A Real "Page-Turner"
Have you ever stayed awake late into the night, engrossed in a book because you HAD to know how the story would resolve itself? You keep telling yourself, "just one more chapter, surely the hero will turn everything around."
When the back cover is closed, we expect the story to have a fairytale "happily-ever-after-ending. The hero wins, the man gets the girl, the good guys win and the bad guys are defeated; all against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset.
Last night I stayed up past my bedtime...
turning the pages of my heart
while I cried myself to sleep.
Our team of three Americans and four Chinese were all excited to return to the Taian orphanage a two hour drive from Jinan. We were surprised by a late night phone call from "J". He would be taking the overnight train from his home in Shanghai, just to see the children. He is a businessman, recently married, and extremely busy working with a foreign company. But in 2001, he was a student of the Ps and served as my interpreter. Ever year since, he has acted as liaison between the government and orphanage officials to arrange our visit. He wouldn't miss this for the world (or a good night's sleep).
When we arrived in Taian, friends of the Ps once again arranged an inviting energizing lunch in their home. Hospitality is a great gift, but even greater is their service to enlist their students to make all the purchases for the orphanage. They encourage them to share what they are buying is for the children in the orphanage. They both shared, every vendor, from food suppliers to clothing stores ALL gave them a discount and expressed their appreciation for the help the children would receive.
Their office was filled with crates of fruit, milk boxes, biscuits, meat sticks, diapers, wash clothes, soap, shampoo, toothpaste and of course special treats! CARE EE sat in the midst of the all the "goodies" and praised God for the testimony in provision for the children.
Last year we were escorted to the new $30 million (US) dollar facility and were told the children would be moving here in September 2008. But when J contacted the officials, he was told the building is still under construction. Setting out for the orphanage, we found ourselves temporarily lost, passing by the old building because the facade is covered with scaffolding.
We were met with the usual fanfare - newspaper reporters, photographers, and a television crew filming every moment from arrival to departure! The children were all excited and seated around a play mat where I quickly joined them on the floor. We tossed a sponge ball around and from their cheers you could believe in their hearts they had just caught the winning pass at a Superbowl Game. Bells, and instruments were passed out and we quickly assembled a band and filled the room with music heard to the heavenlies. After Polaroid photos, and decorated frames, we were escorted to the original building home to the infants and severely disabled children.
It is the same building visited for the past eight years. But now choking dust, and a cacophony of hammering, constructing and destroying filled the stairways as we climbed the six floors to the children's ward. The first room at the end of the hallway was very familiar to us. There are 15 cribs with children a range of ages, but all with crippling disabilities. Even though they have grown, they remain in beds designed with the safety of babies in mind. As I knelt down to look in their eyes, pat hands and stroke faces through the bars, it seemed like a cage. Don't misunderstand this is not cruelty, it is necessity in a place where proper physical therapy and treatment is limited.
"This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be..."*
We were then led to the room where we performed the first year. Now it is filled with more cribs. Each with a tiny child clothed with heavy quilted winter wear and covered by a thick blanket. The room had no heat. When I touched the tiny hands, they were ice cold.
"We can cry with hope"*
We went from crib to crib, touching, praying and wondering "why"? On the other side of the city a "showcase" is being built, and yet here and now - they are cold, in need of such basic necessities as milk and diapers. After we finished we were led to another room - filled with more cribs...
"We can say goodbye with hope"*
And we were led to another room - filled with more cribs...
"We can grieve with hope"*
And another...
My interpreter turned to me and said, "these children are dying."
"'Cause we believe with hope, there is a place, by God's grace, where we'll see your face again"*
One of the questions during the performance at the University was "do you ever leave really sad?" Truthfully I answered, "of course, there are many times my heart grieves for the conditions and situations I see the children in. BUT... I know God knows where each one of the children are born, He has numbered all the hairs on their head, and His promise is not to leave them or to forsake them. He has promised to give them hope and a future - they are created in His image for eternity! It is never easy, but it is the Truth I hold on to."
"We wait with hope, we ache with hope,
We let go with hope,"*
Pray for the last performance in Jinan at the orphanage. Pray for joy, pray for laughter, pray for HOPE!
