return, I don't know what the Lord has in store for me. Maybe it is to return to this SWI, but maybe another in a different province.

I don't know. I can't really explain what I was feeling. I was happy I got to do this again. Don't get me wrong, its such a blessing to be here. I just wish I was able to stay for so much longer. Like, a full week. Maybe even two.

Or my whole life, maybe?

I know I said this last year. But, the food is great. The beds get easier. I don't mind walking everywhere (it works off all the food we eat!), and I could learn the language.

*sigh* I guess all good things must come to an end.

I soon fell asleep, thank God. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday morning (Monday) Elyssa and I were so tired that we decided to skip breakfast and sleep in a little. I'm glad I did--I hardly eat breakfast at home anyways. And we've been eating huge meals every day, that I wasn't even hungry.

We were sent straight to the baby room when we got to the orphanage. I found one of the babies whose being adopted, Austin, and played with him all morning. I've already told his parents--but he loves playing with the balls we brought, and has quite the arm. I see a possible future in football or baseball for this boy ;) he's very happy, and reminds me of a little teddy bear. I really enjoyed playing with him.
Austin and Me

The time came for us to leave, and we all said goodbye. Many of us have grown attached to our own baby at this orphanage, so it was hard. Tears streamed down faces.

Lori had a child, about 2 or 3 years old, who became attached to her. She had quite the attitude, and wanted nothing to do with anyone. Lori somehow broke through to her, and every time she left this week, this girl would cry. She did not want to leave Lori (you can read about her at Lori's blog at http://fiveofmyown.blogspot.com--she refers to her as Mu Shu Pork, haha!). That was hard for both of them, I think.
Lori w/her Mu Shu


Saying goodbye. Its never easy, and it doesn't get easier as time passes. Unfortunately.

For lunch not too many were hungry, so instead of eating our large Chinese lunches, we ran to KFC. Of course. I've never eaten this much fast food in one week. Eww.

Elyssa and I ran over to the market to find some candies and juice. We were able to successfully shop without being yelled at by the chocolate lady. Though, when I walked down the aisle with the Dove chocolate, she ran over and acted like she was checking prices. I just don't understand.

At the hotel I tried to pack a little bit. Somehow when I packed, my checked suitcase filled up really quickly. I did take most of my clothes out of my carry on... But still. That thing was huge and FULL of donations. I don't get how I fit everything I had in there into my carry ons on the way here.

For the afternoon at the orphanage we thought it'd be nice to throw a little party. So we bought the kids a cake and brought it over.

As we walked over that day Elyssa looks over at me and says, "well, this is our last walk to the orphanage." *tear*

When we got there, we were told to go upstairs. When I walked down the hall, the older kids were all standing by the door peeking out. When I looked in the door, there was my little boy sweeping.

I wondered as we were walking whether or not he'd be there. I figured he would be at school because he normally is. I hoped he would be, but I almost hoped he wouldn't, because I knew it'd be hard to see his face and have to say goodbye. Especially after last year when he started crying.

But there he was. The crazy girl came and took my hand and ran around... Crazy as she always is ;)

We brought them downstairs and sat them down. We opened the cake and the look on their faces was great. We put a candle in the cake. This candle was really cool--it was a flower, and when you lit it, it opened up and blossomed and sang! I was more amazed than the kids, I think. Haha.

We served cake and juice, and they devoured it. Frosting was all over faces :)

The oldest girl (13) and my boy, Will, were able to have some before they left for school. But soon after eating they had to leave. I grabbed him and gave him a huge hug and got one last picture with him. Tears filled my eyes, but I kept myself from actually crying.

After cleaning up the cake we brought all of our dress up items out. Costumes, hair clips, headbands with colored hair attached, necklaces, tutus, glasses, and dragon tails. They all just loved it. It was funny to see the kids who tried to get one of everything on their body. The crazy girl was one of those, of course. I just love her so much. She has so much personality, its great.

After dressing up we put on some music and had a little parade/dance in the room. I held hands with Miss Crazy and a sweet little girl with down syndrome. We danced and played all around. Crazy kept bending backwards relying on me to keep her from falling--I don't know how that girl does it. She's so flexible. The other girl was just smiling away, jumping up and down. :)

To calm them down, we took out little scratch-off ornaments. The kids had a lot of fun with them. It was cool to see how artistic a lot of them are. Miss Crazy drew some lovely flowers. She came up to me and held it up like she wanted a picture, so I took one. Then she handed them to me. I asked if they were for me, and she nodded yes.

I cried.

She's such a sweet girl, and for her to give them to me, it just made me so happy.

I gave her a BIG hug and told her thank you. She thought the hug was so funny. She just laughed and laughed. After that she would keep coming up to me and giving me hugs. And I realized, I don't think I've ever given her an actual hug--and obviously our team hasn't either for her to think it was so funny (I mean, its not like we've ever been able to get her still long enough to give a hug;)). That girl is nothing but fun. Always laughing and smiling. I don't think I've ever seen her upset--and when she is, its only over small things.



Oh, can I also say that the girl that I mentioned a few days ago (the one with the muscle disorder) was smiling today--the biggest smile I've seen all week. Members from our team all spent a little time with her today, and she was so happy to be dressed up and marching around. It really touched my heart.

I left a little early to go find some babies who are being adopted. Their new parents wanted some updates on how they were doing. I played with a few of them, and then the rest of the team came up. They said they had said their goodbyes and took a group picture. I was kind of sad I missed it. But I had left my bag downstairs, so I ran down to get it.

I was pleased to see all the kids were still down there. I went around and gave each of them kisses on the cheek. When I got to Miss Crazy, she wrapped her arm around me and laughed.

I'm going to miss her so much.

I said goodbye and blew more kisses and left. The elevator ride up seemed so long. I don't know why, but goodbyes seem so much worse when you're by yourself.

None of us expected to be back in the baby room again. We had already said our goodbyes, but I think most were happy to have more time. Though Lori says, "oh I don't wanna do this again. I already ripped this bandaid off once... Now I'll have to do it again."

Back in the baby room I played and fed miss Lyla. I've already emailed her parents, but she's also a very happy baby. She just loves being played with. She's ticklish and loves playing airplane. And she's a very small girl, but as cute as can be.

Time came to say our real goodbyes. In the elevator all we could hear was sniffles.

