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. 

Great Wall...Great Weekend

I had a Good China Weekend. 

I went to my TA’s wedding on Saturday…my first China wedding.  It was beautiful!

That night we rode our bikes to an Indian restaurant.  We took a wrong turn and a 20 minute bike ride turned into an hour-long bike tour of the city.  We saw some fun new things and got practice weaving in and out of heavier traffic, so that was good!  :)  And we were certainly hungry by the time we got to the restaurant!  The food was so delicious (hao chi!).

Yesterday, on Sunday, we went to the Huangyaguan Pass of the Great Wall.  It was a really great day!  When we got to the wall, we decided to buy trolley tickets and ride to the top, then walk down.  It sounded easy enough… 

Well, when we got to the top of the hill we realized that it wasn’t so much walking down the Wall as walking UP and down a mountain.  The first stretch was mostly uphill, so we were out of breath within 5 minutes... 

 

 A lot of this section of the wall has been restored.  There was one area that didn't have steps...just uneven rocks with a handrail on one side and caution tape and a mountainside on the other.  That part was really scary, hence me not having any pictures of it.  We walked up and down the mountain for quite a while, enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.  It's hard to believe human hands built such a massive structure... It is really amazing. 

 

Wall-climbing buddy

 

 So after about an hour or hour and a half of walking, we came to this point in the hike and realized we were going to die before we made it to the end...either by falling down a mountain or from exhaustion. 

 

 

(This isn't important information, but inside the tower at the bottom of this hill some guy had set up a creepy little souvenir shop...it was weird.) 

At the bottom of the hill we stopped to catch our breath and take a few pictures of my Toms on the Great Wall. We also got some pictures of people sleeping in random public places to add to our collection.  People in China (especially men) will sleep anywhere. 

We began the trek down the wall again, not sure how much longer until we would get to the exit point...if we made it to the exit point at all.  Then we came across a beautiful sight - horses and guides for hire.  There wasn't really a question of whether or not we would take a horse down the side of the mountain rather than continue walking.  Of course we were going to ride the horses.  There was one small problem, though... 

All of the tour guides were asleep.  Every single one.  The lady in the bottom right corner of this picture was actually snoring.  We walked up an I said "Ni hao."  No answer.  A little louder, "Ni hao!"  Only a snore in response.  My roommate Nzinga (who is walking up the middle of them in this picture), turned around in disbelief.  "NI HAO!"  Nothing.  Nzinga and I had a conversation in very loud voices and no one stirred.  So we stood there and awkwardly stared at them for what seemed like forever.  Finally I tried one more time.  "Ahem...Ni hao!"  A lady woke up and said something in Chinese.  "Blah, blah, blah, ¥100 each."  So I pointed to Nzinga and myself, "Liange ren, ¥100" (two people, ¥100.)  She and her friend laughed and she came back with ¥100 each...the original price.  Uh, no.  There was no way were were paying that much...and there was no way we were walking any further down the Wall.  I kept negotiating in Chinese (my teacher would be so proud!) until we agreed on a price.  I just learned how to say prices in Chinese class, so it was fun to use my language, limited as it may be! 

The horse ride was really fun!  We made it down the wall in a fraction of the time it would have taken us to walk. 

As fun as all of those things were, the most fun part of the trip for me was what came AFTER the wall.  When we got back to the bottom we looked around the souvenir shops, which all carry exactly the same thing (how do they all stay in business?).  We bought some dried fruit, but nothing else was worth buying.  We were looking for a place to sit in the shade and enjoy our snacks when a police officer motioned us over to the trolley where he was sitting.  He had us sit down and he proceeded to try to talk to us in Chinese for the next hour.  He didn't know any English, so we used what little Chinese we know.  He told us about the Wall (none of which I understood) and sang a song in Chinese.  He did a little war reenactment for us which was unexpected and really funny.  Soon another guy had joined us, and then another and another.  They knew about as much English as I do Chinese, so our conversation was really interesting.  We used charades and pointing and exchanged lots of confused looks. I was able to communicate a little bit, though, and we had such a great time!  I was surprised by how much Chinese I know!  (which still isn't very much, but WAY more than I knew 2 months ago.) At one point we met an English tour guide/interpreter.  Finally we had to go and the group disbanded.  It was so great to sit down with those people, try to use a language I barely know, laugh, and learn.  I loved having to think so hard and listen so carefully.  I felt so honored that they took the time to sit down and talk with us.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend! 

Bicycle ramblings...

I spent a good part of the weekend on my bike.  Here are a few thoughts from my journeys.


1. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  If all of the Romans are riding through a busy intersection when its not their turn, I'm going with them.  There's strength in numbers.

2. One short warning beep is sufficient.  No need to wear out your horn to let me know you're behind me.  I'm foreign, not deaf.

3. There's a bike lane.  People drive their cars in the bike lane to get around the other traffic, only to then have to merge back over or avoid killing a bicyclist.  People park their cars in the bike lane which means bicyclists have to drive in the car lane, and people honk at them for being in the car lane, and then honk at them for being in their way in the bike lane while they are trying to park their cars there.  Also, sidewalks are acceptable parking places for cars.

4. Buses won't necessarily stop or even yield just because they have a red light...

5. The old guy on the bike in front of you that keeps swerving and preventing you from passing may be an inconvenience, but just be thankful he's not behind the wheel of a car.

6. Always check over your left shoulder.

7. The bike guy under the bridge is much less sketchy than he sounds.