The Orphanage

I worried about bringing Lena back to her orphanage, but we were offered the opportunity to do so and we know the good-byes would be important for her progress now and the pictures we would be able to take would be important for her in the future.  There was no doubt in my mind that the day would be exhausting.  There was no doubt in my mind that Lena would shed countless tears and would be inconsolable by the end of the trip.

Lena clung to me with big wide eyes as we drove through the entrance, but she seemed to be doing ok.  The orphanage is home to over 200 children, most of them with special needs of some sort or another.  By orphanage standards this one is large.  The city of Guangzhou compares in size to LA, it's big, has crazy loud traffic, skyscrapers, subways, lots of people on the streets, in general  it's very loud.  I assumed the orphanage would be the same, but behind the secured entrance is a set of buildings surrounded by lots and lots of trees.  I think you could accurately describe the location as peaceful; this immediately made me feel much better about the place Lena had called home. 

Lena was timid when we first entered, but as we walked through the halls and neared the area where the children her age live, she became more and more animated.  She even jumped out of my arms and ran through the hallway.  On the left side of the hallway were the classrooms where the children seem to be grouped into classes of 8-12 children.  Our first stop was Lena's classroom.   The classroom had 4 windows, plenty of room for play, several toys, AND 5 teachers for the 8 children in the room.  All the children were sitting around a table when we entered so it gave Lena the opportunity to pass out the snacks we brought for the children.  She was a bit shy for a moment, but before long she pranced around the room like a rock star.  Each teacher gave her a big hug and a kiss and asked about her new family.  Obviously we couldn't understand what she said, but she pointed at us excitedly and seemed proud to run toward us after talking with each teacher. 

We said our good-byes in the classroom and walked further down the hallway to the room where Lena slept.  Lena's room had 8 beds.  And she proudly pointed hers out which was immediately in front of one of the 4 large windows.  The beds were tiny, 4 year old size, and sat close enough together that Lena would have been able to hold hands with the child who slept next to her.  She jumped up and down with a huge smile on her face as she stood next to her bed. After we took a couple pictures she ran out of the room and we walked further down hall. 

The next room looked like a cafeteria.  There must have been 15-17 children, most of them with severe special needs that required feeding assistance.  There were huge pots of rice, meat, and vegetables.   Lena zeroed in on one woman in the room and screamed hello wildly as she jumped up and down and ran toward her.  The woman was obviously excited to see Lena.  She cared about Lena.  She wanted to talk to her, she wanted to see her new family, and she happily allowed us to take multiple pictures of the two of them together.  The woman checked Todd, Jun, and I out.  She looked us up and down and asked Lena about us.  I have no idea what was said, but when she put Lena down she looked at Todd and I and said, "thank you, thank you for adopting her".   (This was translated for us by our guide) There were so many things I wanted to say to this woman who obviously loves my daughter.  Thank you was just the tip of it, but what could I say, how could I possibly sum up my thoughts and have any hope that our guide could translate all that I was thinking?  I said thank you about a million times and had to turn my head away because I had tears streaming down my cheeks.  How can I ever thank this woman for loving my daughter when I couldn't be there for her?   I prayed every night  for 1 ½ years that she was loved by someone,  I hated the thought that she might spend her days without feeling love.  The look in this one woman's eyes let me know that my prayers were answered. 

There's so much to say about our time at the orphanage.  We learned so many things about Lena.  By the end of the trip everyone was exhausted.  Lena didn't cry, but when the trip came to an end she clung to me and closed her eyes as we climbed in the van.  By the time we pulled out of the driveway she sat up and waved bye-bye and then it was over.  She seemed absolutely fine. 

It was a big day for Jun as well, it was obvious he had lots of thoughts about what was happening and what we were seeing, but he has not shared them with us yet.  I'm sure Todd will post pictures and I'd like him to post his thought as well.  When looking at the pictures, you should remember that the Chinese standard of living does not compare to the American.  Her orphanage seems sparse, but the Chinese people do not live like we do, they do not have big houses filled with things that are rarely used.  The orphanage has everything necessary to live a comfortable life.  And the orphanage has lots of love, and that's really what's most important, isn't it?