We had a meeting with the director and presidents of the orphanage. They told us how grateful they were that we came and helped out. And they said they hoped we would come again someday. They presented us with gifts. Each of us got a map of Chenzhou and a beautiful piece of embroidery, case and stand to go with it. It was very pretty.

As we left the oldest girl (13) was walking back from school. I ran up to her and gave her a big hug. As we walked on, I looked back to see her smiling face once more and prayed that if I ever came back, she would not be here because she had found a family.

We went out to dinner with the directors and a few of the nannies. They took us to the same place as last year. I sat down, and it felt so different. Last year Will and the older girl came with us, and they sat on either side of me. I remember as each new food came around they got excited and asked me to get it for them. And I wasn't so great at chopsticks, and I wasn't able to get it for them fast enough. Haha. I was like their mother for a night, and I hardly ate anything.
I got to eat my food last night, but it wasn't exciting. I would have rather gone hungry and had those kids with me again, than to eat a nice meal. But that's okay.

The dinner was very nice. Shannon was bold enough to pray and we had Fun (our guide) translate. The food was great. With the help of Fun, we were able to ask questions and talk with the directors. I really did enjoy myself. Even with the lack of kids.

Lori and Shannon were curious about our trip compared to last year. I'd say it was about the same. Though we did not get to spend as much time with the older kids, it was worth it. All the hard work and stress to get here was so worth it. If I had only gotten to see them for a day, it would have been worth it. I was just happy to be back.

We also thought that we built more of a relationship with the orphanage and the workers. I think the fact that a team from VO cared enough to come back and love on them and the kids, really made a difference. I hope a team comes back next year so we do keep up that relationship. Because really, by the end, I felt like they were my friends. I love them all so very much.

I think we had a lot of people saying they would come back again if they could. Maybe a Chenzhou team in 2012 will be filled with many from this year's team. I would hope so. How amazing would that be? I hope I can come back again.

Shannon said that if she were to come back again, she would want someone on the team who could speak the language. Fun was wonderful, but sometimes it was still hard. And we all felt bad because we would just bombard her with questions. I told her I really am going to work on learning Mandarin this year. I know I said it last year, but this time I mean it. Hah. I'm going to do it.

She also said that next year she'll suggest spending more time there. It felt like we were just beginning to know the kids and build their trust, and we had to leave. The director said it would be fine, and that we could stay as long as we wanted if we were to come back. We may just take her up on that offer ;)

We had to say goodbye, but not before pictures. The director was sweet and pulled me close to her in the picture. We gave hugs and said bye. I think it was hardest for me to say goodbye to the head nanny. She was my favorite last year (and still is), and she's just so sweet. You can really tell she loves the children with all her heart and she cares for us as well.

We walked away, and it was just a weird feeling, knowing we would not wake up to go see the kids tomorrow morning.

We got back and I was so tired. It was a draining day--physically and emotionally. I packed up the rest of my stuff, wrote some updates on babies to send to their waiting parents, and went to bed.

I am now sitting on the bus driving to Changsha. About 3 hours ago I looked out the window and watched the view of Chenzhou leave my window. Its just a weird feeling. It can't be described. The kids just leave such a great mark on your life, and you wish you could take them all home. Or stay forever.

Oh well.

Today we drive to Changsha, and then we fly to Beijing. Tomorrow we'll be spending the day at Shepard's Field playing with the kids and such. And then the next day will be sightseeing/shopping.

I probably won't blog tonight, because nothing too interesting will be happening.

Though, the last time I said that, our group leader's purse got stolen. So hopefully, that statement will be true this time. Haha.

Thank you all for your prayers. I believe they helped us all. For the most part we composed our tears yesterday. Even though I was sad to leave, I felt a peace that the Lord is looking over that orphanage, and has great plans for those kids.

For the Adoptive Families

Hey guys! Today has been a long and draining day. I'm just going to post some descriptions of the two children whose parents have contacted me about tonight. Tomorrow I'll write something on the way to Changsha (we have to take the 5 hour bus drive back), but right now I'm so tired I just need to go to bed.

To the Culp family:
Your daughter is a sweetie! Unfortunately, I did not get to spend much time with her today. I'm so sorry. I had hoped I'd be able to get to know her all morning, but she was not in the baby playroom. I looked up and down the hallway for her, but some of the doors were locked. I think she might have been sleeping.
I left playing with the big kids early this afternoon to find her. She was in their sleeping room and kind of upset. I picked her up and brought her in to play, but it looked like she was teething and so she just wanted to be held. But she is so adorable and sweet! She loves being held. She mostly likes it when you're standing, bopping up and down. She's pretty calm and quiet and loves to observe others. I was so glad I got to hold her and love on her and tell her that her family was coming for her:). She's adorable and you'll be so blessed when she's finally yours!

To the Grummons:
Austin is just so funny. He's so happy and loves attention. I'm going to tell you now--bring a ball! He loves throwing them, and has quite the arm! I spent my morning with him, and that's mostly all he and I did... And he never got tired of it. He can roll over on his stomach from his back, and vice versa. Like I said before, he can stand up, but with someone/something giving him a little bit of support. With his left hand, he can grab smaller things, but prefers his right over the left. We have a few nurses on our team, and they said that the issue with his hand can be corrected with physical therapy. He's such a funny little boy. The only time I saw him get fussy was when food came, and he didn't get it fast enough, haha! You're going to have a lot of fun with him :) I will send you my pictures of him when I get home... But Shannon took a few which may appear on flikr soon. Just keep checking!

*This is from Megan's mom: Cheryl, I noticed your comment just as I was posting this update. I'm so sorry I didn't get your question to Megan before her day was over with the kids. I will forward you comment and maybe she'll be able to give you some information. I'm hoping someone there was able to gather some information for you. I'm an adoptive mom, too, and know how priceless any bit of info is while you're waiting. Email me and I'll see if I can gather any information from the team and get back to you: ckonyn @ gmail.com (remove spaces). I think I saw two or three little ones w/IVs on that first day, which one is yours? If you send me the photo #, I will send Meg her picture and she can ask the team about her. But maybe Shannon has already done that for you?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Day Seven - Chenzhou Orphanage

"Give me Your eyes for just one second, give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing, give me Your love for humanity. Give me Your arms for the broken hearted...give me Your heart for the ones forgotten..." (Brandon Heath)

That has been my prayer through this trip, and today it kept ringing in my head as I played with a girl who seems to always be forgotten...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's funny because I've gotten to the point where I sit down on this bed to blog, and it's not so hard anymore. I'm actually kind of used to it, and don't mind it so much, even though it literally feels like a board.
I asked Elisa if she liked the firm beds and she said, "Yes. I can't sleep on them if they're too soft." Haha.

