Back to Beijing....

We had to be up early today for an 8:40 flight to Beijing, only to find it was about 3 hours late. We entertained ourselves by playing Catchphrase and played with the Praying Mantis we found.. The sweet girls that came to work in the orphanage got up at the crack of dawn to go with us to the airport. One girl told me that she liked me, so she wanted to give me her hairclip. It was so sweet. She was crying when she left us to go to school.

This airport is only open once a week, and you can tell they have too much time on their hands. They made us open all our luggage and took any flammables we had. Mind you, this is our checked luggage, not our carryons. I have to go the rest of the trip without my Bedhead Mousse! What will I ever do???The flight to Beijing was just under an hour, and thankfully everyone had a seat this time. We immediately found a store and shopped for the two foster homes we would be visiting. We then had lunch at Subway, which has never tasted so good to all of us:) It was about a 1/2 hour drive to the Hope Foster Home, which was a wonderful experience. They take in sick babies from many orphanages all around China, while providing a family environment. The nanny to baby ratio is 1:2. It was obvious to us that the babies were flourishing in this environment.

Tomorrow is an early morning as we are off to the Philip Hayden Foster Home. It is about an hour from Beijing. In the afternoon we will be doing some touristy things around the city. Unfortunately it is much hotter here than in Chaoyang.

Church...

Tonight we got to experience church in China. It was actually a youth Bible study at the church, which was rather large. Jake shared with them who we were, and then we listened to the message, which was based on forgiveness. They then had an organized dance/motions to a song, which we joined in. They then wanted us to perform for them, so one of the girls on our team played the piano while we sang. We sang "God of Wonders" first, then "Lord we lift your name on high" when they insisted on another. They asked for just "one more," but Angela didn't know any others by heart. It was way cool.

Happy Birthday....

Can you guess what this is??? If you guessed scorpions at our lunch restaurant, then you were right!

Today was our final day with the kiddos. This morning was spent playing and snuggling with the kiddos, which is easy to do. Saying goodbye is not. A couple of the babies have been sick and running fevers. Today the little boy with the unrepaired cleft palate and lip received an IV. A few of the team members were a bit freaked by the IV in the head, but that is typically how they give it to the babies here. We convinced them to take the nine day old to the hospital this afternoon, as his tummy is quite swollen and hard. He has some severe issues, so please keep him in your prayers. This was the first day they let anyone hold him, and Tracie received the honors. I'm not sure we would've notice his change for the worse if we hadn't been allowed to hold him. Also, the four newbies to our team got to add their handprints to the vine we created last year. Underneath each handprint is the team members' name in English and Chinese.

One really special thing that happened today is that two girls we met on the streets last night actually showed up to help at the orphanage today (pictured with us below)! Can you believe that? Again, they had no idea something like this even existed when Anna explained it to them last night. They were so sweet with the kids, and say they plan on coming back regularly and emailing us update. The more locals that know about these kids, the better. The girls are even coming with us to church tonight. Yep, that's right, we're going to a youth Bible study tonight. I won't be posting until Beijing tomorrow, so check back for an update.

This afternoon was the birthday party we throw for the kids. The nannies decorated the room and we provided the cakes. They also brought all kinds of fruits and all kinds of party favors. The kids had a great time and were stuffed. Then came the goodbyes, which was warm, along with a few tears. One nanny even gave all us women a pair of jelly shoes. They are such giving people here. We also all received a framed jade picture, which is representative of the area.

Sadly, the cribs did not arrive today, but the director will send us photos when they do. We did present them with 20 quilts for the new beds that one sweet lady made back in the states. We really appreciate all who supported this effort, and are disappointed we weren't able to get photos of the kiddos in them, but that is the way things go here in China. Things are not always predictable!

We have an early flight tomorrow. The airport in Chaoyang is only open one day a week, so should be interesting. Stayed tuned for details of the experience....

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~

Halfway point....

It is so much fun to be able to be a big kid for 6-7 hours each day! Today it was cool enough to take the kids outside to play. We played with the parachute, took walks in the garden, played on the playground, made crafts, and played a little volleyball with one of the nannies (who was one of the orphans last year, but is now employed here). Needless to say, I got my exercise today (as did the kids...see tired boy below), topped off by another evening of walking around the city. We went back to the pagoda, which is teaming with action. While there we observed chinese writing on the sidewalk with a big broom, buddhists chanting, ballroom dancing, a form of hacky-sacking, and several forms of kung fu. And all of this for free! Better than any show we could've paid for.

Please pray the cribs to make it to Chaoyang before we leave Friday. Our guide offered the driver a big tip if he can get them here, and we really want to see them and help put them together. The mattresses are here already, and we have 20 handmade quilts ready to tuck the kids in. Although, in this heat, I don't think they will want to use them right now!

Day Two....

Another fun filled day at the orphanage. We spent the morning just playing with the kids, and also had an opportunity to give Chen-Chen a bath. He was the little boy from last year that loves to snuggle, and still does. However, he did not like a bath! He's pictured here with Mike after his bath. Mike got pretty sweaty this morning with all the rough housing he did with the boys. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.



We let the kids get some rest and went out for a Manchurian style lunch. The workers wore traditional dress, and everything they brought out was presented beautifully. The food was good too, especially the tofu soup.


Beading and the macarena were the hits in the afternoon! The kids rush out of the building to greet us everytime they see us now, which really warms the heart. It's also what makes it harder to leave, but we won't talk about that now. Just enjoy today's pictures, from China, with love.

Full day....

Between the orphanage and walking around the city tonight, we've had a full day. We're happy to say the children remembered us and it didn't take long for them to warm up again. Three of the children have been adopted, but there were several new faces too. There were three babies less than a few months old, with one being only 5 days old! He just came out of surgery so they wouldn't let us hold him, but I sure wanted to (Lisa C., his sn is like your kids). The little girl with the cleft reminds us so much of Kaia when she was little. This girls sucks on four fingers at a time!

The afternoon was spent tie-dying, which they loved, and blowing bubbles. This evening we danced the folk dance with the locals, then walked around parts of the city we haven't seen. We will be exploring some parts in the daylight tomorrow. Tomorrow is also going to be parachutes and beading with the kids.

Still haven't worked out the email bug, so if you want to email us, send it to mcrebbin@gmail.com