Yesterday, we set out on a journey I have been
apprehensive about for quite some time. It was a planned visit to the
orphanage where Phoebe and Lyric called home for over 13 years. My girls are
from Huainan, about 2 hours from Hefei, which is where we are staying.
The drive to Huainan was nice. Our guide told stories about so many of
the sights that surrounded us on our journey.
When we arrived in Huainan, we were allowed to
visit the school the girls attended. Lyric got to go in and say goodbye
to her teacher. A few minutes after she
disappeared into the school, she came out with 2 teachers who wanted to tell us
how sweet she was (like that was a secret!)
They also wanted to see Phoebe.
They spoke to her and she pulled away but seemed ok. Not long after that, we hear a chime and start
seeing tons of little faces peering out windows, then they rushed the court
yard to come see the Americans! All the
kids came out and surrounded us! Phoebe was reunited with an old friend,
Nora from Love Without Boundaries. Lyric
held tight to 2 little girls from the orphanage. We did not get to stay long after that,
and soon we were on our way to the orphanage.
The scenery changed from that of wealth to
that of poverty. The road leading to the orphanage is lined with mounds
of graves. There is rubble and old, rundown buildings. As we
rounded a corner, I saw the familiar gate that has haunted my mind for 2 1/2
years become more than a picture on social media. It hit me like a ton of brick
that this is the place my precious girls love.
This is a place of comfort for them. Nothing can prepare you for
that. Nothing can prepare you for the things you will see as you pass
through the gates.
Once inside, I immediately felt small. The 2
story, 1/2 boxed shaped, white brick building seems like a giant. There
is concrete everywhere and the surroundings are cold and stale. Within
moments of getting out of the van, there were little faces peeking around the
corner. Off my big girls went! This was there domain. No
matter how sub-standard and poverty stricken my American mind and heart felt
this place was, it was their past. It was the place they called home for years.
It was comfort to them. For one girl, it was a place that held a
special spot in her heart with memories of old friends and the love of her dear
China Mommas. For the other, the only
home ever know.
I grabbed the snacks and gifts and quickly headed
off to find my girls. As I entered the
area where the children were, most of which were toddlers and a couple of maybe
5-8 year old special needs kiddos, I had to put on a mask… a mask that magically
held back my tears… a mask that did not
allow my thoughts to be written across my face.
I had never seen anything like this before, but this was their way of
life. I cannot judge, only feel. I cannot speak out, but only give to try to
make it better, but not America better, because this is not America.
My girls began handing crackers out to the
children. The nannies would take the
bags and put them away, but as soon as little hands reached my way, I went and
found the bags of goodies and handed them more!
MORE…. it was so little.
Shortly after we arrived, Phoebe’s favorite China
Momma arrived. Gifts were
exchanged. I grabbed her and held her
and told her thank you about a thousand times.
Lyric soon appears, emerging from a small room with
the little boy she calls Didi (little brother).
Wanting to make sure mommy knew who he was!! Brandon and I smiled and
the thought crossed my mind that maybe I was looking in the empty, cold, hungry
eyes of my little boy.
That thought quickly faded when we caught sight of
a little “scooter”, (a little boy
scooting on his bottom) exiting the area with nothing but a cracker
wrapper. I chased him down and filled
each hand!
The 3 school children arrived back for lunch, so we
did not get to stay much longer so they could eat and get back to school.
The moment came that I was dreading more than
anything….Goodbye. I was so concerned
with how Phoebe would handle it and she did fine. I think the glory of Huainan had been
stripped away. It had once been filled
with tons of her friends, and now all but 2 (who have sadly aged out) have been
adopted. Lyric almost made it to the van
when one of her “China Mommas” came running to say goodbye…Then came the horror
that filled my day. I felt like I ripped
her away as she ran from the van. The
China Mommas stopped her and she hit the ground. I quickly rushed to her as they scolded my
terrified child. I knelt in the madness,
surrounded by women and children. My
voice was softly whispering, “it’s ok,”
but I don’t think she heard me. She
became a noodle. They picked her up and
forced her on the van while she was screaming.