Today we brought all of our donations over--all the activities we had for the older kids, and all the donations we had such as clothes, shoes, socks, blankets, formula and cleft lip bottles. The orphanage was very grateful.

Today we were able to play with the older kids. We had about 2 1/2 suitcases full of activities, so we went at it.

First we started with playdough just to get them going on something while we unpacked.

You know how there's always that one kid who's left out? Well that seems to happen a lot with this one girl. I mentioned yesterday that the nannies in one room didn't even know her name. I'm not sure how old she is, but she seems older, possibly the oldest. She has some sort of muscle problem... She spends most of her time hunched over, almost folded in two, unless someone is talking to her. I think it takes a lot for her to sit up and use her arms, as well. Well, this girl was sitting at the table, all the kids around her making things and going crazy, and she just did nothing. She just sits there. So I quickly grabbed a thing of playdough and took it out for her. She loved squishing it in her hands and moving it back and forth between them. I sat with her and rubbed her back while she played.

I spent most of my time with this girl today. My eyes swelled with tears as I watched her play, and seem pretty happy. I know that when we leave her, the children will not pay any attention to her. I know the nannies do love each and every child, but with everything they have on their hands, and all the crazy older kids they have to take care of, I know she will be left in the backround again. And she will, only because she does not fuss. My heart breaks for her... She really needs a family who is able to give her one-one-one care. But I think she is too old to be adopted... So sadly, she will be in the SWI her whole life. My heart is heavy for this girl, as I know she needs the Love we have. I tried to spend my time with her today, letting her know I care. Letting her know people do care for her, and she IS of worth. She is God's creation... She shouldn't have to live like this.

I was happy to see that even when I was needed, and got up from my chair, others from our team were able to sit down and love on her. I hope she realizes the love we do have for her.

Eventually the time came for picture frames. Tammy had already pre-made them, but we let the kids decorate them with stickers and such. I sat with the girl and unpeeled foam stickers for her to put on her frame.

While some were doing that, others were getting their face painted. The kids loved getting their face painted... Some of the kids even painted a few of our team's faces as well ;) the girl I was sitting with lit up when Mackenna came and painted a flower on her face. :)

We brought everyone outside for bubbles and chalk. They loved doing that, too. The older girl made a little hopscotch square (or whatever you call it) and played hopscotch with the little kids.

After that we brought out noise makers, whistles, glasses, and balloons and had a parade with the kids. We sang songs and marched around the outside area of the orphanage.

As I was watching the kids running around playing today, tears began to form in my eyes (again! I know, I know... I'm such an emotional child). But here I see how happy these kids are. All we had out were bubbles, chalk, and jump ropes--things that most kids in the States have everyday--and they were so excited! The simplest things entertained them. I mean, even thinking back to the first day when we brought out our table cloth and all the kids went "oooo!" in excitement. They're so easily entertained. To see the joy in their eyes as they played with things most kids take for granted, it just got to me. It changes your whole perspective on how you view things. It's really amazing.

Back inside we brought the kids in to color on some bandannas to wear. I traced the girl's hand (the one with the muscle disorder-wish I knew her name) and then let her color on her bandanna by herself for a bit. Christy also brought shirts for us, and we traced a few of the kids' hand prints on the front. It was a very cute idea.

While that was going on kids were also getting balloon animals and flowers and such. Shawn and katie were our wonderful balloon creators.

Elyssa and I were looking at pictures they had hanging on the wall. In one of them, they had the tutus on that I made them last year. It made me happy to see that they got more use out of them then just the time we played with them. :)

It's funny how when we came in, the kids were all so calm and sitting in their chairs. But by the end of the day, they were running around like crazy, "attacking" people and showing off to us. Those poor nannies probably want to kill us. :P

We sat them down around the table again and we sang a few songs with them. Then in return they sang for us as well. It was good, and it calmed them down a little bit before we had to leave.

We came back to the hotel and had an hour break before lunch. I just sat around, charged a few electronics, and downloaded my pictures to my computer.

The assistant director picked us up for lunch and shopping. On our way over there, I witnessed my first accident in China. Out of my 3 previous trips, a total of almost 2 months all together, all the honking, all the times we've almost been run over, all the times I've seen the vehicle I was in just barely get by the one next to it, I have never seen any accidents. Until now. I was shocked, and yet not at all surprised. And the funny thing is, it wasn't even that bad of a "crash". The two front end of the cars were barely touching each other. It was just something interesting to note.

We went to McDonalds, and I must say... It was delicious. ;) Elyssa, Mackenna, and I treated ourselves to a McFlurry. It tasted like home--even though I never eat McDonalds at home. Haha. Our waiter at McDonalds was so cute--she was so bubbly, and always giggling. When we wouldn't understand each other she'd become very embarrassed and giggle. I asked if I could get my picture with her, and she got embarrassed. She later came back and took pictures of our whole table. She was really fun.

The directors met us and took us out shopping. First we stopped at an embroidery shop. They're known for their embroidery in Chenzhou, apparently. The pieces in there were just beautiful. It looked amazing, and hard to make.
Next stop was a pearl/jade/jewelry store. There weren't too many people in our group that interested in buying anything today. Most of the stuff we looked at will be cheaper in Beijing at the Silk market.

We then went to the store where we would buy our donation for the orphanage. The team couldn't really do much. We sat around talking to one another. I got the chance to talk to Lori some, and she's a funny lady. She's got such a great sense of humor and always has stories to tell. Its funny as the week goes on how I keep sitting next to different team members, and I get to know each of them better, and figure out their personalities. They're just all so great :)

Because there wasn't much for us to be doing, the majority of us went back to the hotel or shopping. Elyssa and I went back to our room. I blogged some, and Elyssa...well, she said she was going to blog but she's messing around figuring out her iPhoto, tagging people in pictures. She's terrible at procrastinating ;)

We went to dinner at the dumpling place tonight. In China, for such a large group of people as us, usually they have separate rooms for us to go into. Some only have one table, some have two. This restaurant had two. Halfway through our meal we had a very over zealous man come to the other table and was happy to test out his English on us. Such as, "HELLO! How are you?!" And "cheers!" And to Carmen and Mackenna, "very beautiful girls!" Haha. He was a little drunk.

