The last of our seven university aged children have now gone off to school.

Our pictures of their leaving are somewhat limited because when most of them actually left for college we were in Beijing getting Aaron Xiong Wei set up for his club foot treatment. But we still wanted to share our feelings with you at this time.

The feelings are one of loneliness with a little sadness combined with a sense of great pride at how things have turned out over the years.

The first one to leave was Esther Kang Wen Jun. As you can see from the small inset in the picture on the left there has been major changes in this young lady’s life since she first came to the Home of Hope in 2000 as a little girl!

As she was loading her things in the van and getting ready for the final farewell until at least Christmas or New Years, we could not help but allow our minds wonder back over the last eight years and the fast forward to the present with so many memories of things that have happened and watching her grow during this time.

Esther is attending Mei Yu YuYan Xue Yuan in Beijing. Her major interest is in art but she won’t be getting into that for at least until the second semester.

Esther spent this summer working in the Home of Hope office where she was responsible for doing the data input into our accounting systems. (We use the plural because we have to have two accounting reports.. one for the Chinese government and one for the US Government. She did an excellent job and we are really proud of her!

The next ones to leave were Julie, Holly, Hank and Sam.

Julie is in her second year at Shi Fan Zhuan Ye Xue Yuan in the Northern part of ZhengZhou. She is doing excellent and has turned into a fine young lady. Very dependable and considerate of all around her, beautiful and smart as well!

Julie was in the second group that came into the Home of Hope in July of 2000. She has always seemed very mature for her age and is always helping with the younger children!

She is majoring in commercial art and is truly talented! She picked the right major!

Hank is in his second year at the Cheng Gong Xue Yuan University right here in Gongyi.

This means he gets to come home on the weekends and we are very happy about that. Hank is a great young man and Ye Ye often uses him for translation work.

This summer Hank worked for the Home of Hope on monthly salary and did a great job! He was very excited about his summer job because he got to learn to new techniques, got to work with Ye Ye and earned money at the same time!

Sam also left when Hank and Julie left.

Sam is attending SIAS University in XinZheng. That is the same university that Nathan and Shannon worked at when they first came to China. It was while they were at SIAS University (Shannon teaching and Nathan working as Vice President) they were led to go into the orphanage work and started the Gongyi Home of Hope in February 2000.

Sam was in the second group that came to the Home of Hope in July of 2000. Actually, all these young people joined the Home of Hope in 2000. Some in February and some in July.

The next to leave was David Zhang Hai Tao.

David is attending the Zheng Zhou Jiao Tong Zhi Ye Ji Shu Xue Yuan University in ZhengZhou. David was also in the second group that came to the Home of Hope in July 2000 and we are so very proud of him.

David has shown a real genius for working with computers and he is pursuing that course in his college training!

We know he will do great!

The next to go was Logan.

Logan is attending Shang Qiu Zhi Ye Ji Shu Xue Yuan University in southern Henan, Province. Even Mike, the Home of Hope mascot and guard dog was sad to see her leave!

Logan has been a leader in the chldren’s group since she arrived at the Home of Hope in February 2000 (another one of the first children to join the Home of Hope) and we are very proud of her! She is majoring in art and has a real talent in the field.

As we stated earlier, our pictures of the seven college kids leaving for school is limited because we were in Beijing when most of them left.

You may also have noted that above we show four of the seven standing by the van getting ready to leave, one of them being Holly Hou San Juan, but we have said nothing about her.

Holly was a victim of a very common tragedy in China at this time of year.

She had an invitation to attend a certain university in ZhengZhou but very much like large hotels and motels, they over book. Holly did indeed leave when the others left but when she arrived the school told her there was no room for her and so she had to come back! My what terrible disappointment!

As soon as she got back we went to work finding her another university to go to that wasn’t full already! We were successful and she wasn’t to leave until the day after we returned from Beijing.

Late last night my preset alarm went off at midnight. I rolled out of bed, dressed and went down stairs to take Holly to the train station to catch a train to her new university. She was accepted by Shang Qiu Ke Ji Xue Yuan university, also in Southern Henan.

