Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Amusement Park and more...


Got your attention???

So this morning was a huge outing for the kids, as they got to ride on a bus to go to an amusement park with us. It is called the People's Park, and it is filled with antique county fair rides:) It's not about us though, and the joy on the kids' faces is priceless! Not only is it good for the kids to get out, but the exposure to the people of China is important. One man in particular came up to one of our team members and wanted to know where "these children" came from. Jake told them that these were local kids, and explained what an orphan is. The man was so moved that he pulled out money to give towards the orphans. Jake told him that they didn't need his money, but what they did need was his time. Jake pulled out the orphanages address and shared it with him. It was a special moment to watch, and I hope that it sparked something in this man.

This afternoon was lots of play time. The sidewalk chalk was a hit, but it was quite toasty outside, so you could only stay outside in small increments of time. Today we also purchased a refrigerator for the orphanage, as well as a printer/fax machine for the paperwork that they have to do for the children. We made sure our guide explained that this was to be used to register more children for forever families. We also found out today that three children have already been matched with their families, with a couple going to European countries. That was wonderful news.

Tonight we went back to the pagoda area where some of our team members sang on a microphone for a huge crowd. It was hysterical! The younger girls sang a dramatic version of a song from The Little Mermaid and the people loved it. They then were asked to go over to the ballroom dancing area where they proceeded to perform the Electric Slide, and even convinced some locals to dance with them. Again, it was hysterical, but something the girls will take with them for the rest of their lives. I think many photos are probably being posted of them on Chinese MySpace tonight!

We also learned today that the cribs are on a truck about 4 hrs. from here. It would be wonderful if they would arrive in the morning so that we could put them together before our big birthday party in the afternoon. That is our big finale with the kids, so we don't want to be spending time with the cribs in the afternoon. Please keep the prayers for this coming~

1 comment:

Linnea said...

It's been fun following your adventures over there! Tell Tracie that Jillian sends a hug...when I showed her the picture of Tracie she just stared with a very quizzical look on her face! Looks like everyone is having a fun and productive time, young and old. What a wonderful thing!
Linnea