When we left the restaurant it was starting to sprinkle... I just got out of the shower and its POURING rain again. Thunder and lightning, too. But I don't mind. It kind of drowns out some of the honking we hear from the street (we're on the 14th floor, and STILL hear constant honking. All through the night. Ha!).

We're about to go to do devotions, and then I'll be heading to bed.

Tomorrow is our last day at the orphanage. :( Please pray for us all, as it will be a very emotional day. We have all fallen in love with the kids (Elyssa and I have fallen in love with them, AGAIN), and it will be hard to say our goodbyes.

I think we are planning to have a party with the older kids. We're getting balloons, streamers, music, and a CAKE. Hopefully that'll be a lot of fun and not so much chaos. Haha.

Please keep us in your prayers! Thanks guys:)

Some Answers

Okay, I know a lot of you have been asking questions, so I'm taking the time now during our break to answer them. I hope this helps a little bit.

To the Culps:
(There's a little more info on the nannies in the next post below, as well) Shannon says that Penelope does seem to have a little bit of a lazy eye. I haven't had much time to play with her yet, so I'm not sure if she's making much noise. I'll be sure to find her tomorrow and make any observations I can about her. :)

To the Grummons family:
Your baby boy is just like a little teddy bear:) he's very chubby and a happy little boy. I think Lori and Shannon have pictures/video of me making him laugh (I'm not sure where it is though... Maybe check flikr again. If not we'll make sure you'll get them when we get home--I know you want them now, though!). He's very ticklish! :) I have some pictures of him standing up, but I don't think he's taking steps yet. They have a bar in the playroom where they have the kids stand to gain muscle to stand and walk, and he was standing there one day and moving his legs around. Austin is active, moving his arms around and playing a lot. He's generally a very happy baby, though. :)

Charlie:
Yes, the oldest girl is still there. :( she NEEDS a family... She's 13 now and is about to miss the cut off time to be adopted. She's such a sweet girl to be stuck there her whole life--they all are. They say she really wants to be adopted, and she needs to be. She's such a sweet heart, and GREAT with the little kids. She's always helping out like a little mom, but also makes sure to have fun like a little kid. :) I love her so much.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Saturday, June 11, 2011

To Waiting Parents with Questions....

My mom just realized some of you families waiting to adopt your Chenzhou sweeties have been posting questions in the comment box. I'm sorry I haven't responded, but blogger is blocked here, so I haven't been able to see my blog, my mom is posting for me back at home. She sent me the questions, and I'll try to get back to you with them asap. We won't be with the babies today (Sunday), but hopefully by Monday I will have answers for you.

To Chen Mei Qi's family, both of the women holding your daughter are nannies. I don't think the children have a specific nanny... They just hold and care for whoever needs it or needs to be played with. The woman in the black shirt is the head nanny, I believe. She rotates between playing with the big and little kids. She's a big sweet heart, I love her a lot. I'll try to find more informations about her tomorrow.


For those of you looking for pictures, if you look for Shannon's account on flikr, you can see some. Her account is: Shannonfivekids.

Also, her blog is http://teamchenzhou.blogspot.com. She has links to everyone's blogs on the sidebar if you click on their pictures.

Hope that helps!

Megan

Some Sweet Faces

My mom snagged some photo's from Shannon's flikr account...hope that's okay Shannon!...so family and friends can see a bit of what we're doing:)

A few of the sweet faces we love....

Nice to see the tutus we made and brought last year are still used:)






The team




Can you see why we love what we're doing?

Day Six - Chenzhou Orphanage

Will and Me (taken on my phone)

I'm going to start out by saying sorry. Haha. Someone apparently emailed Shannon and told her my blog was very detailed... I hope I'm not boring anyone. But, as much as this is for ya'll to know what's going on, its for me to remember this trip, as well. So, I'm sorry if I'm putting anyone to sleep at home. Haha.

Today was a very good day--I made Ellie smile, and I got to see Will:)

Our morning routine was normal... I don't think I need to go through that;)

When we got to the orphanage and got upstairs, I looked down the hall and Will was waiting for me in a doorway. I walked up and he immediately took my hand and wrapped my arm around him. We walked inside the room and the kids were everywhere. They're all so crazy, and all want attention. The oldest girl who we met last year was there, and I was so excited to see her. I think she remembered us, too. I went and gave her a big hug:)

I stooped down to tie one little girl's shoe for a minute and about 5 kids attacked me trying to give me hugs. Haha. Will immediately got jealous and started pulling kids off of me, took my hand, and walked me away.

I took some pictures, and when he saw my camera out, he must have remembered last year, and took it and started clicking away (it was still on my neck, mom, don't worry!). He loves that camera.

All the older kids were told to go downstairs for something, but Will wouldn't go. I started walking with the rest of them and he stayed put. So I went back with him and hung out. We just sat in a room with a nanny and babies hooked up to some IVs, and played.

Eventually some nannies where rambling something to him and pointing out the window. Shannon's brother and girlfriend were there (Shane and Elisa) and she said they were telling him to go outside. So I walked down the hall again and he wouldn't follow. I looked out the window and it looked like they were loading the kids in cars to go somewhere. The assistant director came over and looked, I kind of asked him where they were going in "sign language", and he responded, "play". So I guess to a playground or something? I don't know, because it was rainy this morning and pretty wet.
It made me kind of happy that my little guy wanted to stay with me, though. :')

We went into the baby room to be with everyone else. We decided to do our "circle time" with the babies again, singing and doing hand motions with them. I didn't have a baby, but Will and I joined in anyways. They have a mat we sit on with the babies (its cushioned so they won't hurt themselves), but we have to take our shoes off to sit there. I sat down on it, and told Will to take his shoes off and sit, as well. He wouldn't come sit--I think he's embarrassed of his feet (he has no toes) so he refused to take his shoes off. I felt so bad for him, the poor kid.

He seemed to enjoy singing and dancing along. We did the Hokey Pokey, and he enjoyed that a lot.

After that, I pulled out my phone to show Will some pictures of my family. He seemed very interested, and loved seeing my siblings. He looked through all the pictures, and when friends would appear in a picture, he'd point to them and then point to one of the team members in the room. It was hard to explain that none of the people there were in my phone. Haha. I'm pretty sure he thinks Shannon is my mom, too. :P

Of course, he figured out the camera on here and went at it, taking pictures like crazy. I'm pretty sure I have about 50 pictures he took all of random things.

