Chenzhou Orphanage - Day 6, Sunday

Today we didn’t get to the orphanage early in the morning because we were going to church. None of us really had any church clothes, so we all went in shorts. I said my mama would kill me, especially when I came out and my clothes were wrinkly from being in my space saver bags ;). Just kidding, of course. I just know how much she hates wrinkled clothes.

We met downstairs in the lobby at 8:45, and Joy was there. She was so dressed up and beautiful. This nanny is so gorgeous, ALWAYS. But today she was in a cute dress and heels, all ready to go.

So she showed us to the church. It’s a really pretty church on the outside. As we walked in we were handed a program with music on it. We were a few minutes late and the church had already started singing, so we all snuck into the back in empty pews. But some people spotted us and told us to come and sit RIGHT up front. So we all got up and made a bunch of noise, which caused a lot of attention, and we sat at the front. They handed us all hymn books and a nice lady next to us kept us up to date on which page we, (and by we, I mean they) were singing from.

The "Choir"

They sang some songs, and then out of nowhere these people that must’ve been the choir came out of a back room and started singing. They sat in front on the other side of the church pews all in matching red tshirts. It was just kind of funny.

We prayed, and man, they prayed forever. It must’ve been about 5 minutes, and I had to keep looking up to make sure the prayer wasn't over and that I wasn’t the only one standing there like an idiot, haha. They kept standing up and sitting down, and sometimes just the choir would stand up, and Makenna and I were so confused because we couldn’t see very well to tell what we were supposed to be doing. We had to crane our necks to the back.

At one point they all started clapping, so Makenna and I started clapping along with them, and it turned out they were clapping for us… oops. A lady ran over and said, “stand up, stand up! We would like to welcome you!” So we stood up and waved around the church. It was the one time I was able to look back and see the entire church, and I was surprised to see that almost all the pews were filled.

They started the sermon, and they had a projector with some verses on the wall. I couldn’t tell which book of the Bible they were from, but the numbers are the same here, so I knew the chapter and the verses. I also noticed that there was red lettering, and I assumed that it was Jesus talking, so I quickly looked through the gospels, annnd I found it! Plus there were some Psalms in there, and from those two passages, I gathered that the sermon was about forgiveness.

So church was pretty normal, except for the fact that we couldn’t understand it. You know how there’s always that person in church that’s coughing or something? It’s a lot like that, except you can hear everyone working up the spit and then actually spitting it. You know, the usual. Haha. It was really cool to see, though (not the spitting, but the service). It made me really wish I was home in my church.

Afterwards people started shuffling us towards the front because they wanted to take our picture. Always. I’m telling you, everywhere you go we cause a commotion. Then we got their pictures inside and out of the church. At the end one of the ladies told me my eyes are very big. That’s the 4^th time I’ve been told that since I’ve been here. It was a fun experience, and I know everyone at the church was happy we came. We told them we’d be back next year :)

We walked back to the orphanage, and we were asking Joy if she liked the church service. She said she didn’t like it. Oh boy. Oh well.

When we reached the top of the hill, sweet Chun Chun was by the doors waiting for us. So I quickly told her that she needed to stay so I could paint her nails today! She left early yesterday so I never got the chance. So we went and did that.

I’d bought two different colors of pink nail polishes at the store the other day; one very bright and one a muted pink, because I wasn’t sure what she liked. So I asked her and of course, she said the very bright pink.  I also gave her a little headband and clip that I bought the other day, and she loved them! She wore her headband today :). We sat down to paint her nails and she was giddy with excitement. She had long pretty fingernails, so I had Fawn tell her that lots of girls in America would love to have thick, long fingernails like hers. She loved that, of course. We had a nice little conversation about nails and then she told me I had big eyes and long eyelashes. The 5^th time I’ve heard that, haha. She’s such a sweet girl. When I finished I showed her some nail stickers to put over them, if she wanted, when they dried. She seemed to like that.

So after that, I took her upstairs and we joined the others doing crafts. Sweet Mia grabbed my hand and wanted me to play with her today. It was kind of shocking, because she’s been so shy, but slowly coming out of her shell. It’s been cool because more and more of her personality shows, and she’s such a sweet beautiful girl.

Leah threw up today, and wanted nothing but to be held by sweet Annie. So while she and Annie were snuggling, a bunch of kids just ran and jumped all over her. At the orphanage, if you give one kid attention one-on-one, everyone runs to you to get your attention, because it’s just not fair. If you read Shannon’s blog post titled “Survival of the Fittest”, it’s so true. And that goes for attention. They thrive off of that, and it’s not fair for one kid to get it and not another. But in this case, they were acting out. Leah needed it, she was sick. They were jumping on her and pulling her hair. So I intervened and tried to stop them.  Then kids were jumping on me and hitting me. Oh my goodness, they’re crazy. So I told Annie to get up and go into the baby room with sick Leah. But they kept getting in, soooo I took Mia and we locked them out of the baby room. It sounds kinda harsh, but  Leah needed it. So we sat in there and rocked around for a bit. She was just content having interaction. So adorable.

