New Blog Address

Hey guys!

After my internal struggle for years over whether or not I should start a new blog, I've decided this year it is finally time to do so.

I didn't want to for the last few years because I loved having all of my China posts together, but I decided that it was time to join the rest of the world and move to a new blogging site that I can access in China and that I know how to navigate pretty well.

So, here is my new blog address where I will be updating about this year's trip! :)

http://heartforhunan.tumblr.com

Leap of Faith

Well, it's that time of year again when I start this blog up... which usually only means one thing: China.

I've actually wanted to write this post for awhile. People have been asking me for awhile if I'm returning to China once again this summer.

And if you had asked me a week ago? My answer would have been, "Unfortunately, no."

Every time someone inquired about my summer, it pained me to say "no" to China. As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I felt knots in my stomach. But it just didn't seem possible.

You see, I had planned on spending a substantial amount of time in China this summer, but then turned down the opportunity I had been given because I decided summer school was important at that time. I planned on taking a few classes to get them out of the way, but as the months progressed, I realized that those classes weren't even offered when I needed them.

It seemed like God was closing every door that I had tried so hard to pull open. The control freak in me was so confused and frankly quite upset. I prayed that God would show me what He wanted for my summer, because everything that I had planned had been shut down. And I guess that's where I went wrong: I planned it, not God.

After all my doors and been closed, I began praying, "Not my will, but Yours, Lord." Amazing how that small change of heart can make a world of difference in your life. Suddenly I wasn't stressed about what the next few months were to hold.

During this time of surrender, my friend Shannon started texting me about the trip, sharing details and amazing things that have already been happening.

Suddenly my homesickness for Chenzhou grew stronger than it has ever been. I prayed that if this is what God wanted for me this summer that He would show me. All that week I had people asking me left and right if I would be returning again. My mom called me and asked if I wanted to be there, and if so, that I should go for it. My desire to be there only grew stronger, and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else this summer...

So three and a half months before my plane is supposed to leave the ground, I took a huge leap of faith and I decided I'd be going to Chenzhou.

And I haven't looked back since. :)

Because it means that I get to see my friends living 8,000 miles away.

The faces that I have longed to see all year will soon be in my arms.

And it means that we get to share God's love with those who do not know it.

I have so much to do before the trip... and sometimes I'm a little overwhelmed when I think about it. But these precious faces are so worth it.

I want to ask you all to join me in praying for the trip. Pray for everyone we come in contact with, that we may show His love to them. Pray for the kids and the nannies, that He would move in their lives. There are so many needs in an orphanage!  God is the only one who can make it possible to provide for those needs.  Pray that God does amazing things through us for the orphanage. Pray that our team of 13 becomes close and we work together to do His will. 

I am believing for amazing things to come from this trip. God is already working great things together for us. Madison Adoption Agency is now partnering with Chenzhou, which means more children will be adopted and that they will be able to come to the States to stay with host families. We have 13 team members! Yes, 13! 5 of which are men, which makes me so excited for the children to finally see male figures loving and caring for them. Shannon also met a Mandarin speaking woman who will be in China during our trip who has offered to spend the week in Chenzhou with us--so we will have a second translator, which we have always hoped and prayed for. God is already working in amazing ways, and I am so excited to see what else he has in store for Chenzhou this year.

One last thing you can pray for is finances. I'm a little late to the game and I have a lot of money to raise. I know that this is what God wants for me, so He will provide. He has in the past, and He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But it's still a big leap of faith, and I'm praying that He will provide what I need when I need it. 

102 days until we leave. 102 days until I see my precious kids. 102 days until I can finally kiss their faces once again.

Goodbyes

Today, as most of you know, was our last day at the orphanage. It's always hard to say goodbye to the kids and our friends in Chenzhou, knowing what I’m leaving behind is too much to bare. Especially this year, when the trip is so short. I really wish that with this being our first trip with the new director that we would have been able to spend more time there. BUT that is okay. I think we still set the foundation for a good relationship with her.

 

We started our day playing with the bigger kids downstairs. When we arrived they were sitting at the table doing their morning routine. We went and sat down, Gracie pulling me to sit next to her. Eventually the nanny told me that I could demonstrate how to do one of the crafts I had brought yesterday. They were just little scratch off masks that they can make designs in. So Rachel and I passed them out and showed them what to do. They all sat so quietly as they drew on their masks. When Steve finished with his, he put it on and said he looked like superman or a ninja. He must have told the kids because a few of them started running and trying to karate chop him. J The kids all came up to us showing their masks, half of them were covering their eyes so they couldn’t see, but they were oh so proud to show us!

