The City Where I Have Sent You

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

-Jeremiah 29:7

Hood Rat Things

I started this post weeks ago and I'm just getting around to finishing it.  This goes out to the Queens ladies who love to do hood rat things. 


I know what hood rat things look like in Dayton but I keep wondering, "What do 'hood rat' things look like in China?"  Well, this weekend I found out.

I went down to the river for a night tour.  The boat ride was really beautiful.  The downtown area isn't much like the rest of the city.  The buildings are all new, clean, and very well lit. That is not the case where I live.  Anyway, it was fun to see in real life what I saw in pictures before I came here.  There's a huge ferris wheel over a bridge - the Tianjin Eye.  It's really neat but not something I care to ride.  It was built in China and it's hanging over a body of water...those two things don't really scream "sturdy and safe."

Anyway, while we were on the boat, we saw people setting off Chinese paper lanterns.  You know, like the ones in Tangled.  It was SO COOL!  With the boat and the lights and the cool fall air, the lanterns made everything feel really magical.  The girls I was with agreed that we needed to find some lanterns and release our own.  As we were getting off of the boat, we saw a family lighting a lantern, so we stopped to watch and then ask them where they bought it.  As they were trying to get it into the air a police car came driving down the walkway (yes, walkway), made them put out the fire, and asked where they bought the lantern.  The people didn't answer, but put out the fire and walked away.

That should have been enough to deter me from any further searching, however...

It felt so much like a Disney movie I just couldn't resist.  I (along with the two 20-year-old girls accompanying me) searched on, looking for the seemingly illegal goods.  We came across a guy selling them for ¥10.  Yes, please!  I'll take two! Unfortunately for the guy, it's hard for American's to blend in here, so a crowd had started to gather. As I was getting ready to pay him, I saw a police officer come barging through the crowd out of nowhere and grab the guy selling the lanterns.  Before I knew what was happening I told the girls, "Walk away! walk away now!" and we got the heck out of dodge.  A few minutes later we walked back to where we had just tried to buy the lanterns.  Where there was once 1 guy selling them, there were now 3.  We quickly handed the people ¥10, took our lanterns, and left.  I still haven't released my lantern...maybe I will do it this weekend.  I can understand why they are a bad idea - fire floating through the air usually doesn't end well.  BUT I just can't help myself, so here's hoping I don't burn anything down.  

we are the rescued

“Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.”

"We care for orphans because we are the rescued."

-David Platt

October Update

In lieu of doing a monthly newsletter (because I somehow lost the template and because this just seems simpler) I'm going to try a monthly blog update.  We'll see how it works.  :)  I feel like I experience so many new things everyday it's hard to decide where to even begin, so I'll just hit a few highlights.

September was a wonderful month!  The humidity has finally dissipated and the cool fall air has moved in.  The days are getting shorter.  New street vendors have come out, selling everything from caramel corn to delicious cooked yams.  During the month of September I met some new Chinese friends, got plugged in at the orphanage, and visited Beijing.  I went to an "English Corner" a few weeks ago and I'm hoping to go back every Friday.  At English Corner we just hang out at a coffee shop and give the students an opportunity to practice their English.  I was starting to get discouraged about how difficult it has been to meet Chinese people (I know, I know...I live in China.  It's harder than you would think to find people who speak English) and how much time I spend with other Americans, so this group was like a breath of fresh air for me.  I also met a new Chinese friend on the street one day and she has been such a blessing, showing us around the city and introducing us to her friends.  I'm excited to see how these relationships will grow and expand!

I've blogged a lot about the orphanage already, so I won't say much about that except that it was the highlight of the month of September for me.  Please be praying for me as I continue to look for ways to be involved in the lives of orphans in Tianjin.

Beijing was pretty fun!  It was strange to be out of Tianjin for a few days.  We stayed at the Peking Yard Hostel.  It was way nicer than I expected and located very close to the subway so it was super convenient.  We did a lot of shopping at cheap markets....and I mean LOTS of shopping.  Our efforts to go sightseeing didn't really pan out, though, so I don't have many pictures of our trip. We tried to go to the Temple of Heaven, but it didn't work out.  The next day we planned to go to the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square but we got there too late and couldn't get in.  We did get to spend at little time on the Square.  It actually worked out great that we were late because we were there at night and got to see all of the buildings lit up.  It was really amazing!  I have never seen so many people in one place before.  I've also never been stared at or photographed so much, even in Tianjin.  People actually asked to have their picture taken with me, which has NEVER happened.  It was surreal.  As much as I enjoyed Beijing, it was good to come back home to Tianjin where things are starting to feel familiar and normal. 