This was my first real hands on at telling one of these kids goodbye… combined with the late of night and my being tired from the trip to Beijing, it was almost more than we could bare to send this young lady off into the teeming world all by her self.

So many memories came flooding in! The first time we saw her standing outside her little house built back into the mountain side.. The years of cheerfulness she has brought into the Home of Hope. Actually, too many memories to tell, but it was one emotional goodbye.

It is very uncommon in China for people to hug each other good bye in the train station, but as I told her good bye she hugged me and asked me to say a prayer with her before I left!

Like Esther, Holly is some distance from us so won’t be able to visit as often as we would like. We will miss her and can’t wait until Christmas when she comes home for a few days!

As of now each of the children has called to say they are settled in and all is well with them.

We had to obligate ourselves financially this year to get all of these children in college. If you would like to help us settle the outstanding amounts due for these children’s 2007 – 08 school season and contribute to their continued education you can do so by going to our donations page.

Thank you!

Since our last web site update we have had several birthdays. Clockwise starting top left we have Henry He Long Qiang with roomates Hank (on the left) and Jerry; Julie Zhang Yan Yan (now nineteen and entering college this year); Seth Yang Xiao Ke; Michael Yang Wen Bo; Lydia Kang Lin Lin in the center with roomates (left to right) Rena, Heidi, Linda and Gail; Tim Tian Zheng Tu; Logan Zhang Xin Zhuan (also nineteen) and in the center of the group is a picture taken at Paul Yao You Bin’s birthday (Paul is on the left) shown with Nathan and Jim Yang Jin Duo. Nathan is telling Paul that Paul is now taller than Nathan is. How well we remember the first day we ever saw Paul. He barely came above Nathan’s waist back then! My how time flies!

Summer Work – For Pay!

Some of the older children, Sam, Hank, Julie, Holly and Tim asked Yie Yie (Nathan) if they could find a job during the summer this year. They said they were old enough now and really wanted to earn some money during the summer.
We try to paint the interior of the dorm building and the other buildings if possible each summer as by the end of winter the walls are showing the effects of having fifty plus children living there.

We told the children they could work right here if they wanted to, painting the inside of the buildings and they all jumped at the chance! It is almost finished as of this writing and it looks really good!

On the left is Julie Zhang Yan Yan. She is studying art in school so she was elected to do all the detail work. The taping of the windows and doors… door knobs… light switches and plugs then paint the places that took a lot of care so as not to get paint all over the adjacent items. She did a great job!

On the right is our “Handy Man” Tim Tian Zheng Tu… actually that is just what we call him. He follows Nathan around anytime he is not in school and even though he is still in middle school he can weld, do plumbing, fix minor electrical problems and much more. Between Nathan and Hai Tao (our true maintenance man) Tim is learning all he can and says he wants to stay at the Home of Hope when he finished High School and be the General Maintenance man for all the different Home of Hope’s in China.

In the back ground is Sam who graduated from High School this year and is preparing to enter college in the fall.

We painted the downstairs (the boy’s section of the dorm) an eggshell white with a 1 1/2 meter high band in baby blue at the bottom.

Upstairs, which is the girl’s section and also the nursery area, we used the same egg shell white with a very, very light pink band on the bottom.

To the left is Hank Cao Hai Kui who also graduated from high school this year and he too is preparing to enter college this fall.

Both Hank and Sam speak excellent English and so it was very easy for Nathan to give them detailed instructions on how he wanted everything done!

We felt this to be a great thing. We would have had to pay a contractor to come in and do the work as we normally do every year but this year the children who are working on this project earn their own money, are learning about having a work ethic and are helping to improve their own home!

On the right is Hai Tao our general, all purpose, all around…. EVERYTHING! He is our driver, driving the children to the doctor and other places as necessary; driving the house mothers to take the babies to the hospital; going out and negotiating good prices and buying many of the necessary things to keep a place like the Home of Hope operating on a daily basis and when not doing that he teaches the boys and does general maintenance work…

The neatest thing about Hai Tao is just what you see! That perpetual smile! He has been with us for over four years now and we have to say we really can’t remember a single time when he was not smiling!