Faithful, hope-filled and turning the pages
When the back cover is closed, we expect the story to have a fairytale "happily-ever-after-ending. The hero wins, the man gets the girl, the good guys win and the bad guys are defeated; all against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset.
Last night I stayed up past my bedtime...
turning the pages of my heart
while I cried myself to sleep.
Our team of three Americans and four Chinese were all excited to return to the Taian orphanage a two hour drive from Jinan. We were surprised by a late night phone call from "J". He would be taking the overnight train from his home in Shanghai, just to see the children. He is a businessman, recently married, and extremely busy working with a foreign company. But in 2001, he was a student of the Ps and served as my interpreter. Ever year since, he has acted as liaison between the government and orphanage officials to arrange our visit. He wouldn't miss this for the world (or a good night's sleep).
When we arrived in Taian, friends of the Ps once again arranged an inviting energizing lunch in their home. Hospitality is a great gift, but even greater is their service to enlist their students to make all the purchases for the orphanage. They encourage them to share what they are buying is for the children in the orphanage. They both shared, every vendor, from food suppliers to clothing stores ALL gave them a discount and expressed their appreciation for the help the children would receive.
Their office was filled with crates of fruit, milk boxes, biscuits, meat sticks, diapers, wash clothes, soap, shampoo, toothpaste and of course special treats! CARE EE sat in the midst of the all the "goodies" and praised God for the testimony in provision for the children.
Last year we were escorted to the new $30 million (US) dollar facility and were told the children would be moving here in September 2008. But when J contacted the officials, he was told the building is still under construction. Setting out for the orphanage, we found ourselves temporarily lost, passing by the old building because the facade is covered with scaffolding.
We were met with the usual fanfare - newspaper reporters, photographers, and a television crew filming every moment from arrival to departure! The children were all excited and seated around a play mat where I quickly joined them on the floor. We tossed a sponge ball around and from their cheers you could believe in their hearts they had just caught the winning pass at a Superbowl Game. Bells, and instruments were passed out and we quickly assembled a band and filled the room with music heard to the heavenlies. After Polaroid photos, and decorated frames, we were escorted to the original building home to the infants and severely disabled children.
It is the same building visited for the past eight years. But now choking dust, and a cacophony of hammering, constructing and destroying filled the stairways as we climbed the six floors to the children's ward. The first room at the end of the hallway was very familiar to us. There are 15 cribs with children a range of ages, but all with crippling disabilities. Even though they have grown, they remain in beds designed with the safety of babies in mind. As I knelt down to look in their eyes, pat hands and stroke faces through the bars, it seemed like a cage. Don't misunderstand this is not cruelty, it is necessity in a place where proper physical therapy and treatment is limited.
"This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be..."*
We were then led to the room where we performed the first year. Now it is filled with more cribs. Each with a tiny child clothed with heavy quilted winter wear and covered by a thick blanket. The room had no heat. When I touched the tiny hands, they were ice cold.
"We can cry with hope"*
We went from crib to crib, touching, praying and wondering "why"? On the other side of the city a "showcase" is being built, and yet here and now - they are cold, in need of such basic necessities as milk and diapers. After we finished we were led to another room - filled with more cribs...
"We can say goodbye with hope"*
And we were led to another room - filled with more cribs...
"We can grieve with hope"*
And another...
My interpreter turned to me and said, "these children are dying."
"'Cause we believe with hope, there is a place, by God's grace, where we'll see your face again"*
One of the questions during the performance at the University was "do you ever leave really sad?" Truthfully I answered, "of course, there are many times my heart grieves for the conditions and situations I see the children in. BUT... I know God knows where each one of the children are born, He has numbered all the hairs on their head, and His promise is not to leave them or to forsake them. He has promised to give them hope and a future - they are created in His image for eternity! It is never easy, but it is the Truth I hold on to."
"We wait with hope, we ache with hope,
We let go with hope,"*
Pray for the last performance in Jinan at the orphanage. Pray for joy, pray for laughter, pray for HOPE!
Faithful, hope-filled and turning the pages
* Lyrics from "With Hope" Stephen Curtis Chapman
THE END OF THE STORY:
"He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone... Write it all down- each word is dependable and accurate." Rev 21:4-5 The Message
THE END OF THE STORY:
"He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone... Write it all down- each word is dependable and accurate." Rev 21:4-5 The Message