My Chinese is coming along very slowly, so please pray that I'll start to pick it up quicker and that I'll have more discipline to study.  I'm not satisfied with just being able to get around.  I want to be able to really communicate with people. 



Resting in this Truth this month: He who calls you is faithful - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Ancient Culture Street

Today some new Chinese friends took my roommate and I to Ancient Culture Street.  It was a really cool place!  I was sort of expecting more of China to be like this before I moved here.  I think my favorite part was when we went to the roof of KFC and looked out at Culture Street and saw skyscrapers in the background.  I love seeing old China and modern China coexisting.  Here are some pictures from our day. 

Our new friend Tom writing my Chinese name, Moli.

Sweet potatoes...they are SO GOOD!  (Even if they do come out of a rusty barrel...)

I love these colors

Lanterns!

Ancient China meets modern China

Nzinga trying the stinky tofu... It smells terrible but she said it was delicious!

So.Many.People.

My bicycle obsession continues...

Making a horse out of liquid candy

Meat

Agape House

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting the Agape House in Langfang, China.  I also got to ride the bullet train for the first time which was super exciting.

The Agape House is a group of foster homes for orphans, most of whom have IO, Osteogenesis Imperfecta.   IO is genetic bone disorder commonly known as "Brittle Bone Disease." The children are divided by age, so several children around the same age live in a house together with foster parents.  I love this arrangement because they are living as a family and they get to experience the love of parents.  It's also really neat to see the children interact with one another.  They understand the struggles of the other children in the house so they can relate to one another in a way that other people can't. 

At the house there is a bakery, called the Bread of Life Bakery.  There is a man, Danny, who oversees the bakery, but older orphans who have lived in the Agape House work there and make the baked goods.  They also travel to Beijing (and hopefully someday Tianjin) to sell their bakery items.  We had pizza from the bakery for lunch, and it was seriously the best pizza I've had in a very long time.  For dessert we had red velvet cupcakes... OH.MY.WORD.  They were delicious. 

http://www.breadoflifebakery.org/

During our visit we got to play some games with the kids, and it was probably the most fun I've had since I've been in China.  There is an activity house in the complex which is very nice.  There is a swimming pool for therapy, a piano, and lots of games.  We decided to forgo the board games and play silly group games. Most of the kids are in wheelchairs, so I thought it would be difficult for them to maneuver around in such a tight space.  There were moments where it felt a little bit like human Tetris, but they are amazing little drivers!  We played a "signs" game and let me just say these kids have a LOT of personality.  They are so silly and clever! Next we played a quick game of charades before the kids had to go. 

We heard one of the older girls practicing the piano. Sometimes teachers come give lessons but it's inconsistent so she mostly teaches herself. 

We spent the rest of the day working in the yard and sitting around hearing stories about the House and the people who work there.  It was a refreshing time of being with people and enjoying the outdoors and sunshine.  It was so great!  Here's the website for the Agape House...Take a minute and check it out!

www.agapeflh.org

Do something

I got up early Saturday to go to the orphanage.  It was the first time I've gone by myself, so I left extra early in case (ok, let's be honest....it was pretty much a given) I got lost.  I walked to the bus stop and waited FOREVER for the #12 bus.  I hopped on and found the only open seat...in the back corner.  As more and more people started to crowd onto the bus, I began to realize that I would 1)suffocate in the back, 2)be stuck back there all day, and 3)miss my stop.  Plus there are more people in the front to try to talk to.  I waited until someone got off and I made my way toward the front.

I got to the front and found a seat.  A few stops later an older lady got onto the bus so I gave her my seat.  That's what I've seen Chinese people do, and I love that they value older people so  much.  She was sweet and very appreciative.  Now that I was standing smooshed in between a bunch of people who speak Chinese, I figured it would be a good time to practice the little bit of language I have.  I love learning Chinese but it's coming so slowly because I don't get to use it often and I don't have much time to spend studying.  I try to take advantage of opportunities where I can use what I know and learn new things.  The bus is a great place to do that so I talked to them a little bit, mostly telling them that I'm an American, I only understand a little bit of Chinese, and I can't read.  A teacher who is mostly mute and illiterate.  Haha...talk about humbling.  I feel like the collective Chinese people really took care of me during the bus ride to the orphanage.  I told the man standing next to me where I needed to get off and he helped me figure out how many more stops until then.  When the older lady I had given my seat to needed to exit the bus, she insisted that I sit back down. As we got closer to my stop I kept trying to get up to move toward the door but the man standing near me kept making me sit back down because we weren't at my stop yet.  I finally got off the bus and made my way toward the orphanage. 