After sitting there for awhile he looked at my bag and made little glasses with his hands, so I pulled out my sunglasses and let him wear them. He was so happy. He put them on and started posing for me to take pictures. He and Tim went at it with the silly poses. Such a funny kid.

I also had gum in my bag, so I pulled out a piece and let him have it (he doesn't look like he gets to brush his teeth at all :/). He got very excited. Shannon gave him a lollipop and he seemed happy. He also looked through my bag and found my Luna bar and took that, and took the rest of my gum. Haha. I didn't mind, I have plenty more... And whose it gonna hurt? It was just funny to me how comfortable he was doing so.

I looked over at all the babies, and Shane and Elisa were playing with Ellie. She was just laughing and smiling like crazy. :) She definitely likes Chinese people... Haha. She's such a cutie.

After awhile Will and I had nothing really to do. I mean, he played with some baby toys, but there's not much up there for him to entertain himself. I kept trying to bring him downstairs to we could go into their play area/school room, but he wouldn't. Tim says, "he may be scared you're going to leave." Maybe so, its just sad. We made do with what we could find. After awhile he was content just sitting and resting on me. :)

Time came for us to leave, so we did. Goodbye wasn't so bad. He understood, and went right back into his room.

When we got downstairs the older kids were just getting back from their field trip to who knows where. The older girl was there and I went over and gave her a hug and kisses on her head and she just laughed and laughed. :) she's a sweet heart.

We got to drive back to the hotel for some odd reason. In the car we had some intense Chinese music playing... It was like their type of pop song and there was rapping in the middle and everything. Quite the sound to hear.

When we arrived at the hotel, there were lots of people. We walked in and there were two brides--one on each sides of the doors. Fun said that there were 3 weddings taking place today, because it was wedding day! ;) (apparently all the wedding have to happen on Saturdays...? Haha). I think both the brides were pretty mad because we were stealing their thunder--everyone was more interested in us than them. Haha!

For lunch we went to KFC--this time our guide chose for us to eat there. I didn't mind, though the food hasn't really started getting old to me yet. When we left the hotel (just me, Elyssa, and Fun--the rest of the group decided to take naps) it was POURING rain. We tried to cross the street, but on one side of the curb there was about 6 inches (legit, too. I just confirmed with Elyssa ;)), so we couldn't get to the sidewalk... Unless we wanted to walk through and get sopping wet and about 20 diseases. JK! It seriously looked like it was going to flood, though. We walked all the way around the block to get there. Elyssa and I were both in flip flops and kept slipping around like crazy. I almost fell flat on my butt a few times. Haha. It was crazy.

After lunch I was tired, so I took a nap while Elyssa blogged *cough cough* played around on her computer *cough* (we've had this running joke because she NEVVVER blogs and gets upset at the end of the day that she doesn't. She's crazy).

We stuffed our bags full of activities to do with the older kids... But found out when we got there that we couldn't play with them that day. Apparently there were some other volunteers there today, so we just hung out with the babies.

I found Ellie and picked her up and sat her down. No tears! We found some toys and she went about playing. She loves toys that squeak. After awhile I laid on my stomach and was at her eye level, then. She looked at me and grabbed some toys and put them on my face. I began to shake my head crazily, and she just gave me the biggest smile. She's such a beautiful baby. She kept doing that for awhile. Then she put the toy down and took her hand and started touching my eyes and my nose. Then she put her fingers in my mouth, and was interested in my teeth. Only problem is...

I'm a germ freak.

I tried to put up with the curiosity as much as I could, but I couldn't handle it after about a minute. That was brave for me. Haha.

Food came and every single baby in the room got food except for her. She sat there waiting forever. I felt so bad for her. As soon as that first bowl of congee comes out and is handed to a baby, so immediately stops playing and just waits. And she seems to always be the last baby to receive the food, ha. Poor thing.

And then the funny thing is, when she gets it... She's such a slow poke eating it. She takes a mouthful and slowly swallows it as she watches all the other babies play. Its kind of funny.

The time came for us to leave, so we did. On the way home we stopped at a hospital, the place where Shannon's daughter was found, to take pictures. There were multiple Chinese people who whipped out their phones and started taking pictures. We also stopped at a small shop and bought some cokes--and the same thing. Some lady was recording us trying to communicate with the store owner. They probably think we're so stupid, haha. But that was the first time I ever saw them take pictures/video of us.

We ate at the hotel tonight, and the food was good, as always.

After dinner we had our devotional time. Shannon's brother shared what he's doing here, which I won't post for security reasons. Then we sang some praise and worship songs. It was really a great and peaceful time.

Tomorrow it looks like we'll only be able to be at the orphanage in the morning, and we'll be playing with the older kids--and we have a lot of things to cram into one morning with them. Ha. I don't know if we'll get to it. In the afternoon I think we're going shopping with the director for our big donation for the orphanage, and then Fun with be taking us for some fun shopping along the way, I guess. We'll see as tomorrow unfolds, though.

Until then, Goodnight! :)

Friday, June 10, 2011

Day Five - Chenzhou Orphanage

Today was a very happy day:)

I woke up awfully tired. Our wake up call came at 6:30, and I was still sleeping. Elyssa answered the phone and just slammed it down. Haha. She took a shower while I slept longer. I eventually got up and got ready. I was surprised because it was the first day I'd slept all the way through the night. Getting used to the time change I guess.

At breakfast we had our new guide order our food and everything was pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain weight here... We eat so well!

On our walk today it was very pleasant. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too crowded, so we were able to look around and see more interesting things.

One thing that caught our attention was a man who had a rat in a trap in the street. He was trying to get it free (dead of course). When he saw all of us foreigners watching he put on a show of it. He got it free and began waving it in the air. Haha. That's when I left.... ;)

I also saw a woman and her husband climbing out of the taxi... With a newborn baby wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms. I can only imagine how many times that's happened where the mother knows she cannot keep her child for various reasons. I can only hope she is able to keep hers.

At the orphanage we played with the babies some more. I found the little girl I talked about yesterday. I played with her the whole morning. Her parents are naming her Ellie, so I'll refer to her as that from now on.

Ellie wasn't happy to see me. She was sitting by herself, so I figured she'd want some company, but boy was I wrong. She cried and cried. I rubbed her back again and then Katie brought out some of the toys that someone donated. She quieted down and became interested in the puzzles. Anytime I tried to move her, she'd get upset.