 

After that we took them outside to play with some chalk and bubbles. We pulled out some chalk and started drawing all over the place. Drew took my hand and pulled me down. We drew some pictures together, and I traced our hands, which he really loved. Rachel traced Gracie and drew in her face and hair, and all the kids LOVED it.

 

Colin pulled me aside and we drew some pictures together. I taught him how to draw a star, and he copied me perfectly. Everything I drew he copied me and when I would stop he gestured for me to keep drawing more. He was so good.

 

Gracie pulled me aside and she and the nanny taught me how to write some words in Chinese. She wrote Jia Jia (big sister) and Mei Mei (little sister), and then pointed to me and then her. And then she wrote her name and some other words I wish I could read. Someday, someday I swear I will know.

 

At one point Ray pulled me aside and he laid down on the ground like he wanted me to trace him. So I traced him and when I finished he stood up, looked at it, and squealed in delight and ran away. Looked back, and squealed again. It was the funniest reaction, haha!

 

We had a fun game of copying what the other drew for awhile, when I remembered to ask about Elyssa’s little boy, John. The nanny told me he was upstairs, and so I asked if I could go see him, she said yes.

 

So I ventured up to the sixth floor to find little John. I entered a room with a bunch of kids that we hadn’t seen the previous days. I noticed that these were the kids that weren’t as high functioning as the others downstairs. Carrie, Sue, Jack, and Jessie were a few that were in there. I spotted John and made my way to play with him for a bit. He was his same old giggly self. I tickled him and swung him around for a bit which caused the biggest smile I’ve seen. He really is such a sweet, sweet boy.

 

As I played with John, all the other kids noticed and started making their way over to me. Before I knew it, I had 4 kids in my lap and 2 kids holding my hands. I set the kids down and spent some time with Carrie. The poor girl still can’t walk, but I know she tries and wants to. I stood her up and walked with her a bit, but it was still pretty difficult. But boy, she has a laugh that can fill a room. She just giggled and smiles all the time. Thinking back, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her upset, just a very happy girl. I moved to the floor to play with the kids that were standing up holding the table. Jessie made her way over to me, so I tickled her and Sue and they rolled all over the place laughing. Emily’s little girl from last year was in there (her name escapes me… I’m so tired right now), and I picked her up and tried tickling her and walking with her a bit. She still can’t walk on her own, but is standing with help. I was able to crack a few smiles from her too.

 

I sat down and a bunch of kids climbed into my lap and I pulled out my phone to take some pictures. When they saw the forward facing camera, they all thought it was the coolest thing. They would laugh and point to themselves. Little PJ kept sticking his head in front of everyone so he could see himself haha.

 

I eventually went to sit on the bench with John again. Sat him in my lap and played for awhile. PJ made his way over to me and stuck his legs in between John and I and sat down in my lap and wrapped his arms around me in the biggest hug. We just sat there and snuggled for a long while. I was rubbing his back, and after some time, he took his hands and rubbed my back as well, which was super sweet.

 

When it was around the time to leave, I said goodbye and went back downstairs. Bob and Rachel had blown bubbles with the kids outside. So sad I missed Drew trying to blow his bubbles but spitting all over me. I miss Ray running around popping them and Gracie catching them on her stick. But I’m so thankful that they were able to do that with them.

 

They went back inside and did some tattoos with the kids. They always love these things, and make a big deal out of them. It looked like LA Ink… China edition. ;) Gracie learned how to do them and gave Rachel and I a few. She counted how long she needed to wait and then pulled them off. She was so proud and pulled Steve over to show him.

 

Eventually it was time to clean up, so we wiped tables and helped sweep, and then we were on our way. For lunch we went to the same mall and ate in their food court. But let me tell you, this was the nicest food court I’ve ever seen. They were actual sit down restaurants all on the fourth floor. The food was very good. The food here is always good, but when you hear mall food court you think fast food. But this was just as good as the hotel food.  After lunch Rachel and I ventured out to the market to do a little shopping.

 

It was rainy on our way back to the orphanage. It made our usually sticky and sweaty walk to the orphanage pleasant, though dodging the sea of umbrellas proved to be difficult.

