Not the way it's supposed to be...

I got a call last night (on their lunch break). They had a wonderful morning at the orphanage. I had been preparing Lauren for months that some of the younger children wouldn't remember her. Well, they drove up to the building got off the bus and Wai Wai ran squealing into her arms! What a gift! Lauren gave me an update on all the "babies" and sounded so happy! Bao Xin, blind girl with cerebral palsey, was happy as ever. A few of the older children who were in cribs all day when we got there last year were walking with assistance. The "toddlers" are growing up and looking good. Jing, the little diva who was in charge of the place, was doing lessons with one of the nannies! Kevin was introduced to everyone and was playing games with them. The nannies told all the children to call him uncle :) So many good things. But they are balanced by the realities of orphanage life. Heng Heng is gone. I held him on the last day and prayed that Jesus would take him home. He was wasting away. Little Jo Jo, the 3 month old with the lazy eye, doesn't seem to be growing. Lauren said he looks basically the same. He should be toddling around with the other little ones. It was a quick phone call because they needed to go to lunch. It was so good to hear them but I hung up and sobbed. The reality of how these children live, the losses we grieve and even the gains we celebrate are so wrong. It must be a glimpse into the way God looks at the earth. This isn't the way it was supposed to be.

FInally in ChaoYang

...but not at the orphanage yet. Their plane was delayed out of Beijing so they did not get to have the afternoon at the orphanage. Instead, they went to dinner and then out to the Pagoda square. This is an amazing event that happens every night during the summer. Hundreds of people go to the town square and play music, visit, eat. There are sections for break dancing, swing dancing, traditional Chinese dancing. It's so much fun! Since this is a city of almost no "foreigners" our team is a big draw. People follow them and practice their English, take pictures. This is where they will give out their glow sticks (thanks, Tori and girls!) but tonight they didn't get a chance to get them from their room before they went. They talked to some teen girls and told them about why they were there and the girls are going to go with them on the bus to the orphanage tomorrow! This is a big part of the trip- making people aware of these children and show them how to help. While we are sleeping tonight they will be waking up and finally seeing the children they came to love. I think I can feel Lauren's excitement from here!

Busy Day in Beijing

I talked to Kevin and Lauren this evening. They were just starting their morning. They had a very busy day yesterday. They were able to go to Morningstsr, the medical orphanage run by Christian Americans. They had a great time playing with the children there and seeing how well cared for and happy they are. If you are interested in this mission look them up. They are amazing. Then they went to a bell tower and another kind of tower (I can't remember) where they climbed up and then had a tea ceremony. Lauren said it was very interesting and they we able to taste several different types. THEN they went to the Great Wall. Since it is a 3 day holiday weekend there, the wall was packed and for some reason Lauren said it was 3 times as smoggy as last year. After all that climbing, they slept well and are en route to ChaoYang now. They are hoping that the orphanage director meets them at the airport so they can go straight to the orphanage. Otherwise, they may have to wait until tomorrow. That's all for tonight. Thank you for praying for my precious husband and daughter!

Beijing - finally

Kevin and Lauren just called from their hotel in Beijing. They spent the day exploring Shanghai and by 6 pm were on their airplane again. They were met at the airport by Martin (the Beijing guide) and Ying (part of the team) and then had a quick dinner at McDonald's. They got to the hotel room at around 10:30pm and they are now tucked into their hard little beds trying to sleep ;) Tomorrow they will be going to Morningstar, an American-run medical orphanage, and then off to the Great Wall.

Shanghai?!

Email feom Kevin: Well, thunderstorms in Beijing forced our plane to land in Shanghai after 14 hours in the air. We're being housed at a Howard Johnsons in Shanghai and won't leave for Beijing until after 6:30 PM Friday. We'll try to find something productive or at least entertaining to do with our unexpected day in the largest Chinese city. Email from Lauren: Its 2am in Shanhai. We didn't get to land in Beijing because of storms. Checking into a hotel for now. Don't get to leave until 6:30pm and they wouldn't take our luggage off the plane :D Kevin told the group about the Krosley Family Motto: Plans Change!

Seattle

I just talked to Kevin. After killing time/enjoying Seattle all day, they are boarding their 13 hour flight to Beijing. It sounds like Lauren has already made lifetime friends with the other team members. God is good!

Kevin and Lauren's China Adventure!

Well, Krosleys are on their way to China but this time Lauren is taking her Daddy! When Kevin decided to take a year working at home we decided that he was the one to take Lauren back to China this summer. She has such a passion for the children of China that we made it a priority to go back "one more time". So they left this morning. It felt weird to help them pack, drive them to the airport and then drive back home. It's so hard to stay behind but I have always had peace that Kevin needed to do this. Lauren woke up with a huge smile on her face this morning - it was so cute! She can't wait to see "her" babies - Isaac, Jo Jo, Mei Mei, Bao Xin, Tao Tao, Jesus, et al. And of course, Wai Wai (see her FB profile pic). They will have 2 sight seeing days in Beijing first but she couldn't care less. She just wants to get to ChaoYang. ;-) Since they can't blog from there they will send me email updates that I will post. They also have a Panda phone so I will also be posting from our conversations. Welcome to the new journey, vicariously with me! Pam