After awhile we left and I went to see the big kids. Macy grabbed me of course, and we played for awhile. She loves me to swing her upside down. That’s our new thing, every time she sees me. I love it. :)

When the time came to leave, I gave her lots of kissed all over her head :) She giggled, and I think she thought it was a little weird, because she doesn’t get that a lot, but she liked it. I’ve been making a point to do that every time I leave them. Sweet Chun Chun was upstairs and she had painted Macy’s fingernails while I was away, which was so sweet. Macy was proud:). I took Chun Chun down with me because she didn’t want to stay. So I pushed her down near her apartment and said goodbye, and she smiled and waved. I turned around and Fawn was screaming because this HUGE rat ran across her feet. EW, so gross. That’s the second time our team has seen a rat around the orphanage.

Anyways, lunch was pretty uneventful. We went to the place the orphanage director usually takes us, and we loved it. The nanny from the baby room, Liz, gave us these sweet gifts. Each of us got a necklace that had “friendship” on one side and “love” and a heart engraved on the other. She also got us each a cute little phone chain. She’s SO sweet, and I love her so much. We all loved the necklaces, and she told us her friend made them. So we wanted to go buy some for our friends and families, and she said she’d go with us and show where he sells them.

At the orphanage in the afternoon, I went to find my sweet Sarah and Cassie. Sarah had a dirty diaper when I found her, and I feel so bad telling the nannies because they always change them even though we’re willing and able to. It’s just hard with the language barrier. So I sat and waited for her turn to be changed and in the mean time a sweet baby started crying so I picked him up and rocked him, and he was immediately happy. Just wanted some love!

When the nanny had washed Sarah she brought her back and laid her on the bed to get her another diaper and pants. Macy helped put her diaper on and then her pants. Such a little helper. I went to grab her and Macy held her back because she hadn’t finished buttoning her shirt up, which was so cute.

When Sarah was done being changed I scooped her up and brought her and the big guy into the baby room. I spent time with Sarah trying to get her to roll over and she’s SO close! I’m hoping she does so soon. She also was reaching for little toys that I put in front of her and stuff. It made me so happy to see her play with things. She still smelled pretty bad from her diaper, so I took her and wiped her butt… oh my gosh. There isn’t ANY butt. Like, there’s nothing there to even call a butt. It makes me SO sad. We changed her into a onesie that was 12 months, and that was just enormous on her. It’s still so shocking to me, even holding her, how small she is. It breaks my heart over and over every day.

Molly took Cassie today and noticed that her sores were still oozing. I want to suggest to them that they should put a bandage on her head because she sleeps on bamboo and that must keep opening her wound. Ah it breaks my heart the way they live. Molly things that she smells so bad because of the oozing sores. :( They came and took her today because she still isn’t feeling good.

Adorable Birthday Girl!

It was Shannon’s baby, Blossom’s, birthday today. So she bought her a cute new outfit and a birthday cake to celebrate. We lined all the babies up to take a picture in front of the cake and it was so cute. Some of the older babies and toddlers got to eat the cake and they loved it, of course. It was so precious. I loved seeing them enjoy it.

                                                                                                             

Towards the end Sarah was taken from me and we played with some of the other babies… This one baby has pretty severe CP so I spent time stretching her legs and arms.

Towards the ends of the day I cleaned up the baby room and then got my backpack and everything and started walking into the hall. Macy sat outside the door, and one of the nannies was talking to her trying to get her to go down to her room, but she just sat there looking sad. So I clapped my hands and put my arms out for me to carry her and she grabbed them, so we walked down to the room together. I tried to put her down and she didn’t want me to go. I sat down and played for a little. But I really really had to go, so I sat her down and kissed her all over and left.

It was hard to leave. Gosh, I can’t even imagine how Tuesday is going to go.

As we left, Leah and Macy were up on the 5^th floor window yelling out to us saying goodbye. They have bars on the windows, and now I know why. THAT’S why. Macy has insane arm strength, and she literally was climbing up the bars like a ladder. She never ceases to amaze me.

Anyways, tonight we ate dinner at KFC, and I think we stressed out our guide. But she’s been so so so sweet to us, and does everything with such a sweet smile and attitude. I love her so much!

After dinner we met with Liz and she took us to the night market to visit her friend’s stand to buy necklaces. We took the public bus which was a good experience, and not nearly as scary as we all thought it would be.

At the market we found her friend and pretty much bombarded him with requests for the necklaces and bracelets that we wanted to get. The poor guy was probably overwhelmed. So he took orders and Liz was going to get them for us. It was funny because as soon as we started to crowd around his table, EVERYONE started to crowd around the table. It got to the point where everyone was all over and we couldn’t even get out of our little bubble. It was so hot and sticky, too. But everyone wanted to see what was so exciting for the Americans. Haha.

After I placed my order, Annie, Charlie, Elyssa, and I all went and walked up the street to look at all the vendors. They had some pretty cool stuff, and we all bought a cool night light type thing for super cheap… even Fawn!  It was a fun night overall, and I really enjoyed seeing another side of Chenzhou. I was told AGAIN that my eyes were big tonight. 6^th time. Goodness gracious.

We’re all hanging out blogging right now, and then I’ll be heading to bed when I’m done with pictures. So goodnight, all! :)