 

When we got to the orphanage I went up to see the older kids and Rachel and Bob went to see the babies. I was able to see their classroom where the kids will do school next year. It was nice, on the same floor as their playroom and where they sleep. I sat down with Gracie and Steve and asked her some questions to get to know her a little bit better. When we finished I hugged her and said, “I love you” in Chinese, and her little raspy voice choked out “I love you, too”, and I got a huge lump in my throat. Love this little girl so much. I gave her the dress that Shannon and Makenna bought her, and she was so excited to wear it! She especially loved the bow. I showed her the picture of she and Makenna, and she studied it for a very long time. I almost told her that she could keep the picture, but in that moment it hit me… nothing she has at the orphanage is her own. Two seconds in the other room with the other kids, and the picture would have been passed to all the kids and she may never get it back. It broke my heart to think that nothing she has is her own. Nothing any of them have is their own. * sigh *

 

I joined Bob and Rachel on the baby floor for a little bit before we were to have our party. I walked over to see little James. I picked him up and bounced him around a little bit. When I set him back in his crib I sat him up, and he immediately started to fall over. At the same time Rachel looked over at me, holding another baby up and asked, “Do you think some of them can’t hold themselves up because they’re never out of their cribs?” And sadly, I think that’s the case. A lot of the older ones have a play area in each of the rooms, but some babies are always in the cribs which is sad to see. The nannies do all that they can, it’s just hard when there are almost 14 babies in a room.

 

Steve came and told us that we needed to have the party, but we had only visited one baby room so Rachel and I quickly ran in to the other to see the other babies. We picked up a few and checked on our little wheezing baby. He was still alive, thank goodness. Didn’t seem to be wheezing as bad, but it still wasn’t good.

There was one little baby that was so tiny in that room. She was all skin and bones. She reminded me a lot of Sarah from last year. Skin hanging off of her body and she even did the same thing Sarah did with her hands, holding them out in front of her. It broke me to see her. Hoping that with time she will fatten up a little.

 

We made our way downstairs to the kids playroom where they set out all of the food and cakes for the party. They went all out with chips and other types of snack cakes. We had ordered two cakes for the kids and staff. They put candles in the cake. Five candles, for each year that we have come to visit Chenzhou. J I hope that someday the candles on the cake will be more than we can count!

 

All the kids sang Happy Birthday in Mandarin, and we cut the cake! They devoured that thing. Sky was licking her plate clean!

 

After everyone ate cake we cleaned up and put everything away. They put on some music and the kids did a little dance and sang for us, a “thanksgiving song”, from what I understood. It was super sweet! Then the music kept playing, and they wanted us all to dance along with them, so we did. I noticed Sky bobbing her head up and down, so I stood up with her and got her to dance a little bit. She jumped up in joy and laughed, and then wouldn’t stop jumping. I could barely support her! She’s gotten so big.

 

Afterwards we played a game with the kids that the nanny had taught us. We had 3 different groups, bumble bee, drangonfly, and butterfly. When they sang our part of the song, we had to run around the room doing our hand motions. If we were late, we had to do a song/dance for everyone. I was a butterfly with Gracie and Daisy. Gracie noticed partially through the game that Steve didn’t have a team, so she dragged him over to join ours. He was so funny running around flapping his wings and jumping.

 

Rachel had a very large group, and none of the kids were paying attention. So when their group was called she was always running and scrambling to get all the kids to run around the room, carrying half of her group. She gave us and the nannies a good laugh! J

 

It came time to go to dinner. A lot of the younger kids went upstairs to eat, but a few of the older ones lingered behind. We helped clean up, but then when we were shuffling out the door I asked if the older kids were going to come with us to dinner, not wanting to say goodbye to them just yet. I was pleased when the answer was yes.

 

Gracie grabbed my hand and made sure to sit next to me. The food that the orphanage prepared was so good. I loved every bit of it. Lots of vegetables and rice, two of my favorites! We spent a good amount of time talking with the director, getting to know her and learning their needs. I really love the new director. The kids love her, too. It says a lot about her that the kids are excited when she comes in the room. They all call her “mama”. J She is young, very sweet, warm and welcoming. She said she was excited to have us back in the future!

 

After dinner the kids were being shuffled out to head back to their rooms. I noticed them leaving out of the corner of my eye so Rachel and I ran over to give them hugs and kisses goodbye. I gave Gracie hugs and told her I loved her. Gave Daisy some kisses and swung her in my arms one last time. I was embraced by one of Colin’s big hugs. And then just like that, they were gone.  As I watched them walk back to the orphanage, I choked back tears, and all I could think was that the time was too short. It was too short and I wished more than anything that we could still be there.

 

We turned around and went back into the dining room. And from then on it was picture time. We took pictures with all the nannies and directors. The nanny that stays with the older kids pulled out her phone to show me the picture we took together last year. :’) So sweet that they still keep those with them throughout the year. We said goodbye to the nannies. It’s never easy saying goodbye to friends, but this year I felt at peace about it. It was a strange feeling, but it was good.

 

The Director, assistant director, and Helen all asked us to come into their office one more time. There they gave us a present to show their gratitude, which was very sweet. We sat and talked for a little bit. We talked about New Hope and the three new kids that were being sent there and when they will be going there.