We sat in a circle and sang songs and played games, but she didn't want much to do with it. She held on to her two balls she had real tight and that made her happy. I knew picking her up and walking around would set her off, but I just wanted to try... Get her a little used to new things. As suspected, she cried, but stopped soon. She's a curious baby, always wanting to see what others around her are doing.

Feeding time came, and she ate up her big bowl of congee again. :) the kids at this orphanage eat well. Some get two or even three bowls if they're hungry enough. Many of the kids are chubby ;)

Ellie and I walked around some and sat down. She began to actually look at me more. She started touching my face... My eyes, nose, and mouth. Then she played with my hair. It was nice to see her making some physical contact.

By the time it was time for us to go, she was getting tired and rubbing her eyes. I think their nap time is right after they eat.

My goal for this week is that I'll get a smile out of Ellie. It may be hard, but I'm going to work at it.

After we had eaten our lunch, Elyssa, Tammy, and I ventured out into the market place. First we walked down the street and saw various animals for sale. Such as eel, frogs, pigeons/chickens, dried and live fish, cow tongue, cow foot, cow ear, and cow...insides. Yum. The smells coming from that place were... Indescribable. Haha.

We ventured into the actual grocery store market/mall. We walked with Tammy for a bit as she looked at shoes (she has a shoe fetish, and was going through withdrawals;)). After awhile Elyssa and I went to the food to buy whatever crazy stuff we needed.

At one point Elyssa picked up some Dove chocolate and put it in her cart, but a worker took it from her and pointed to the other side of the store and started rambling something in Chinese. She took it and put it back in the cart and she got frustrated, so Elyssa just put it back on the shelf.

Before we were going downstairs to checkout, Elyssa says to me, "I really want some chocolate. Go sneak some for me."

Being the good roommate I am, I go and grab some, kind of hide it by my side and start walking fast. Elyssa's face is telling me she's following me so I walk faster. Then I have this woman come and grab it from me and she starts yelling at me. So I say, "dui bu qi, dui bu qi!" (Sorry, sorry!) And we ran away.

Come to find downstairs that we have a whole bunch of Dove bars downstairs. I don't understand what her big deal was. Haha. Oh well... Just kinda freaked me out a lil bit.

We went back to the orphanage, and we were told to go upstairs and play with the babies. I found Ellie, picked her up and walked around a little bit. She didn't fuss at all, and no tears formed in her eyes which made me happy.

Progress. Slowly but surely, progress.

We played for awhile. She loves balls and things that make noise when you shake. She found my toes and started playing with them, looking at the purple nail polish, it was funny. And she loves to observe everyone else. She's a very chill baby.

Its sad because they have heat rash all over their bodies. They sleep in a hot room with only two air conditioning units in the middle, and they keep them in long sleeves and pants. Ellie was itching all over today, so I scratched her back and arms softly and she liked it.

At one point we were just sitting there playing and a little smile started to form. We almost got there... So close. It made me happy. But then she went back to the same old face she has. Haha. I'm going to keep working on that.

We stayed in the baby room for most of the time in the afternoon. I was sad because I wanted to see the older kids more. That's pretty much all I did last year, played with the older kids. But at this time they aren't out of school yet... We were here in July last year, and school must've been out then.

When we went in most of the kids were still eating their dinner. We pulled out this type of putty that when you squish it down into its container, it makes a farting noise (Shawn and Katie brought those, of course). The crazy girl (I really should come up with a name for her) thought it was absolutely HILARIOUS. It was so funny to see them laugh the way they did at it. We also pulled out some silly string. I sprayed a few of the kids and they kind of got freaked out. So, I sprayed Katie to show them what's supposed to happen, and they just laughed and laughed and laughed. Eventually they got ahold of them and started spraying them on the ground and making pictures out of it and big balls of it. Haha. It wasn't exactly what I thought they'd like doing with it, but hey, it works :)

After we cleaned up all of the string it was time to go. So we got our stuff and left. The crazy girl kept snatching things from my backpack, like water bottle and pen, and running back to give them to me. She's such a little stinker, but a big ball of fun:)

We went to look for the rest of our group and found them feeding 1 month old babies. They were the tiniest things I've ever seen. Usually the nannies don't let anyone in that room (probably because they didn't want sickness for the babies), but they let our team members feed a few of them.

By this time it was about 5:15, and I'm sure the nannies were ready for us to leave. I went into another room down the hall to find the rest and found where the babies that we see sleep. I found Ellie and went over and said hey, and ran my hands through her hair a few times. She really seems to like that, too.

Our guide told us we needed to leave. I turned to open the door and someone on the other side was opening it already.

It was a nanny with my little boy, Will, coming to find me!

It took me a second to see him there, but when I recognized him I was so excited. He saw me and acted like he recognized me. I gave him a big hug. He took my hand and ran me down the hallway. I felt bad because they wanted us to leave, but I've missed him so much. I had our guide tell him I'd be here tomorrow to play with him, and he seemed satisfied with that answer.

I walked away with Elyssa and Shannon crying. Complete tears. I've missed that little guy so much. SO much. I'm just glad I was able to see him.

We met up with our team downstairs and we talked for a bit. Someone started waving at the door so I turned around, and saw Will. I waved him over and gave him a big hug. Elyssa did, too. It made me happy he came back down to see. :')

Shannon says to me as I'm in tears, "you know, this means you'll have to come back every year." ;)

Hahaha. I wish.

We closed our night with dinner at the hotel. I know I've said this before, but our team is great. They make me laugh so much.

I think we'll be heading to Shannon's room for devotions and prayer tonight. But I won't blog about/after that... I'm usually too tired by then.

That's all for now. Very exciting and happy day :)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Day Four - Chenzhou Orphanage Day!

Today I woke up very excited. It was our first day at the Chenzhou orphanage! Though I must admit, I was a little nervous the kids and nannies wouldn't remember me...

We had some trouble at breakfast. Our guide last year usually ordered for us, but this year we were on our own. It was Dim Sum, where they bring a cart around and you look to see what food you want and then they stamp a card. Well, we had trouble flagging down a cart, and when we finally did, figuring out what kinds of food we wanted. Haha.

Afterwards we met the assistant director to take us to the orphanage. It was funny because he met us yesterday at the train station, and he kept looking at Elyssa and I like he might have recognized us. So today we had our guide ask and he said that he did.