I only got a little bit lost on the way there, so between traffic on the bus and a wrong turn I was about 20 minutes late.  I hated being late because my time there is already so limited.  The doctor at the orphanage did a "physical exam" which consisted of me showing her my hands and sticking out my tongue.  It didn't seem like a very thorough exam, but I'm not complaining.  Once I was cleared to go upstairs I went into the room I've been in before.  My babies were all there - ShenShen, WeiWei, DouDou, and Ror.  There are several other babies in that room, too, and I'm getting to know them as well.  DouDou called me "mama," which I'm sure they've taught him to call all older women, but I about lost it.  I easily could have come packed him up and brought him home.  ShenShen is the baby I fell in love with who has a serious heart condition.  Her breathing was a little more labored this time than when I saw her 2 weeks ago.  Although she seemed incredibly weak, there were a few moments when she smiled and acted silly.  She's just so beautiful.  I held her and rocked her for a while.  I sang some kids' songs, Hymns, and David Crowder... I think I'm so drawn to her because the rest of the babies have disabilities that they will have forever, and while they are all pretty thin, they are fairly healthy.  ShenShen, on the other hand, is really sick.  I can't imagine being so sick and being alone.  Thinking back to times I was sick as a child (and even as an adult), all I remember is wanting to have my parents close by.  As I was rocking her frail little body, I couldn't help but be sad that her parents gave up the opportunity to love her through her illness. I can't bear the thought of her being so sick and being in a bed alone all day.  I was also reminded of my dad during his last days.  Our house was flooded with people who loved him and wanted to be there so he wouldn't be alone, people who walked into a painful situation to be by his side or even just be in the other room.  It meant so much to me, and even though he couldn't express it I'm sure it meant so much to my dad.  The same way he had to work so hard to breathe at the end of his life, ShenShen is working just as hard, only she doesn't have much of a support system.  She has ayis who are there taking care of her, but they have 11 other babies who need them, too.  There is nowhere else I would have rather been on Saturday morning, but my heart felt so heavy...like, what else can I do for this little girl?  There must be something else I can do.  In that moment, I felt completely powerless, but I was reminded that He is so Powerful. 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory ...  throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Ephesians 3:20-21

DouDou and WeiWei can walk, so we got them out of their beds and let them run around the room.  They followed me around and I played with them while I was holding the other babies.  It was fun to see them being boys, running around and getting into mischief. There are two boys with Cerebral Palsy who are super smiley and so cute.  I held them both for a while and sang to them.  (They didn't seem to mind my terrible singing voice.)  Even though Ror can crawl the ayis kept him in his bed, so SheShen and I sat by his crib and told him the story of the 3 Little Pigs.  I'm sure he didn't understand a word but he thought it was hilarious.  For the last few minutes I held WeiWei, who is the oldest and kind of a favorite in the orphanage.  We played "Ride a horsey, ride to town, ride a horsey, don't fall down!"  He LOVED it.  He laughed and laughed.  Then I rocked him for a while and taught him to say "eyes" and "nose."  Every time I tried to put him down he would say "baobao!" which (I think) means "hold me!"  So of course I picked him back up and played some more.  Eventually 11am rolled around and that's their nap time, so I had to leave.  When I put WeiWei back in his crib he cried and clung onto me.  It took everything in me to not cry with him.  I took his shoes off and said goodbye to the ayis and other babies while WeiWei screamed.  I said goodbye to ShenShen and prayed she will still be there when I go back.  As I traveled home I asked God to help me understand my role in these babies' lives.  There are so many of them, and I want so desperately for them to all feel loved and know His love.  It's an overwhelming feeling.  There is still so much about this I'm struggling to understand, but here are some things I've read since Saturday that have given me a little perspective.  I've shared some of them before, but they are worth sharing again.

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. -Galatians 6:9-10

Carry each other’s burdens... - Galatians 6:2

Do for one what you wish you could do or everyone. -Andy Stanley

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Hale

So here's where I am today:  I can't make ShenShen healthy, but I will ask the great Healer to heal her.  I can't spend every day with her (as much as I would love to), but I will love her well during the precious moments I get to spend with her.  I can't be her mom (at least not right now), but I will pray that someone will be. I don't understand what would cause someone to abandon a sick child, but I will pray for understanding and compassion.  I can't do everything, but I can do something.