I'd Do It All Over Again

Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, we have been quite busy and it takes me a bit to process the things that I have seen. I go over and over these things in my mind. This is such a humbling place to be. It is different for Pat, Leslie, Sarah and myself because we have such a strong connection to this place. I love the culture and the people, I could totally see us living here. It's so hard to explain with just words, especially when you are typing those words.

On Tuesday we went to a small local orphanage, the Langfang SWI. We visited this orphanage when we were here in 2007 getting Jadyn, so Pat and I somewhat knew what to expect. The men had gone to the SWI the night before to take one of the children that was visiting the foster home back there because that's where she lives and they went in and visited it briefly that night. The next morning, the director would not allow all 9 of us to visit, so only the ladies and Ting (a MK) went. The men let us out and went to Walmart (which, in China is an adventure all by itself).

We spent about an hour at the SWI just playing with and loving on children. Not all of the children are SN, but most of them are. They had 4 infants and the rest were toddlers and preschool/school age children. The children were in the courtyard when we arrived and were so excited to see us. We sat in the courtyard, those of you who have been before know exactly what I am talking about, and loved on those children. There was a little boy, about 7 who took up with me and became my best friend while I was there. He held my had the whole time, either on or both of them. He was such a precious, precious little boy. We were told later by the M that he was one time kept in a cage, literally. We actually saw a couple of others in this condition while we were there. This little boy that stole my heart was taken to foster by an american family and discovered he had a gluten allergy. After they figured this out and removed it from his diet, he begin to transform. Now, by human standards, he's far from "normal", but are any of us?

About every 30 seconds he would turn and so sweetly say "ni hao" . It was almost as if he was looking to make sure that I was still there. I would just ask that you speak to my Dad on his behalf. While he sat on my lap, I just rubbed his back, the human touch was like a soothing balm to his spirit. He was so calm and sweet and loving. I told Pat, that I would pay for this trip again, just to come and spend 45 minutes with that child. When we returned to the van, we spent about an hour in silence, crying those silent tears. Sometimes, it's more than you can handle or at lease it is for me. I have so much more to tell you, but you are winding down your evening and I am just beginning my day. I will post tonight about our visit to the SWI in Tianjin. Currently, they have 749 children. So, look for that post in the morning! Continue to think about us. We love you all!