We took the walk to the orphanage, and it was cool...seeing it all again. I remembered how to get there for the most part. And I was very interested to see how the are has changed and not changed in just one year.

People still stare at us as if they've never seen a white person before--OH WAIT--they probably haven't. Its funny to see their expressions as we walk through the streets. At the restaurant tonight all the waiters would bring in food and stare at us. Others would walk by, see us, and stop. It's just crazy for me to see, since in America we see every nationality almost everyday.

When we got to the orphanage, we sat down with the director and she told us about the building and what times we'll be there. It looks like from 8:30-11 we'll be playing with the babies, then we'll take a break and come back from 3-5 to play with the older kids.

We walked around the orphanage and saw a few rooms. One was the infants. I was playing with one of them, and then turned around and the head nanny, my absolute favorite, was there. She looked at me, smiled, and held her arms out to give me a hug. I wanted to cry. She's so sweet, and I love her so much. It made my day that she remembered who I was.

All of the nannies from the baby room kept looking at me when I got there. Our guide told them I had been here last year and they all nodded as if they remembered.

We went into the baby room and saw about 15+ kids. We played around with lots of them, giving one-on-one time with the precious children. Many parents who are in the process of adopting have contacted us asking to get pictures for them. So with the help of the nannies we were able to do that--so parents, be ready for lots of pictures! :)

One little girl who is being adopted didn't want anything to do with us. Anytime we would touch her she'd cry (I'm sure she'd never seen anyone like us). I tried to move her away from one kid who was on her back kicking, and out came the water works. I just sat her on the floor and rubbed her back for the longest time. I'm sure she hated it, but she eventually stopped crying, and we sat there together. Feeding time came, and I had the privilege to feed her the congee they had for her. This little girl scarfed down a HUGE bowl of this stuff. She got to the point where she was used to me and would actually look at me with a pleasant face... Not like she was about to burst out crying. By the time we had to leave, she was fairly happy. I got up to go and she started looking all around the room for me. I thought, what a great break through. She's getting out of her comfort zone and she's not scared anymore. It'll hopefully make her adoption that much easier.

We went to the market to get some water, our wonderful juices we found last year, and the amazing peanut butter and chocolate oreos. We're pretty stoked about those.

We ate lunch at the hotel, and it was very good. I sat at a table with a lovely bunch of girls and we had a grand old time. I love our team so much:) at the end they brought out our steamed bread and SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK. We've had the bread on this trip before, but up until that point no one knew what it was. Elyssa and I were over joyed. It was the one food that I was dying to have. (For those of you who went last year... I bet you're jealous reading this;)) it was a big hit with the rest of our team as well.

After lunch we had a little time to go back to our rooms and chill. I wrote a little bit and Elyssa blogged. By the time we were done with that it was time to leave.

Back at the orphanage we got to see the older kids. As I walked into the doors I wasn't sure whether I wanted to see my little guy (I named him Will last trip) who I fell in love with or not. I was nervous he wouldn't remember... But all was excited to see him. But then, if he wasn't there I assumed he would have been adopted, which would have been great for him.

I walked in, scanned the room, and he was gone.

My heart sank.

Then I thought that maybe he had been adopted. Someone yelled to me, "megan! You're on their wall!" They still had the picture frames they made last year, and I'm in Will's picture.

I just about wanted to cry.

I walked over and looked around. Charlie--you're still up there with your little guy. And Deena, you're with a bunch of kids :)

I pointed to the picture and asked if Will was still there. I wasn't sure in my heart if I wanted him to be adopted, or here. I'll admit... My greed took over for a minute and I wanted him to bee there... Just somewhere else in the building so I could see him. I just miss him so much.

The nanny said he's at school, so that's why he's not here. So... Will I see him? Hopefully. They said on Saturday he will be there... So hopefully that's true. I need to see that boy.

I recognized all of the faces in that room from last year except for maybe two. Its sad to see all those kids who are so precious, just another great kid, who haven't been adopted yet. They're still here...

One woman, Christy, shared an amazing point tonight. She said at one point she was playing with a little girl and she asked how old the girl was. She's 8. She told us tonight, "I have a son whose 8. And to see that... Its just like, your life... Its just so different." Isn't that the truth? It wasn't the kids faults or problems who brought them here, it was just the circumstances in which they were born into. Its not their fault. They don't deserve it. No one does.

Anyways we pulled out the crafts that Art for the Nations sent us and played. We had lots of glue and cotton balls and glitter. Evvvverywhere. I was helping the crazy girl of the bunch, who is hilarious--i remember her from last year, and she just kept on squirting out blobs of glue and pouring pounds of glitter on and it playing with it. HA. When I helped her we kept joking around about it and she just laughed her head off. She's got the cutest smile that just spread like wildfire. I love it so much.

I love them all.

Mom and dad, you wanna adopt again. Pleeeeeaaaaase???

Anyhow, the time went really short and it was time to leave. I'm afraid the time with the older kids will be too short for me. Hah we'll see though.

Because of issues with the language barrier, we have been assigned a new guide. Her name is Fang, but she told us to call her Fun. We all keep saying now, "we can't go anywhere until we have Fun!" Haha, I know, we're all so cheesy.

We went to eat dinner at a dumpling restaurant. I'm not one to complain about the sights and smells of China, but when we walked in it smelt almost like puke. Legit. That's one of the worst smells ever. But once we got halfway up the steps, it began to smell a tiny bit better--just like the restroom. Hahahah.

We ate really well tonight. Probably the best meal so far. Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. :)

After dinner we met for devotions, singing, and prayer. we invited Fun to join us, and I'm not sure what she thought. We'll see if she continues to come.

I just finished my shower. It was gross to get in with the hot water and being able to smell yourself. It was just the smell of baby sweat/pee and my sweet together, and it grossed me out. Haha. I was happy to be clean.

Now I'm typing out this super long post on my blackberry, and my poor fingers are killing me. Haha. So I'm going to go sleep some.

Please keep praying;)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

China: Day Three - Changsha and Chenzhou

Last night I took some Advil PM and blogged a little bit... And then I was OUT. I slept for about 9-10 hours, which was great.

Our luggage arrived this afternoon! We were able to get the stuff needed to the Butterfly House, and send all of our New Day donations back to Beijing, and we now have our Chenzhou stuff. So it worked out well.

