Monday: Tracy needed to spend some significant time with her friend from past years, a 19 year old orphan who looks and acts more like 12. She is very bright and thoughtful and says her goal is to come to the US to study English. So, that meant that I got charge of little Simeon (who has been renamed Grace). She didn't look great. Everytime we make progress and then come in the morning and she has regressed. I took off her clothes and held her for a while in the window to soak up some rays. Then I gave her her first bath. She had never really been clean from her birth. She didn't like that at all and cried the tiniest cry I have ever heard. It was like music because it meant she was improving. I then fed her formula with a little hard plastic syringe. She took about 5 ccs at one time and kept it all down! She's pooping too! By the end of the day her color was much better, the swelling in her face was down a bit and she spent a long time awake and looking around. So cool!
The other success was Heng Heng. He is about 4 or 5 years old and probably weighs 15 pounds. I don't know what his diagnosis is but he is wasting away. They don't seem to give him any attention. Toni got him up the day before and he was laughing so I got him up Monday and he did the same. The nannies said I was magic because he is never responsive. I don't know if they have given him a chance. Most of the nannies seem to care but they just don't understand some of these children.
Tuesday...What a day! The morning flew by and then we left for lunch and shopping for things the kids need. Britta had identified 4 kids who could probably learn to walk if they had shoes so she measured feet, picked out some sturdy shoes at the mall and Katie and Andrew's lemonade-stand money bought shoes! I was fighting back the tears. We went back to the kids and took pictures. Little blind girl (we finally found out her name is Bao Xin - Precious Heart!!!) loves her new shoes and spent some time in the walker. Too many stories to tell!
Britta has been amazing! She has gone through all the equipment we have, John has fixed/modified it. She is working on posters so anyone who comes in in the next year will know how to use the equipment. She is taking pictures of every childs therapy routine and is making personal books for them. She's unbelieveable! And she just finished school!
The other person God sent us is Sa. We met her at the Chaoyang airport. When she found out what we were doing she wanted to come. She has been here everyday and is making changes we couln't imagine. She is getting her masters in global media in Finland. Her mother is a doctor and her father is someone important. She has developed a plan to encourage the local university to use the orphange as part of their community service program. The administrator of the university is very interested but suggested that since they were working with foreigners that they should clear it withthe general government. Sa was not happy. She gave them a few hours, got the right officials contacted but it was taking too long so she called her aunt, a high ranking official. She told Mark, "I tried to do it the nice way but this needs to happen now!" She's incredible. The aunt is working on it and Sa and Mark will have a meeting today or Thursday!
I wondered how a short term mission to an orphanage could help anything in the long run and God is showing me!
Here are a few more kids to pray for. I may have mentioned them before. It's hard to keep track...
Yong Yong - 6 year old healthy boy who was brought to the orphanage last year bc his mother died. she had left the father bc of abuse but since there is a father somewhere he isn't adoptable. Please pray that they can find a loop hole. He needs a family. He knows what he is missing. He is truely beautiful!
Jo Jo- 3 month old boy who has a problem with one eye. The staff thinks he has limited brain function so they wont put him on the adoption list but he does everything a 3 month old is supposed to do. He smiles and laughs and tries to focus but he just can't see well. SO cute!! Please pray that we can convince the director to put him on the adoption list.
The little group of toddlers... They are so cute! Some of them have special needs but they are relatively minor. Wai Wai is the cutest little 2 year old buddy with deformed hands and the sweetest disposition. He can do anything with those hands. Isaac has a beautiful face and is the peacemaker. Jesus (we named him that because he looks Mexican!) is Mr. Fun. Jacob toddles around following the others.
The ring-leader/diva of the orphanage is Jing. She is about 5 and will soon be on the list. Pray for a VERY strong mommy to adopt her ;)
More later- gotta take the kiddos to the park and then to KFC - our first American food of the trip and the only American option in the whole city. Yum?
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