Orphanage Visit

We had our visit to the orphanage today. It went very well, and Cassie even made a great big breakthrough with her dad when she let him carry her for quite a while. I do not have pictures to post because even though i took many, i cannot figure out how to upload them from this new camera onto the laptop I am borrowing. Hopefully, I can get the help of one of the adoptive parents tomorrow to figure it all out and share with you some of what we experienced.

It's not easy walking into an orphanage knowing we'd walk out and leave so many children behind. Cassie Feng Mei sure was happy to leave I'll say that much, even though she was very warm to the ayis and Miss Zhong during our visit.

One young man was brought to me and I was told he is aging out, and he wants a family, so I was asked to take a picture with him and spread the word that there is a thirteen year old boy out there in this great big world who has no family but who wants one. He is open. Email me if you'd like to find out more, and I will direct you to the right person to find out more information about him.

The language barrier is proving quite difficult. Cassie is a very verbal child, and so often we have no idea what she's trying to say to us. She gets frustrated and lamenting, exasperated even. But if i find someone who speaks mandarin to find out what she needs, she is always very reasonable when discussing with them what is going on in that mind of hers. And this child is SMART.

In a way, Cassie is still so very young, but she's old enough to have formed her own opinions and ways. We love Cassie, but we really don't KNOW her, unlike Sonya who came to us at such an early age with no apparent understanding of anything different than what we taught her ourselves.

Cassie is open. Cassie is sweet. Cassie is kind, and Cassie is hurting. She demonstrates this hurt through the push/pull behavior she displays towards Randy. Yes, we are making strides in a positive direction, but right now, we certainly could use your prayers for more bonding as a family even while still here in China.

Something else worth mentioning - on our way to the orphanage this morning our guide touched Cassie's fingertips, and commented on how warm they are. She mentioned it's been her experience that people with poor circulation generally have cold fingertips. Once at the orphanage it was confirmed that when Cassie lived there, her fingertips and toes were always cold to the touch. Not only are Cassie's hands warm, but so are her feet and toes. This is good news for sure, and something worth praising the Lord about.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for praying. I feel rather vulnerable here, so far away from our safety net and our church and friends. I will be grateful to be home. I promise I will never complain about our squeaky floors ever again! On that same note I'd like to mention that Cassie gets really agitated whenever we spend too much time in the hotel room. She wants to go, go, go. We walk around on Shamian Island quite a bit, and it's at these times when she seems the most peaceful. Well, it turns out she's started to think that our hotel room is our home, and she had been looking so forward to going abroad in an airplane to a new land and a new home and a new people. Once our guide, Cordelia, was able to ascertain from Cassie what her thinking's been, she was able to reassure Cassie that indeed very soon we will all board a plane together and fly to a new land and a new home. Which seemed to comfort her to know.....