We also had some troubles trying to figure out how we could get to Chenzhou, because the bullet train only allows one suitcase per person. But in answer to prayers, someone is driving the suitcases down to Chenzhou to us free of charge, and we are riding the bullet train. YES.

After breakfast we checked out and went on our way to the Butterfly House.

We met with the woman who runs the orphanage (which we found out is more of a hospice), and she was amazing. The work that this woman does is phenomenal.

She's an Australian woman named Lynn. She said that when she was 8 her mother took her to see a movie called the Inn of Sixth Happiness, and she knew then she wanted to do work in China.

I kind of freaked out a little bit. For those of you who don't know... Ever since I was about 5 or 6 I would watch that movie over and over and always on my birthday. And it really inspired me, too.

Basically what they do here is take children in that are dying and won't receive sufficient care at a normal orphanage. Many of the children have lived because of the care they have given them, and many have died--but they die knowing love... A nanny singing or praying for them as they pass away. It's amazing to me.

Out of the 13 kids they have at the orphanage, there are 5 who are either in the process of being adopted, or have paperwork submitted. Let's just keep in mind that these kids were helpless at first... Almost going to die. Now they appear perfectly healthy!

After meeting with her, we split up into two groups. One group went to the SWI (social welfare institute) of Changsha, and the other went to the Butterfly House (they're meeting at a different building now because they're renovating the other one).

I went to the SWI, but unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures. It was actually very nice. The kids had school classes, and we got to meet lots of them. Tim showed them his tattoos, and they all thought they were amazing. Haha! A lot of the children there had some sort of special needs, and it was great to see the nannies really taking their time to feed them and care for them. I've heard stories of some orphanages who just give up on those that need that extra care.

Back at the Butterfly House, we washed our hands, put on aprons, and shoe covers--very sanitary. We were able to take a tour of the building they're in now, and see the kids. Many times my eyes swelled with tears as we heard stories of how far these kids have come, and stories of children who have no cure. Its sad to hear, but I couldn't imagine a better place for them to be. They were just amazing... I can't even put into words. All of those kids were precious... I just wanted to take them home.

Shannon a few months ago found a girl that she wanted to adopt from here, but after praying about it they felt like God was telling them no. But the next day a family stepped up to adopt her. They're in the process now. We were able to take lots of pictures and give sweet Angel a care package from her family, and tell them how she's doing. She's absolutely precious, and I don't think they'll have much trouble with her. :)

Right now we're on the bus to the train station so we can get to Chenzhou. We'll get there tonight (hopefully with our luggage!) And will stay for 5 days, I believe. I'm excited. :)

Anyways, that was the amazing day we had today. I'm still completely blown away by this woman and her amazing work.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more tonight. But if not, I definitely will tomorrow. It'll be our first day at the Chenzhou SWI! :)

UPDATE:(Megan's mom here) I heard from Megan this morning (night for her) and while her group was eating at KFC this evening, their group leader had her purse stolen with $1,000 US dollars in it. This was money they were going to use to buy something for the orphanage in Chenzhou. The police were called, which caused some commotion. Most of the people in Chenzhou rarely, if ever, see a caucasian and here's a large group of them w/police and all...exciting, I'm sure. Surveilance tapes identified the thief, which also makes me more than a little concerned for the young girl whom supposedly stole the money...what happens to her if they find her? I've heard they are not kind to thieves in China. In fact, from what I understand, theft in China is surprisingly rare because of the consequences. I'd prefer they just find the money and not the girl! On the positive side, thankfully the group leader's passport wasn't in her purse as she originally thought! That was the biggest concern. Please pray that the situation is resolved in God's perfect wisdom. Who knows, maybe this young girl needed the money more than the orphanage? Either way, I believe He will use this situation to bring Himself glory in one way or another:)

MEGAN'S UPDATE (a little more about her day):
We pretty much had the scare of the century today.

We took the bullet train to Changsha--it was fantastic. So much better than the 5 hour bus ride we took last year. I was so happy. I sat next to Shannon, our group leader, and she's an amazing woman. I'm happy I got to get to know her better.

We made it to our hotel. It was weird walking in because its the same place we stayed last year. It was like... Being at home. I was so happy to be there, in a familiar place.

Our team is already sick of Chinese food... (Yes, day 3, and they're already sick of it. HA. Good luck.) ...so we went to KFC. I wasn't thrilled, but I mean, its okay. Go with the flow haha.

While we were eating, an elderly woman came over to us and started begging for money. We told her to go away (it sounds rude of us, but we're told not to, and if we do more will come). She got mad, and I'm pretty sure we got cussed out in Chinese. Hah.

After we got up, our group leader says to us, "my bag isn't here." She had put it along the back of her chair, and it had disappeared.

Stolen.

She said her passport, money, and camera were all in there.

We kind of freaked out. A lot.

We talked to the workers and they ran around like crazy. We caused quite the commotion--people trying to get all up in our business. Everyone was so interested. We thought it was for sure the elderly woman who came by that stole it.

I never thought I'd meet the Chinese police, but we did tonight. I was really surprised by how chill they were. 3 showed up, and 1 only seemed to be taking our situation seriously.

Before our guide got there, we had no one to translate for us. So these young students came and helped us--they were way too excited to be helping us. It was funny.

Shawn and Katie came running down to the KFC with Shannon's purse in hand--someone had dropped it off at the hotel because they saw our key. The bellboy had recognized the two ladies and gave it to them.

We opened it up, all the valuables were gone.

We finally were able to look at the security cameras, and found it was a young girl sitting behind us who stole the purse.

We went back to the hotel, and Shannon said she had left her passport in her room. THANK GOD SHE HAS HER PASSPORT. That's the most important. That's what I was most worried about. Unfortunately, we lost about $1,000 (at least she thinks) that was in the purse--our orphanage donation money. Not cool.
I'm not sure what will happen now, if the police will look for the girl or not. I don't know how all that works in China. So who knows if we get the money back or not. Its really a shame.

At least we all learned a valuable lesson today--always leave your passport in the safe, and always keep you bag with you at all times.

I guess there's always a little bright side to everything..... Right? :/

Everyone seems to be having problems with internet. Gmail doesn't work here... Luckily I have email on my phone which I can send to my mom these posts, but those of you whom I said I could email you, I'm afraid I won't be doing so.

Anyways, I don't even know what to ask you to pray for. I guess that this will be resolved, and that the rest of our trip will be pretty chill. We've had a rough start, and I think we're all pretty tired. Haha.

Thanks guys.