She and Hank are the two oldest at the Home of Hope. Holly is behind Hank one year in school and hopes to go to College when she finishes High School. She is a Junior this year.

She was not too happy in this picture because we called her down to her birthday party and she had just washed her hair. She is at that age now where they pay more attention to their appearance.

Nathan is helping her by cutting her cake for her.

Holly is a great person and when she has time really helps out around the Home of Hope with the young children. She is very mature, thoughtful and a very responsible person! We are quite proud of Holly.

In this picture Hank is joined by his dorm mates, (left to right) Henry, Seth, Joey, Jerry and David.

Hank will be graduating from High School this year and wants to go to College.

We are currently looking for people to help sponsor this effort as getting in college in China is not that easy and is often rather expensive. If you would like to help sponsor some of these children’s advanced education needs you can find out how to donate at our “donations” page.

Tony is always polite and thoughtful of others and does an excellent job in school.

Tony came to the Home of Hope in June of 2005 and so this was his first birthday party.

He was a little nervous since all the children give little speeches after all the other children sing happy birthday to them.

We thought Tony would ask to be excused from making his speech but he went right into it as if he had been doing this sort of thing all his life!

He really enjoyed his birthday party!

Shannie writes:

We left on Friday afternoon this time. Nathan and I were both so very anxious to get up there and see our new Orphan, Henry. His real Chinese name is He Long Qiang, (huh long chang). You know, from our very first search our thoughts have been with him, but we could not have him due to his physical impairment. We knew as soon as he began to run from us so we would not see his face that God was going to change his life. No more will he have to hide that precious little face in shame.

We went straight to the hospital, no time wasted. Mr. Li was out in the parking lot waiting for us when we arrived. We went right up to the fourth floor where Henry was standing in the window watching us come up. What a precious little boy he is. I mean, he is so gentle natured and so sweet, shy as he can be.. but full of life, love and joy in his heart.

He was so excited. We kept asking them if he knew what was happening,they assured us that he knew and was so happy. Now, remember, this little boy is 10 years old, was thrown out by his father who didn’t want him anymore because he had another son who was perfectly fine. He has been laughed at, scorned, shamed and made fun of for as long as he can remember.

We talked with the doctors on staff and one of the surgeons, there would be a specialist coming in from Zhengzhou on Saturday and we would talk with him as well to find out more details. After spending some time with the people at the hospital and making sure Henry was settled in and comfortable, we headed over to see the Orphans at Home Of Hope. We took the two House Mothers with us since they were up taking care of Henry as well. It was good to see just about the whole crew of Government people that helped us in our search show up.

Saturday morning we awoke and headed over to the Orphanage to see all our children. We found them all nestled in front of the television set watching cartoons. Mr. Li had brought his VCD player and some cute cartoons so they were really engrossed in watching.

They all jumped up when we walked in the door, hugs and kisses all around.
We decided to take them away from their television and out to play. We walked with them over to the school play ground and played ball. Nate and the boys played and as seems to be par for normal, the girls carted me off to the other side of the play ground to show me their exercise routines and dances they were learning. I love being able to bond with these girls this way. I only wish the language barrier was not there. Some day I will learn this language, I hope.

We got back to the Orphanage and there was Nate and the boys wondering where we had gotten off to since we left before they did. (grin) We kept it our little secret and went on with our activities. We worked with them on their English names and alphabet for a while on the new chalk board we brought them and then washed up for lunch. I tell you what, I eat some of the yummiest food at the Orphanage.. these ladies can cook. Everyone keeps telling me that I like the ” common Chinese food “… I suppose they are right. I only know that I really do like what they feed us when we eat with the children. It may not look like much.. but it is filling and good !!!!

When we got ready to leave, we decided to ask if Holly and Logan would like to go with us to see Henry before his surgery. They jumped at the chance and ran to get their jackets. We all piled into the car and took off for the hospital.