 

The time came for us to leave. We told them we were so grateful to be able to come and visit for a few days. We gave our hugs and well wishes and said goodbye. Rachel and I talked a lot about Gracie needing a home on the walk back to the orphanage. She is such a sweet and smart girl who really wants a family.

 

Rachel and I went out shopping again later that night to find Steve a nice gift. We found some things that I think he’ll like, and it was nice to get out and about.

 

It was a sad day for sure, Rachel and I couldn’t stop saying, “I can’t believe it’s over. I feel like we just got here…” But I left with a sense of peace and hope.

 

Peace knowing that the kids are in good hands. They really are. This is one of the better orphanages that I’ve seen, and for that I am happy. The new director was wonderful, and I can tell that the whole staff really does want what’s best for the kids.

 

Hope knowing that there has been so much improvement in the last few years. Kids have gotten to go to school, they’ve moved to a new floor of the orphanage, babies have gotten surgery, and SO much more. I leave with a sense of hope for the future, that it will only continue to improve. Hope that one day these kids will have families, and that the ones who will never be adopted have a comfortable place to live.

 

And for that, I am truly thankful. This is a feeling I can only tell you comes from the Lord, and I leave knowing that they are HIS children, and they are in HIS hands. Praise be to him!

 

Next steps to how you all can help Chenzhou is coming soon… I can't wait to tell you about it!!

 

 

 

As far as Saturday and Sunday, we didn’t do much. Traveled on the train all day to Beijing on Saturday. Sunday we did some shopping for souvenirs and then shopping for New Hope donations.

 

I will be at New Hope for the next couple of days… I’m not sure that I will have an internet connection to post about my days there, but hopefully I will when I get home!

Day Six, July 24 - Chenzhou

Something I forgot to mention the last night is that the hotel in Chenzhou now has wifi! But it’s not very good wifi, and is constantly in and out, and we can’t seem to figure out why. It took me awhile to get my blog to send, so sorry about the wait there. Hopefully it will cooperate tonight!

 

Today we started out the day with a nice breakfast as usual. Please pray for Rachel because the gluten allergy seems to be pretty difficult to work around.

 

We headed out to the orphanage and when we arrived the kids were just coming in, and they all ran and grabbed our hands and brought us into the playroom on the bottom floor.  The nanny turned on some music and we all danced together. Gracie stood in front of me singing the whole time. If I would do the dance moves wrong, she would stop quickly to correct me and make sure I was doing it right. Colin is starting to go through some voice changes, I think. He was singing and his voice is so deep compared to the others. The kids jumped around and danced for a good fifteen minutes. By the end of the dances we were all drenched in sweat!

 

Afterwards we all sat down at the table. We sang a little song and at the end of each verse, each kid would stand up and introduce themselves and let the teacher know they were present. They even made Bob, Rachel, and I tell the teacher we were there, too ;). Afterwards they all went around and introduced themselves, telling us their name, gender, and age. Some of the children are nonverbal, so the older ones jumped up to help them. It was very sweet. Then they each went around and those that could, sang a song for us. It was so cute, because all these years I thought that our sweet Ray was nonverbal. He never speaks, even when others talk to him first. But when it came to him, he stood up and he started to sing a song in his tiny little voice. It was so cute I could’ve died. He was very quiet though, so the others eventually chimed in with him. They had a time of asking questions and if the kids knew the answer, they would jump up, raise their hand, and then tell the answer. It seemed to be almost like a game show! The whole time Gracie wouldn’t let go of my hand, unless she stood up to answer a question. J

 

During our time at the table, Steve was able to video chat with Shannon (previous team leader) and her two kids recently adopted from Chenzhou. It was cool for Syler to see his old home, and I think the kids enjoyed being able to see him too. When Gracie saw him for the first time, her eyes got all red and she pointed and shouted his name. I thought for sure she was going to cry because she missed him so much. Tears filled my eyes as I watched her eyes become red, thinking that she’s seen so many of her friends in the last two years find families, and she is still here. It has to be so hard for her. I can’t imagine being in the place that she is in. Being one of the only healthier kids left, being one of the last to be adopted. We are praying very hard that she finds a family. {if you are interested, please contact me! I have videos and pictures of this smart girl}

 

After that it was snack time. They had little shrimp flavored potato chip type sticks and some yogurt. I noticed little Jack was laying his head on the table, so I picked him up and fed him his snack. He took his time, slow and steadily eating it until he was the last one to finish.

 

Some of the older kids drew and colored for a little bit. When Jack finished I spent some time trying to get him to walk. He struggles a little bit, placing his toes first instead of his heels. But as we practiced some he got better and better. He LOVED being able to walk. He was squealing when I picked up his hands and stood him up.

