Questions

Well I have officially been here for a week. Boy what a hot day it was. It had to be at least 100 degrees with a nice hot breeze. Exhaustion has started to set in and my body finally rejected the Chinese food I have been eating for the last week. But it was still a great day filled with lots of blessings.
A new baby was brought here today. We were out with the kids this morning when a van pulled up and out popped two women, one of whom was holding a baby. The baby is a boy and he is only 34 days old. His special need is that he has clubbed feet. We got to visit him and I even got to hold him for a bit. He was so small and he was very fussy. I looked at him as he cried and thought to myself, he should be with his mother. Couldn’t they think of some way to fix his feet so they could keep him? How do you leave your baby somewhere and just walk away?
A man and his wife who work here at PHF came and talked with us today about adoption and why there is such an orphan crisis here in China. We are all familiar with China’s one child policy due to their overpopulation. The problem is that there is no social security here in China. When people get old and can no longer work they have to rely on their one child to support them. Traditionally the son will provide best for his parents as a wife's duty is to provide for her husbands parents. If a couple has a girl they may feel as if their future is not secure. So they give the baby up in hopes that the next time around they will have a boy. Now another problem arises from this,. Woman do not go into get prenatal care because if they do have a baby that they later give up, whoever took care of their prenatal care will know that they already had one baby. They would then get in big trouble. With no prenatal care it is not known if there is a problem with the baby until it is born. Therefore when a baby is born and it has a special need, parents tend to abandon them as well because a child with a special need may not be able to work or provide for their family. That is why there are so many boys here with special needs, they are given up just as easily as healthy baby girls. What a mess! I must admit that I have asked myself why does God allow this to happen? Why would he put these beautiful children in a place that may have no future for them. I felt guilty for thinking this because I know we serve a loving and faithful God. The man told us today that he was sure everyone has thought that at some point. That made me feel a little better.
But we did have a great day today. The theme was birthday party and boy did we go big! We had a huge five layer cake. The kids LOVED it! Some came back for thirds and fourths. Some had their faces full on in the cake. It was a great sight. Their smiles are priceless. They are so happy, so carefree. You just want to make sure they are all safe and well taken care of. I know this orphanage is very special and the nannies here love these children as if they were their very own. But what about their future? What if they never get adopted? Once a child reached the age of 14 in China they can no longer be adopted. What must that be like to realize you will never have that family you had hoped for all these years. I guess today was a day of questions for me. I do trust that God has a perfect plan in all of this. Maybe it is to test us to see if we really do what his word says.
We will leave PHF tomorrow at about 11 so we have a little time to say goodbye. Then we head back into Beijing for two days of sightseeing and shopping. This trip has just flown by and I can’t believe it is almost over. Well I should get back to my room so I can start packing up my stuff. Please pray for me as I prepare to leave these kids tomorrow. They have all touched my heart and have forever changed me for the better.
Thank you for your prayers.
Vanessa


THE CAKE!!