Along the way, we remembered that Hank had a birthday coming up and it would be a good time to get him something while we had the girls with us to help. Logan is a real penny pincher…. she never wants us to spend money and watches every zhao we let go of. (A zhao is like one dime to a dollar.) She didn’t want us to spend any money on Hank and persisted in telling us it was not necessary to buy for him. Nate explained to her that we WANTED to get Hank something, we wanted to make this special for Hank and we wanted her and Holly to help us find something good for him. We ended up getting him a harmonica and a rubics cube. Logan thought it was too much anyway. (grin)

We took the girls by the Hotel to see our room and thought we might get some rest in. To our surprise, here came Hank walking in our Hotel room door. After Hank came Jenny and after Jenny came Aaron. Seems Aaron had taken off with Hank and Jenny and decided to hop a cab and come to the Hotel to see us. What got into him I will never know, I think he was missing his play station. (grin) He brought the kids to us and then went to his room. I do think Nate scolded him a little for running off with the kids and not telling anyone. The Mothers would be frantic !!!

So we piled them all in the car and took Jenny back to the Orphanage, Hank wanted to go with us to see Henry too. Nate, Holly, Logan, Hank and I went to the hospital and Henry was tickled to see us all walk in the door. We took some pictures with him and the children and with the him and the doctors, and with him and Nate and I. We just had a regular picture taking party. The nurse came in to give him a shot and told him to lay down and rest, but that didn’t last too long before he was sitting up and smiling away again.

Bless his heart. in spite of that harelip, he really does have a cute smile. His lip is a double split so he has little ” wings ” on both sides of his nose that curl up when he smiles. It’s quite a unique smile and I found myself attached to that smile and Henry in no time at all. He just smiles so sweet and reaches out in such a tender manner. He can touch you with his eyes when he really looks at you. I fought tears many times just seeing him smile up at me.

The special Surgeon from Zhengzhou came in and we went to a special office with Henry in hand to talk to him before he took him into for the operation. This was the first time he had even seen Henry. They had lengthy discussions with other doctors regarding the procedure but he had never looked at Henry prior to this moment. He was a very nice man and his demeanor was likable. He looked at Henry for about 2 minutes and said “No problem.” He then told us that he would not have to wait the 6 months to do the next surgery as they had thought. He would do the next surgery in about 10 days! So, Henry will just be getting over his first surgery when the second one will take place.

After we met with the surgeon, we all went back to the room and waited. I sat next to Henry on the bed and held his hand, patted his back, kissed his cheek and grew more and more attached to him in no time at all.

Soon enough, they came after him with a stretcher and wheeled him up to surgery. The tears could no longer stay within their boundaries and came washing over me as the doors closed on the elevator to take him away. All the crowd of Chinese people were amazed to see me crying over this child, but I could not help myself. How in the world I got so attached so fast and how something like this could hurt so deeply I will never know. You would have thought they were wheeling a child in that I had labored, nursed and raised for the last ten years.. not a child I hardly knew. Ah but God knows that child.. so my heart cried out for him none the less.

Logan, Holly and Hank were a bit antsy at this point so we all walked down to the bakery and got ice-cream to pass the time. It was a nice brisk walk and we drew lots of attention as we always do anytime we go out. (smile) We sat and ate our snacks and gave our two House-Mothers English names.

Mrs. Li is now “Jade” for her name means “beautiful jade,” and Mrs. Sun is now Maggie, for her name means “magnificent”. Well, it sounds like it, you know ? (grin) They liked them. it is always fun to give them new names, they get such a kick out of it and so do we.

We walked back to the hospital and were told that the surgery would last about 3 hours instead of the estimated hour and a half. They had to take in some more blood as well due to the extent of the surgery. Seems things were a little more complicated than what they had expected, but our Henry was doing fine and things were looking good.

We noticed the children were beginning to look a little worn around the edges. Then the nurse came in and told us that the children should probably not stay around. Henry would need lots of rest. So we decided to go ahead and take the kids home. They were used to naps in the afternoons and today had been somewhat of a strenuous day for them with all the excitement We took them home, stayed for a while and read, played a little and then took off for the hotel again. We were going to go back up the hospital, but we called and they said that Henry was still sleeping heavy and we should just come in the morning if we would like.