We climbed in behind her and the door shut……
For Life Ministries has a program, Know One. The idea behind it is if you take the time to
know an orphan, you will be changed, you will do something! What a
program. What a simple idea. You don’t have to sell it, just put out a
challenge. For the ones willing to take
the challenge, hold on and get ready for the faith journey of your life! I have never really known an orphan. You may say that I adopted 3 and have one more
on the way. To that I say, “I did not
know them as orphans. I have only known
them as my children.” Today…. I have known
an orphan. I have seen their plight
firsthand. I will stand in the gap. I will advocate. I will give till I cannot give and Jesus
takes me home. Brothers and Sisters in
Christ, we were made to love. We were
not made to have the biggest and best toys, houses, cars, boats, career…not
that there is anything wrong with having any of that, but if we don’t have LOVE
we have nothing!
I have so many emotions bottled up in me since I
celebrated Orphan Sunday. I am about to just let my heart explode on
paper. If you don’t want to read me on my
soapbox, then skip the next 3 paragraphs.
Do you know
why Sodom was destroyed? I grew up only
knowing one reason, but here is what Ezekiel has to say:
“Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north
of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lives south of you is
Sodom with her daughters.
Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or
done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you
acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.
As I live, declares the Lord God, Sodom, your
sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughter have done.
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom:
She and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, BUT,
she did not help the poor and needy.
Thus they were haughty and committed abominations
before Me, therefore, I removed them when I saw it.” Ezekiel 16: 48-50
This has changed me and made me bold. I don’t care if I step on your toes if I am
telling the truth. I don’t care if your feelings are hurt because I tell you
what God says. I don’t care if you step
on my toes or hurt my feelings if you are telling me what God says. I don’t want to walk in ignorance of the
Word. I have done that far too long and
it is inexcusable. We as Christians are
set apart. We have a holy calling to be
set apart, but we only embrace it when it suits us. We have a command to take care of the
oppressed, be a voice for the voiceless…
a command to take care of the orphan and the widow. To choose not to is a sin just as much as
stealing, adultery, lying, not keeping the Sabbath Holy…..
Back to our day!
The ride back to the hotel was filled with tears from Lyric. She finally rested and Phoebe and I
spoke. Phoebe still has trouble voicing
how she feels, but her eyes were bright and she munched on snacks that the China
Mommas gave (by the way…these women sent tons of gifts for my girls and several
others. I may go broke in mailing
fees!). She said she was fine and
enjoyed herself. She is amazing and I
don’t deserve her. She is a different
child and has blossomed this trip. Man…I love her guts!
Once back at the hotel, we headed to our room to
put all the gifts down and get ready for lunch.
Once off the elevator and on our floor, the tears stopped and Lyric
returned to her role of Key Keeper.
“BABA!” Hand went out requesting the hotel key. She ran down the hall…the wrong way as
usual…Phoebe corrected her…they laugh…down the correct hall she goes, straight to our door. She opens it, turns the lights on and runs
inside. She gives hugs and kisses and
all is returned to normal. She had a
headache from the car ride and crying and was very dizzy. It was not long until she wanted lunch so we
headed out to…….the noodle shop! Yay me!
After lunch she wanted to go for a swim.
How exciting was that!!! She is
so silly.
Update on Eden, she is still doing great...God is
so good!!
Today, we head to Xi’an to get Tilly. It will be a crazy long day. Please pray that Tilly Lynn feels safe and as
comfortable as possible during this transition.
Pray that Lyric will continue to bond and do well with the new edition. Pray that my sweet, jewel, Phoebe with
continue to embrace her new role with grace.
Pray that my Eden will continue to do great!
Praising my Savior, Believing and holding on to Job
42:2!
Eden doing great at NeNe's!!!! Super star on the ride to Huainan
The girls school in Huainan
The school's symbol
The infamous squatty potty.....Yes I mastered it!
Teachers
School children
a Chinese Photo bomb!
So happy that your visit to the orphanage went well. I guess you did not visit when you adopted Phoebe. We visited three days after receiving Rachel in 2007 and returned the summer of 2013 for a visit. I look forward to your next post. Stay well, and enjoy!
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