Our trip to China that year was amazing. The first few days were fun filled and we got to see the main sites in Beijing. We visited Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, took a rickshaw ride to eat in a Chinese family's home, toured a jade factory, saw an entertaining show, did some shopping, and enjoyed all the touristy things. Oh, and enjoyed some amazing food! (I can't eat Chinese food here in the U.S. now without being disappointed)
Sandy instructed/mentored our group while we were together, which was a real treat! Just getting to know her was such a beautiful part of our trip. The individuals in our group were so wonderful and I loved getting to know them too. Each person was had a compelling story as to why they were there and we were so grateful to be with such an amazing group.
We then prepared to venture out to the orphanages. Beau and I were being sent to two different orphanages which were the furthest away from Beijing. So while everyone else jumped on the train, we boarded a flight and flew to Nanyang, a "small city" of 10 million people that never sees foreigners. There we met up with Shu Ping, our translator/guide for the next few days. She was also the director of the 2nd orphanage we would later visit.
The Orphanage
We pulled up to the orphanage on a dreary, cold, rainy day. One of the first rooms we entered had about twenty 18 -24 month old children who ran up to us. It took all the strength I had to not break down crying right then and scoop them all up to hug them. But many of the kids were already scared of us since we looked so different, so crying and hugging them would have not been a good move. We had prepared mentally and emotionally for this part of the trip, and it's a good thing we had. We saw many happy and beautiful things, but also some very difficult things. I loved those children the moment I saw them. I loved seeing how they loved their nannies, how they were friends with the other children, how they loved to play, how curious they were, and that they were, overall, happy. We took pictures, played with them, gave them toys and suckers. We saw children who have very severe medical needs, some who seemed to be void of emotion, and overall, just needed more attention and love that only a family could give them. The nannies we saw were all so wonderful and were doing the best they could, but obviously having so many children to focus on, the situation is just not ideal.
The Girl
This little part of the story will make sense later on, but I have to share it here. While at the orphanage in Nanyang, I had a special experience. I had left the room and was walking back into the room lined with cribs while the children were just starting to wake up from their afternoon naps. I walked out and the spirit told me to "Look!". I looked at the crib to my left and there was a little girl peeking up at me. The spirit told me, "Pay attention to her."
So I stopped and did just that. I waved to her, talked to her, and smiled at her. At first she gave a little smile back... then she started crying. I kept my eye on her the rest of the time there. I couldn't help but think that the reason I was supposed to pay attention to her was that maybe she was the little girl we were going to adopt? I said a silent prayer asking if this was the case. I was told "She is not for you." Then I was really confused. So why was I supposed to pay attention?! But I continued to anyway. I asked our interpreter what her medical condition was (about 94% of children in Chinese orphanages have some type of mental or physical medical condition). She told me this particular girl had Spina Bifida. I was shocked. She was walking around and looked perfectly fine. I had always thought Spina Bifida meant not being able to walk, being in a wheelchair and much more severe circumstances. But she said she'd had a surgery and it went well and she was doing great.
When we returned home, I inquired after this little girl and was informed that she was already being adopted by another family. I wasn't surprised, the spirit had told me she was not ours. But when we filled out our medical needs checklist at the beginning of the adoption process, I marked "Spina Bifida" as one of the medical conditions we would be willing to consider and I owe it all to the voice of the spirit telling me to pay attention to that sweet little girl.