Nathan and I both had a hard night. I know Nate was up and down every 30 minutes of so, and I just laid there and prayed for as long as I can remember. I would fall asleep praying and wake up praying, fall back to sleep praying and wake up and pray again. It was what seemed like a long night for both of us so we got up early and got ready to go back up to the hospital. Nate woke up the boys and told them to meet us at the bakery for coffee and we took off.

We had our coffee and headed up to the hospital. When we arrived, Mr. Li and Jade and Maggie were all there watching over him. I tell you, these people are good, warm hearted people and they take excellent care of our children. Henry was sleeping soundly. He has tubes in his nose, tubes in his throat, and a lot of drainage. Bless his heart, he was so brave and so strong.

They told us they had given him nothing for pain since the surgery.. can you imagine ? But, he was sleeping like a baby and when he woke up he didn’t seem too distressed. The only time I saw any sign of pain was when the nurse came in and put an IV in his arm. He winced but never even cried out. What a strong little man he is. His little sinuses were so swollen and he could not breathe through his nose, so he was having to breathe through his mouth and that was difficult for him.

I put my WWJD bracelet on his tiny little arm and Nate showed him that he had one just like it on his arm too. I think we actually saw a hint of a smile. We had gone by the store and picked him up a series of books and a small little GameBoy. He is going to be in the hospital for a long time and we wanted to take him something to help pass the time. We will see if we can find some better books around Xinzheng before we go back up there.

From Nathan, April 14, 2000

You know, as I stood there looking at little “Henry” He Long Qiang, waiting for the surgeon to come in and take him into the operating room I couldn’t help but feel a total sense of amazement.

There he was; small, frail – probably with never a “real” meal in his entire ten short years, laying in a hospital bed. There he was, looking up into Shannie’s eyes with such trust and desire to be loved. It was as though his eyes were speaking across the abyss of the language barrier and he was saying, “Be my protector, be my comfort, be my friend, be my family; I need you! Please?”

I think about that now. I think about how his grotesque appearance caused little children to run from him and older children to persecute and ridicule him.

I think about the first night he spent in the Home of Hope orphanage, the Thursday night before he was to be admitted into the hospital for the surgery, how out of eleven of the orphans – kids who had seen their parents die, kids who knew they had been thrown out, kids who had already been toughened by the cruelties of life — how out of eleven of them only three did not feel afraid of little Henry.

I shamefully thought back to the first time I saw Henry in the mountains of GongYi. His hair so matted it seemed to have never been washed. His face was very difficult to look at. I remembered how with the other kids, the dirt hadn’t mattered; how I had been able to hold each one of them and embrace them, but how strained I felt when it came to Henry. His dirty teeth protruded from his distorted mouth, and I felt like I really didn’t want to hold this little ugly human being – until he looked at me with those eyes that said, “Are you going to reject me too?”

I remember the shame I felt. I hadn’t been raised that way. I had been taught to care for and accept people. And on top of all of that, God, who could only look at my sinful nature as being the most grotesque and ugly thing He had ever seen, looked past all of that sin and reached out his hand in love and said, “All I want of you is for you to want a relationship with me!”

Now Shannie sat on the side of the hospital bed looking little Henry in the eyes, and his eyes were saying, “I want a relationship with you!” How could she or anyone refuse those appealing eyes? She couldn’t. No one could have. I can not help but draw a parallel with our relationship with God.

He looks at us through His eyes of righteousness; the Holy God who cannot coexist with sin – and when He sees our desire to reach out and choose to have a relationship with Him, he overlooks all the imperfections in our life and reaches out to us. Just like people have done to Henry He Long Qiang.

Sure, we have to go through surgery – just like Henry. He went through a very painful surgery, and there was no visible change. All the work was done on the inside! Sound familiar?