 

We walked over to the other corner of the room where the other kids were playing with legos. I sat down next to Ray and Paul. They were both building towers together, and they handed Jack and I some legos to build our own tower. Ray kept bringing me more and more, and I kept stacking them. Paul thought it was funny, and then he knocked it over, which of course, both of the boys loved and they laughed so hard. They’re both such sweet boys. They kept handing Jack some buildings they had built and then Jack would drop the blocks again and the boys would erupt in laughter. It was so cute.

 

Eventually I made my way back to the table and Mia came to greet me. She’s a funny one. She watches you, studies your eyes to make sure that you are paying attention to her. If not, she’s sure to find a way to bring your attention back to her. Usually a yell or a slap on the arm works. I gave her some hugs and rubbed her back and arms. I’ve found that those are things that calm her in the midst of all the craziness going on around her.

 

Eventually it was time to go, so we cleaned up and said goodbye to the kids.

 

Mr. Wren took us to one of the local shopping centers during our lunch break to look at air conditioners for us to purchase for them. It was funny because Rachel and I have noticed that all the women here wear heels, and usually pretty high ones with lots of glitter and sparkles. Well, the girls in the store had their uniforms on (polo and black pants) and their sparkily high heels. Anyways, Mr. Wren picked out the unit that we liked so we could go back and purchase it later.

 

After lunch we went to the bank to exchange money, which seemed to be a bit of a challenge. There’s only a certain amount of money you can exchange at the bank under one passport, so we each had to exchange the orphanage donation money which took quite awhile.

 

Bob and I decided we would run down to drop off our laundry while Rachel finished exchanging her money, and Steve waited with her as well.

 

When we got the lady who runs it wasn’t there, it was her husband. Which I remember last year happening, and he had no idea what to do, haha. He called his wife and started counting our pieces of clothing. He then asked me to sign, so I did. Then he asked me to write something else, and I didn’t know what it was. We kinda laughed a little and so I took it and printed my name, which I obviously knew at the time that’s not what he wanted… but I didn’t know what else he wanted. He looked down at the paper and laughed so hard. When his wife finally came back, he pointed to where I wrote my name and they both laughed together haha! I was quite the spectacle. She tried to tell us some stuff which was obviously hard to understand and we just kinda shook our heads yes many times. We could’ve agreed to join the circus for all I know. Steve did come by eventually to clear things up.

 

Steve and Bob headed to the convenience store to purchase the air conditioners and Rachel and I went back to the orphanage to play with the babies.

 

It was funny because I didn’t realize it yesterday, but one of the cleft babies in the room was Angelina from last year. Rachel and I had talked about her last night and then when I was playing with her today I was trying to think of a name for her, but I just couldn’t come up with one that seemed to fit. Well of course that’s because Angelina fit her perfectly. I didn’t recognize her at first because I remember Angelina being so so tiny, and she has grown up so much now. She can stand and walk with help, and can crawl on her own, so that’s good. She’s generally pretty unresponsive when Rachel and I would both play with her, which was disheartening. At one point she was crawling along and she stopped to look at my foot. She seemed to be fascinated by my sock and toes. She just stared at it for awhile and then kept touching it and moving them. I mean, for a good long while. Liz even looked over and started laughing. Angelina smelled them too. I looked at Liz and make a gesture like it was smelly and she laughed.

 

When Steve arrived at the orphanage, I had pictures of some of the children that have been adopted and showed them to the nannies. They studied the pictures and talked about each one, asking questions. Liz looked at the picture of Austin and recognized him, saying that she worked with him for awhile so that he would be able to have movement in his hand (his hand was burned before and couldn’t move it well). I told her that he is doing very well know and has sisters that love him very much. She was very pleased and intrigued, and asked if she could keep the picture of him. J

 

When feeding time came around we went to the other room and I fed sweet little Emma. She was more curious than hungry. She only ate a couple sips from her bottle at first before she sat up and looked all over. I finally got her to sit and eat, because she needs to finish before they put her to bed.

 

There was one baby in the room that was crying for almost the entire time we were in there. Rachel went to pick him up and he was having the hardest time breathing. He must be very sick. But I’m not kidding you, he was wheezing (I said he sounded like the penguin from Toy Story, Wheezy) like crazy. Anytime he was set down he cried and cried, which made it harder to breath, which I’m sure scared him and then caused him to cry some more. It made me cry to hear him gasp for air. When Emma was done with her bottle I picked him up again and rocked him around, hoping that he would stop. He did, but as soon as Steve told us it was time to go, and I put him back, he started crying again. And as I walked to the elevator, I could hear his cry from down the hall.

