A Full Day and Full Hearts...Part 1

Wow.  If one word could sum up this day, that would be it.  Or maybe, humbled…or thankful.  All those words are appropriate.  We have such full hearts and feel so very blessed.  Let me tell you about our unbelievable day.

We got up early again.  Jia slept pretty well.  She sleeps all over the place.  She starts out next to me and then crocodile rolls and ends up at the end of the bed after a few hours.  Then she crawls her way back up to me and it starts over.  She woke up crying last night.  I think she was grieving.  It lasted about 10 minutes or so.  I just rubbed her back and hair.  That is such a hard thing to watch, but I know it’s really a good thing for her to grieve. 

We had another amazing breakfast.  Jia sure loves to eat.  She goes for the fish immediately and then samples everything else.  She loves orange juice and a yogurt drink that I, myself, have taken quite a liking to.  When our guide arrived, Jia told her that she slept well and had a great breakfast.  I wish I could understand her.   She is talking up a storm!  Our guide says she’s very smart, polite, and respectful.

We first went to the orphanage.  It was rush hour and I’m astounded that there were no crashes or pedestrian deaths.  We were inches from people and other cars constantly. 

The orphanage complex is huge and there are many buildings.  It looks like it might be on about 15 acres. 

 

We went and visited her preschool class and they were excited to see her.  She has three teachers and they love her so much.  All the kids were very sweet and playful.  They really got excited when Mike started throwing them into the air.  They were screaming with excitement.

Here’s where her little friends sleep.  She sleeps with her foster family.

Her drink cup and bib.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we went to visit with her foster mother.  This orphanage is unique in that there is an apartment type building that houses foster families.  I’m not sure how they determine which children stay with the foster families and which don’t.  I found out that Jia has been with her foster family for three years.  Her foster mom would pick her up from preschool each day at 11 and they would come home for the rest of the day.  These apartments are very nice and quite spacious. 

This is the picture wall as you walk into the building.  Jia’s picture is right in the middle.

This is her foster mom.  She is bright and energetic.  What a sweet lady!  I could tell they really love each other.  One of her foster brothers is severely mentally handicapped.  He was lying on the floor for a while her foster mom was making lunch.

Here was her little bed.  I guess doing crocodile rolls at night is no big deal when you sleep in a bed like this.

 

They had all these huge prints of their family on the walls in the family room. 

Here’s little Jia.

That is our driver, Mr. Lee, in the background.  The foster dad was at work.

 

 

Jia is saying good-bye to her foster mom.   She was excited to go.  Her foster mom told me that they talked a lot about her new family in America and that Jia was eager to get on a plane and go to the US.  She said that once, Jia got in trouble for something, and Jia said, “Mommy, I’m upset with you.  I’m going to go and get on a plane and be with my American mommy now.”  We all laughed a lot together and we thanked her so much for taking such good care of Jia.

 

 

 

 

 

Jia was the first one out the door and she was ready leave.  I, unfortunately, started talking to our guide and the orphanage director in the hallway about another child from whom I was bringing pictures and a letter.  Jia was in the elevator…waiting.  She got really upset and we realized what was happening and left immediately. 

She had her first real meltdown.  She had tears rolling down her face and she was saying, “Mama. Mama,” over and over again.  It was heart wrenching.  I think it had just hit her that she had said her final good-bye to her foster mother.  I was so sad for her.

We left that building and went over to another building where the bigger kids lived and went to school.  We were beyond impressed.   Look at all they have available.

This is one of their study rooms.

Here is an art room.  All this artwork was done by the children.

This is a beautiful needlepoint.

The library.

There was even a music room and one of the kids was playing a beautiful song on the piano.  They let Jia play on the piano too, but I can’t find that picture.

 

This is a sculpture that is designed into the wall at the entrance of the building.  The Half the Sky Foundation’s name comes from a Chinese saying that women and children hold up half the sky.

 

After all this, they invited us to have lunch with them.  They were so very kind and generous. 

We found out the Jia is quite the superstar around here.  Everywhere we went, people came up and said, “Bing-Bing!” and would give her a big hug. 

She would then proceed to introduce us to everyone, saying, “This is my mama, baba, and big sister,” (in Chinese, of course.)

Here’s the lunch room.

 

My little superstar.

 

We had an amazing time at the orphanage.  It was such a good thing for all of us.  What a blessing!