There will be a second surgery, and maybe more after that, and slowly his appearance will change to that of a normal little boy. One that people won’t run from anymore; one that kids won’t laugh at or tease or ridicule.

A little like us – God looks at us, takes our hand, and begins His surgery on us. Slowly, slowly… At first there is no visible change, but as each bit of deformity is cut away and mended by His Grace and Love, our vile and sinful appearance begins to change. And just like His Word says, when He looks at us, it is not our grotesqueness He sees – but the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As little Henry He Long Qiang awaits his next surgery I am ever grateful for the lessons we learn from these everyday experiences over here in China as we work with these orphans.

The love of God is not isolated to polished pulpits in comfortable sanctuaries. It can be found in dirty holes in mountainsides far, far away from what we commonly know as civilization. It can be found in the touch of a foreigner on the dirty and matted head of an elderly, homeless person who has not had a decent meal in many years. It can be found in the face of a new mother when a person passes and lays hands on her child and speaks a prayer for the baby that the mother doesn’t understand but knows is from the heart.

The love of God is so awesome and His Grace so never ending.

Thank you Lord, for Henry, and all of those like him.

Thank you Henry. Thanks for the lessons.

And thanks to all those folks back home who help in this great effort to reach the lost and dying.

Thank you!

Nate: We arrived in GongYi this morning (one week late; schedules and deadlines are more relaxed here than they are back home) to meet all the dignitaries and government officials who have become involved in our project. We are very grateful for their interest; they have all declared support and help as we enter into the second and third phase of expanding and including the private school they have already approved.

Shannie: We woke up quite early, Nate and I were up before 5:00. Renee and Aaron were up and ready by 6:30, so we hit the road right on time. The drive wasn’t too bad since there was not the usual heavy load of traffic out that time of morning. It only took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there instead of the usual hour and 45 minutes. I think Nate may have been a little excited and therefore a bit heavy-footed as well. <big grin> But, we made it there in ample time.

Shannie: We arrived at Mr. Jiang’s office still yawning. They had sweet cake and strong — let me emphasize that for you. S T R O N G — coffee for us as always. But, it’s good and it WILL wake you up… fast!! As soon as the officials from Zhengzhou arrived, we headed out for the orphanage.

Shannie: As we walked down the street toward the Orphanage, a band began to play and the children from the nearby school welcomed us with an aisle of gorgeous feather wreaths to walk between. They were waving, singing and making us feel so warm with their sweet smiles. It was like a dream. All the townspeople were there to see the opening of the new orphanage.

Nate: When we got to the house all eleven children had been scrubbed and dressed in their new clothes. The house mothers had taken them out Saturday and gotten them all haircuts and new shoes. They looked so happy and shiny and clean; Shannie was moved to tears at the sight of them, and I came pretty close myself.

Shannie: I could not believe the building. Since the last time I had been there, it had been transformed from this dark dirty cement cell into a bright place with curtains and tables and beds; things that made it look like a home. I was in awe when I saw it; it was like a whole different place. The house mothers worked for days preparing for our grand opening, and they did an excellent job!

Shannie: The children had already spent one night in their own beds. We walked inside and there on the beds sat our precious children all dressed in their warm new clothes and smiling happily. They call Nate and I “NaiNai” (Nigh Nigh) and “Yeye” (Yea Yea), or Granny and Grandpa. Cool huh? I guess we will have many grandchildren before this is all said and done. Aaron was great with them. His warm smile and soft face made our new family members feel very comfortable with their new “big brother.” Of course his Chinese is so good and he can communicate with them so easily. The Chinese are always so impressed that he can speak their language… what an awesome young man he has turned out to be.

Shannie: Our new 11 children were all dressed up in their nice warm sweatsuits we picked out for them. Needless to say, they all looked so cute. New haircuts, bathed and groomed; new warm underclothes… it was amazing to think that just one short week ago they were living in caves, cold… starving and without hope. They looked so happy and content, (even though they were a little nervous.) You could still see the joy in their young faces and the excitement that someone cared. We are so honored to be the someone in their lives.