 

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the bakery to order a cake for tomorrow’s party. Rachel and I were looking around at all the pastries when a girl came up to us and started talking to us. She was speaking English, and it was pretty good, actually. We asked her how old she was and she seemed like she could hardly breath and replied, “I’m so sorry, I am very nervous”. She had just finished high school. We talked for a good 10-15 minutes. She was a very sweet girl and very curious about us and America. She asked if we liked Chenzhou, and when I said yes, and that I love China, she giggled with delight and said, “Oh thank you, thank you!” It was very fun to talk to her.

 

For dinner we went out to a hot pot restaurant. The restaurant was in a new mall that I’ve never been in before. And let me tell you, this mall was HUGE. Six stories high, and it stretched forever on all sides. Now, I’ve been to a hot pot restaurant before, but it wasn’t like this. Here, you make your own type of sauce to put on your dishes, and then you sit down with a conveyer belt type thing in front of you. Then as ingredients come by, you pick it out and put it in a boiling pot in front of you to cook. Once they are cooked, you put the sauce you made on the food and eat it. It was very interesting. I really enjoyed it, too. There were lots of interesting ingredients, such as shrimp (with the head), chicken wings, squid, and bean curd made from pig intestine blood. Yumm. All in all though, it was a very nice experience, and we had a lot of fun talking with Steve tonight.

 

Anyways, that’s about all there is to report for the night.

 

Tomorrow is our last day at the orphanage which is very sad. It seems like our trip has been too short, and that I just got my feet in the water, and now we have to leave. But obviously, I am very grateful for the time that we have been given to be at the orphanage, love on the kids, and catch up with the nannies.

 

Pray for us as we love hard and love big tomorrow, and as we leave it all behind again. It never gets easier.

 

Thank you all for your continued prayers. It means so much to me. Such a blessing. Write more tomorrow!

Day Five, July 23 Chenzhou SWI

Wow. Today has been a pretty exciting day. I sit in bed with a very full heart.

I decided not to blog last night because I was so tired, and the day wasn’t too exciting.

To catch you up… we took the high speed train from Beijing to Chenzhou… an 8 ½ hour ride. It was pretty long, but we made it, and that’s all that matters. We ate the oh so famous KFC for lunch. We asked Steve if he liked Ketchup or not, and he said yes he did. When he finished his meal, he took one of the packets and squirted the ketchup right into his mouth! He is such a funny man.

I spent the majority of the ride watching Gilmore Girls. Whoohoo! I was surprised by how long my battery lasted so I could watch them. Such a blessing.

When we arrived, the assistant director picked us up and brought us
 to the hotel. We were welcomed with big smiles and lots of stares 
from the hotel staff here. They treat Americans like we’re celebrities.

We went out for a quick dinner afterwards, and then headed to bed right away because we were exhausted.

This morning we had a nice breakfast in the hotel. Poor Rachel has a gluten allergy, so sometimes it difficult to find foods that she can eat. But Steve has been very conscious of that.

At breakfast, Steve was thinking very hard and then he looked at me and said, “Do you remember the way to the orphanage?” Oh of course I do, Steve… I visit this place in my dreams. ;)

Though I will say, I was a little worried that I had forgotten.

When it came time to leave he said, “Okay, you lead the way now!” And so off we went.

We made our way to the orphanage, taking in all the sights and 
smells along the way. Funny how a place halfway around the world can be so familiar and comforting. We came across lots of stares, as well. It’s funny, because I remember that people stare because they haven’t seen an American before. But I often forget to what degree they stare, and it still takes some time to get used to.

When we arrived at the orphanage, Helen, Mr. Wren, and the new director came to meet us. We sat down and talked with them for a 
little bit. They welcomed us and gave us the schedule for the next couple of days. The director from previous years retired this year, so there is a new director, and she is very sweet. I really enjoyed meeting her.

After our short meeting, we went up to see the babies. When I 
walked in, Liz was in there and turned around to say hi to us. She waved and I ran over to give her a big hug. Another nanny who we 
spend lots of time with was there as well, so I gave her a hug too. 
We played with some of the babies in the playroom for a bit. There were two babies with cleft lips. One looked just like Emerson from last year. I was almost shocked by the similarities. I played with her for a little bit. She was so beautiful, must have only been about 8 months or so. Sweet little baby who loved to be bounced up and down.

The director came in and we all visited for a little bit. Liz said that 
she’s still looking for an American girl to marry her son… and I 
think she was meaning that she wanted to set us up, haha. She’s so funny. I told her that she wanted Annie to marry her son last year, so she should still hope for that. ;) Looks like you have a husband, Annie!

The director also told me about the two heart babies, and that they both have families! I was so thrilled to find out. Tears filled my eyes as she told me they already have families, where they are going, and that they will be adopted soon. I am so happy.

