The End of a Beginning

The English classes in the primary school included 20 children. Roughly, half were disabled, and half were "typical" orphans. 

In this photo, a Chinese teacher is leading a drama activity relating to "What time is it?" The six-year-old boy was eager to participate, although his English is poor. I partnered with him so that he could join in. We both had a lot of fun.

Some of the children and teachers did not come on this day, but the photo gives a good representation of our class. The primary school is behind us.

These two guys to the right (to my left) were my favorites. The six-year-old boy (the one I was having to hold to prevent escape), was a lot of fun. He was eager and joyful. This was his first chance to attend any schooling. The eight-year-old boy next to him has a welcoming, sensitive heart. We hope to see them both soon as the English classes move to a new location for the summer.

The principal took Dayna and me and the kids out for lunch to celebrate the completion of our English class project. Molly and Hudson were more interested in watching Toy Story 2 than drumming their chopsticks on the table. That, of course, was our reason to offer the iPad entertainment. It was a great time -- a wonderful way to end a new beginning!
~Kevin

Easter

We wanted to share some scenes of our Easter day. Here's our best family photo -- sorry it's a little blurry. (Getting the kids to sit still is next to impossible.)

Molly & Hudson were excited to wake up to new Easter baskets! Kevin's mom sent a box last month for his birthday and included a few Easter surprises, including these baskets, plastic eggs, Easter pencils and a puppet glove craft. I added toy binoculars, Dove chocolate and cute socks.

We headed to our International Fellowship and had a very special worship time. Kevin ended up being in charge of children's church and took the opportunity to record an Easter message from Molly and Hudson. They send a shout-out to our Texas church, Bridgepoint Fellowship, but also include "all people" and "everyone in America."

After fellowship, about 14 of us went to lunch together at a nice Western restaurant nearby. I ordered penne pasta, the kids shared beef fajitas and Kevin had a hamburger. Quite the varied menu!

Then our family rode with Paula and Sherri to the orphanage. Hudson had just fallen asleep in the car as we pulled in, so he and I stayed outside while the rest spent about an hour with Teddy. (Sadly, the orphanage only allows Paula to see Elizabeth once a month now. They say it upsets her emotions too much, but we are praying for breakthrough here.) Kevin played five games of Chinese "go" with Teddy.

Pictured above: Sherri, Teddy, Kevin and Molly. Teddy is in the same room as this little girl Molly and I spent time with on our last orphanage trip. So Molly enjoyed trying to play with her again.

When we got home that evening, we had fun watching the kids hunt for Easter eggs around our living room. Molly was particularly inspired to sing a few songs before bedtime. This is "Amazing Grace," sung with gusto:

And I'll close with her rendition of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" -- although clearly we need to do a better job of teaching her the lyrics.

~Dayna

Orphanage

Our family had the privilege of visiting the local orphanage. This was Molly and Hudson's first time to go to an orphanage.

When we first arrived, Molly and Hudson were shy, unsure what to think of their new surroundings. However, they soon got over their shyness. Molly especially reached out to the kids.

This girl has cerebral palsy. Molly is helping her play with a stuffed animal.

Molly invited this baby girl to stay with us.

This teenage boy suffers from fluid in his brain. His body cannot support the head weight, so he has to lie down all of the time. There is no medical treatment. However, he had an amazing attitude. He was very excited to talk with us. 

Anyang Clinic and Orphanage

Last month, I (Kevin) traveled south to the "small" town of Anyang to work with the GHO clinic. The service and medicine provided to the patients were free of charge. In addition to the clinic, I was also able to visit an orphanage. The following photos give a glimpse.

This was the GHO clinic team. Although I served in the medical community for several years in Waco, this was my first time ever to wear scrubs. The young man to my left is Nathan, whom I roomed with this week.

These orphaned toddlers were eating snacks, seemingly having a lot of fun.

This teenage girl has Cerebral Palsy; her favorite thing to do is study. She loves to learn about anything and everything.

These were but a few of the babies delivered to the orphanage by the police. The babies had been found abandoned in trashcans or alleys.

This was our triage station. My job was to help organize the patients as they waited for their turn. My Chinese was not good, but at least I could tell the people where to sit and when it was time to see a doctor. Still, I long for the day I can have deep conversations without needing a translator.

The team was surprised when first arriving to this hospital. It was much more modern than expected, but the patients who came were from the surrounding counties. Most were very poor; few were educated. I spent time with those sitting in the chairs behind the triage station. All and all, it was a great clinic.