Shannie: The sweatsuits are turquoise, red and white with turquoise pants. On the front of the jackets are two hands, one red and the other blue. In the middle of the two hands is an H. Over the H is a star, and in Chinese it says “Home of Hope.” On the back of the jackets in a half circle, written in English, it says “Home of Hope.” It’s so wonderful… I am so thrilled with all of this.

Nate: Soon after our arrival, dignitaries, government officials and the news media began to arrive. We went outside and the Henan Provincial Party Secretary and the director of the Zhengzhou Bureau of Civil Affairs pulled the long red draped bow off of the beautiful gold sign the city of GongYi put on the front of the orphanage. It reads “GongYi Home of Hope” in both Chinese and English.

Shannie: There were red banners everywhere, fireworks , music… It was unbelievable. The government officials there from GongYi and Zhengzhou really amazed us. They donated many necessary things to the Orphanage, as well as a TV set, sterilizer for all the dishes, a large refrigerator, a water purifier/sterilizer to make the water drinkable. This was amazing to see. All these things we budgeted to pay for..and the people donated them.

Nate: Speeches were then made to a steadily swelling crowd. (We were not sure where all the people came from.. on rooftops, standing shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see!) At the very front of the crowd stood the eleven new family members of our Home of Hope, lined up with their shiny clean faces and warm new clothes and shoes. The band from the local school the kids will be attending was playing for us again. They played their part in welcoming our precious orphans into their new school.

Nate: To my surprise, about halfway through the opening ceremony Cao Hai Kui bravely came to give the speech as a representative for the orphans. It was really touching as he talked about lost mothers and fathers, no grandparents or family members and how NOW they all had a new home and a new family.

Nate: As he was speaking our minds drifted back to only a few short weeks before when we were told about Cao Hai Kui… The way they had to go searching for him in different mountain caves… He had a reputation for spending much of his time at school studying, or tending sheep for one of the villagers for food. Anything to keep away from the unstable people who lived in his cave. Eventually we did find him and now he is one of ours living at the “Home of Hope”. Our hearts were overwhelmed to see him all warm and safe.

Shannie: I fought tears all morning long. And I did quite well too if I do say so myself. I am such a mush mouse when it comes to being emotional. But, in China it’s not proper to show much of that so you must try to be strong and firm in your ways. I did well until Cao Hai Kui got up to give his speech. As he spoke the tears quickly came to my eyes and I could not restrain them any longer. To hear his words of gratitude and praise for what we were doing in his and all the other children’s lives was just so overwhelming to me. Maybe being a foreigner was enough to allow me a few tears.

Nate: Some of the children started calling me “Baba Xiong” (baabaa showng), which means “Papa Bear.” (Shannie calls me “Bear” and they picked up on that I guess — or maybe Renee told them.)

Nate: Little Jenny, the youngest, was the star attraction. All the other kids sort of watch over her and the adults can’t resist her. The more I watch her the more it sinks in that she has spent the first four years of her life living wild. I was holding her at one point and walked over to a picture of a water scene with Cherry blossoms etc. In Chinese I started pointing at different objects in the picture and asking her what they were. She really didn’t know how to say any of them except “hua,” which means flower. I would tell her that the water was “Xue” and the people were “Ren” etc., and she would repeat and then laugh and clap her hands. She is just so lovable. The flash on the camera amazes her. Each time a picture is taken she claps her hands and laughs! When I put her down one of the boys sort of pulled on her sleeve to go back with the rest of the kids and she hauled off and kicked him in the shins with her shiny new shoes.

Shannie: After all the limelight and hooplah of the morning, the children had their lunch and we were escorted to a lavish spread of Chinese delicacies that were out of this world. With our bellies full and wanting just one more look at our new family, we returned one more time to the Orphanage. We found the children nestled in their beds safe and sound. They too had full bellies and hopefully warm visions of brighter tomorrows filling their dreams.

Shannie: I hope you have enjoyed the recap of our day. It is exciting to us and we want to share it with you as it happens. We will have more to tell and new pictures will be added to the Web site periodically. Thanks for being a part of this with us!