China (Day 6)

Today we were at Children Hope. The orphanage is smaller with less than 20 children and has a 1 to 2 ratio. All of the children have varying degrees of disabilities.

This little baby had just arrived with a cleft palate that will eventually be repaired. She was tiny, tiny, but it was so cool to watch how tender the other little ones were with her...


These two little boys met us at the door with the antiseptic gel. They definitely know the routine :-) They squirted into our hands and showed us that we needed to rub it in. Watching these two little boys play through out the day was a hoot. They were so interactive with everyone - other children, the ayi, and with us. They would just run at full steam, with the biggest grins on their faces. At the end of the day when we left, they gave each of us a hug, kiss, and hand shake.

This little boy was one of the one's pictured above with the gel. He has just had his cleft palate surgery. When you take his picture he opens his mouth to show you ~ it was a glorious sight!

These two boys are future engineers. They lined up boxes from the toy shelf (straight line of course) and then would walk in & out of them. After doing that for awhile, they then started stacking the boxes but only after realizing with the help of a long rod they could spin the boxes around on the floor real easy. It was fun to watch them come up with different ways to play with these boxes...

The little ones with us and their Ayi's rolling the ball around.

The boys loved playing with David. He would tote them around, talk with them, play with them on the ground. He was definitely a favorite with the boys...

Gloria played with this little girl most of the afternoon. She came to this orphanage from another orphanage only a month ago. When she arrived she was basically unresponsive; they believe she has some form of CP and possible brain damage. She now walks around, plays with you, has the hugest smile as you can see above, and seems to really be enjoying life.

Wei Xi is 3 years old. I originally picked her up because she was sitting in a bouncy seat (just like the one Brittney & Sophie had when they were little). She was getting really tired & was starting to get a little fussy. I asked if I could pick her up, & then they told me that she was blind, deaf, and unable to sit up on her own. She was really starting to fuss, so I held her tight against me at first with her head resting on my throat. Then I started to sing to her - almost instantly she stopped fussing. She would push her head up against my throat. After awhile she actually started smiling. Eventually she feel asleep in my arms, so I continued to rock her & sing to her. Now her Ayi (nanny) had 1 other child she was responsible for (though they all share working with all of the children); this other little girl was 1 year old & had just had a shunt put in her head to drain the excess fluid. She also was a little girl unable to move, but she was very responsive to everyone around. I enjoyed watching the ayi give this other little girl infant massages through out the day to stimulate her movements.

After lunch when we returned, Wei Xi was on the couch and starting to get fussy. Her Ayi was working with the other girl, so I again asked if I could pick her up. At first Wei Xi was fussy, but eventually she & I settled into a routine again. I would walk with her, sing to her, play with her arms, etc. She was really beginning to smile & respond. She makes beautiful sounds with her voice, and there were times that I would have said she was repeating the sounds I made to her. I learned that she really enjoyed feeling the sunshine on her face. Whenever a sun-beam would come across her face she would just marvel in it. I took her for a short walk in the courtyard, but it was too cold to stay out long. Again, she seemed to enjoy the fresh air & definitely she enjoyed the sunshine.

Even as I type this I just keep singing over & over again, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."