Eventually it was feeding time, so we brought the kids back into the crib room, where they lined them up to eat their food. We all spent some time walking around to each of the cribs, holding and playing with the babies.

One little boy especially caught my attention. I think I’ll call him James. I believe that from what I can tell he has autism. He was a 
sweetheart with a stylish haircut. I leaned down to say hi and he was very focused on his hands. I stroked his cheeks a bit, and he just gave me the biggest smile. I rubbed his belly and arms, and he loved it. He was smiling from ear to ear. As I was leaning over the crib my hair was falling over his body, and he kept taking his hands and feeling it. Not pulling it, but he would run his fingers through it and was very focused on it. I picked him up and we bounced around the room a little bit. He was giggling when I picked him up, so happy to be out of his crib. When we walked by one of the fans 
he acted surprised, but them let out yet another giggle. He was so sweet and enjoyed the little things in life. It broke my heart to have to put him down again, but Steve told us to go to the other room.

When we went into the other room with cribs full of babies, I noticed a few familiar faces, one of which was Sadie! Sadie was just as much a diva as she was last year. I sat down to play with her and she took my knuckle and bit right into it! That’ll probably leave a mark for awhile.

A little girl to my right, Emma, started crying and whining, “mama mama mama!” (means the same in English and Chinese) which broke my heart. I picked her up and rocked her a little until she calmed down. I’m not sure what her special need is, but she has special shoes that look like they are correcting her feet so she can walk. I’m very impressed that they have them for her. She’s such a peanut. We played with some of the toys in the room, and she seemed pretty active for a little one.

There was one real tiny baby, and when we asked how old he was, 
we found out that he is only 6 days old! Such a tiny little one.

I picked up a tiny cleft baby that was crying and tried to rock her to calm down. The nanny brought me her bottle and told me to feed her. It worried me at first, because I knew how difficult it is to feed cleft palate babies. I’ve done it before, but they were much older. But I put the bottle in her mouth, and she ate pretty well. I thought more than half the bottle would be all over her clothes and mine, 
but she kept most of it in her mouth and ate it. I was so impressed. Steve told us it was time to go, the nannies needed to eat lunch, so I burped the baby until I got a few burps out of her, and then set her down. She started crying as soon as I set her down, which just tore my heart to pieces. I wish I could have stayed and held her all day. Bless her.

We walked back to the market to grab some waters and other snacks which was fun. I was looking for shampoo to bring to New Hope with me when I go back, and a lady came up and started 
talking to me. I’m assuming she was asking if I needed help. I smiled and kind of chuckled a little bit and she looked blankly at me. When I said, “Oh, I don’t speak..” in English, finally laughed and went, “oooh.” So funny.

When we were checking out, a man and his wife and a couple other people were all talking loudly around us, and I can only imagine by the stares and points that they were all talking about us, haha. It’s funny that they make a big deal out of us.

We ate lunch at the hotel, which was good, as always. Rachel and I asked at the end of the meal, “Steve, did we eat a lot of food?” He replied, “Just average.” Oh Steve. He still doesn’t think we eat enough. I think he wants us to gain 10 pounds before we go home!

After lunch, Rachel and I rested for a little bit. I wrote part of my blog and then took a quick nap.

When we returned to the orphanage, we went up to see the big kids. As soon as we walked down the hallways the kids were jumping up and down, and when we entered their room they jumped on us all, so excited to have visitors. Gracie ran up to me and gave me the BIGGEST hug I’ve had in awhile. She’s a little sweetheart. I think I had six kids jump on top of me all wanting hugs and lots of love. I 
shuffled my way over to Joy and gave her a big hug, and she greeted me with her loving smile.  I think that’s when it finally hit me. We were in Chenzhou, and I was actually in the orphanage.

There’s always a time in every trip when you have the “aha” moment when you realize you’re actually in China. I had that a few days ago… but this was my “aha” moment from when I realize I was actually in Chenzhou. All it took was a little hug and smile from Joy  :)

Eventually all the kids climbed off, and Gracie took my hand and dragged me across the room to play. We spent some time playing ball together, kicking and throwing it across the room. We danced a little, jumped around a lot, and giggled a ton. Other kids would join in from time to time, but she stayed with me almost all day.

Mia came over and began to play with us. I picked her up and swung her around a little bit and boy, did she love that. That’s all she wanted to do for the rest of the day! She followed me around all afternoon asking me to pick her up and swing her around. Funny 
little girl. While I was sitting and listening to Gracie sing to me, Mia came and sat in my lap. When I clapped and said, “clap clap” in Chinese, Mia’s face lit up and started to clap, and then took my hands and clapped for me. She then went around all day clapping for me, expecting me to clap back.

We were in the new playroom that we were able to help them purchase last year. I was excited to be able to see the new equipment and other therapy pieces on the wall for the kids to do. 
There were a few slides, a couple swings, and then lots of puzzle type things for the kids to do on the walls. They seemed to really enjoy it a lot, they were all running around on it like crazy today.

Most of the kids are kids that we’ve seen previously… but there were a couple new faces that I hadn’t seen before, and they were pretty quiet. Breaks my heart to see new toddlers and older come in every year. I can only imagine how hard it is for them and how heartbreaking it is for the nannies, as well.

Charlie, little Jack is with the big kids now! He is getting so big and so long! He still can’t walk, though, which is sad. I picked him up and bounced him around and then I put him in one of the swings and he really enjoyed that. Paul came and sat on the other side of the swing, as well, and they had some fun swinging together.

Shawn! Sue is also with the big kids this year, and he is walking with help! Such a big boy now, so very long. He smiles when he is happy and is very responsive now. He really loves to slide!

At one point a ton of the kids started doing forward rolls, which was comical. I guess the older kids must have learned that in school or something. Daisy, Gracie, Mikey, and Colin all started doing them all over the room, and sometimes on top of each other! Haha!

In a brief moment when I was alone, sweet little PJ came over to see me with a ball in his hand. PJ is a little boy with Downs, and he is SO loving. He gives some of the best hugs I have ever had. He has such a serious face, it breaks my heart sometimes. Last year we were able to break him out of his shell a little bit when we were doing bubbles, which was such an exciting thing to see.

He came over and wrapped his arms and legs around me and gave me one of his amazing hugs. I sat in a corner and simply rubbed his back for a couple minutes. Somewhere along there he remembered his ball, so he grabbed it and started rolling it to me. He was so 
funny, he took the ball and very carefully rolled it to me, and everytime I would roll it back and he caught it, he would stop and clap for himself.  Such a sweet little guy.

For those of you who know Ray, you’ll be happy to know he’s his same old loving self. He came and gave me multiple hugs, but then would run off and slide down the slide, which I’m convinced is his new favorite thing to do. Every time he reached the bottom he was beaming from ear to ear.

Sweet little Jessie is still as little as she always was. She’s strong enough to hold self sitting up, and she can walk with help. I spent 
some time swinging her upside down, sliding, and tickling her. She loved all of them and couldn’t stop giggling.

Rachel began to teach Gracie how to do a handstand. She’s almost there, actually! I think she may be doing it by the end of the trip. We may have a future gymnast on our hands! Watch out Rio 2016. ;)

At one point Gracie lead me to a corner of the room so she could have me to herself. We played a bit, I stretched my legs and arms 
out and she followed, and then we danced together. We did some jumping jacks and marching. We stopped for a bit, but then Gracie thought it was so much fun that she initiated the stretching herself. Daisy and Mia came and joined us, and we had a little dance party by ourselves.

Steve was great with the kids as always. He played ball with all of the boys all afternoon. They absolutely love Steve, and he kept them very busy. I said last year that one of the many reasons I loved Steve was because he played with the kids, as well. And I love 
seeing how much he loves and enjoys spending time with the kids. It is really amazing. At dinner tonight he looked tired, and I asked him if he was ready for bed. He explained that he had just been so excited today. Jokingly I asked, “Because of pizza hut??” (where we went for dinner tonight), and he replied, “No. Because of the children!” Such a sweet man.

All I can say is, the kids were wild and crazy today, but that’s just the way I like it. I’m sure I’ll have lots of nice bruises tomorrow 
from them climbing all over me! They kept the room high energy. It was so nice to be back playing with these kids again. I’ve watched some of them grow since they were itty bitty, and it’s amazing to see how far they’ve come.

When 5:30 rolled around, Steve said, “okay, it’s time to go now!” So we started to say our goodbyes. I had kids climbing all over me once again, giving me hugs goodbye. Gracie stopped me and looked straight in my eyes and made an arm gesture and stomped as she rattled something off in mandarin, and then Joy followed, as if they were saying, “You came back RIGHT here tomorrow!” I smiled and said that I would be back. :)

We walked to the hotel and then got ready for dinner. For dinner tonight we ate at Pizza Hut. We had to take the bus there, and let me tell you, public transportation in China is quite the feat. Lots of people in a crowded space, and lots of butt bumping. The lady next to me kept falling all over me because she couldn’t hold herself up when the driver would slam on the breaks.

Dinner was very good though. The pizza here tastes just like the pizza there, so that was a nice surprise.

Anyways, I’m very tired, it’s be a pretty exhausting day. Praying tomorrow will be another wonderful day with the kids!