It has been hard being home. For quite a few months I prepared for this trip with great anticipation. Every single detail of my trip was amazing from my teammates, my roommate situation, the children, the country, and the way my view of life was changed. I spent a week loving on children who have no parents, no place to call their own. Suddenly I'm home and it has left me with a lot of questions. The big question is, what comes next? Do Chad and I continue to work on buying a house? Do we start to have children? What should my next step be in regards to my heart for orphans, particularly the orphans of China? Do I make other big changes in my life? Each of those questions lead to more questions in themselves. Obviously I know what I need to do, I need to be patient and wait on the Lord. That's so much easier to say than do especially when you find yourself awake in the middle of the night. I miss the kids so much. I posted a lot of pictures on my facebook and have been trading comments with my teammates. They are experiencing the same emotions that I am. It helps to not be the only one feeling this way.
The team has created a saying to help us through each day. It is "Be Like Lingling." Lingling was an orphan that we met at the orphanage and she is one special girl who will turn 17 in October. Here is her story which I copied from the Philip Hayden Journal.
During the National Day holiday in 2005, our resident physician, Dr. Bill Moody, was walking to the office when he saw a little girl at the entrance to Langfang Children’s Village (LCV). He said, “Hi” to her, and she followed him through the gate. As she held his hand and walked to the office, he didn’t think anything was unusual until she didn’t leave. He then realized that she was alone. Dr. Moody called Christina Li and PHF founder Tim Baker for help. It became increasingly clear that the little girl was intellectually impaired and that she had been abandoned.
As we’ve always done when a child has been abandoned at our gate, we first called the local police. While waiting for them to arrive, we learned that her name was Lingling, and she was eleven years old. When the police arrived, they questioned her further. She told them that she was from a place called Dikou in Langfang, and even told us her father’s name. The police were hopeful to find her family based on this information, but it was late. They asked us if we would keep her until the girl’s family could be located.
Knowing we had no extra room in our children’s homes, Tim called his co-laborer Risa Tramel. He prayed that if Risa would agree to take Lingling into her home, then he would know Lingling had been brought here for a reason. As soon as Risa arrived, she took one look at Lingling and said yes. Lingling spent her first night at the Tramel’s house where they cooked for her, helped her take a bath and gave her clean, warm clothes to wear. She seemed quite content to be there, exploring and asking about everything she found. She also repeated nearly everything said to her.
The next day the police returned and brought Lingling’s father, who was from a village called Caoci in the Wuqing district of Tianjin. It’s about 15 km from LCV. He claimed that she had wandered away from home by herself then said he wasn’t even Lingling’s real father. She had been found by his mother-in-law abandoned on a train when she was very little. He told us that his mother-in-law had cared for Lingling all these years and was known as “Grandma.” Her “grandma” now feels that she is too old to take good care of Lingling anymore; Lingling had wandered away from home a number of times.
Her foster father asked the police if they knew of someone who could take care of Lingling and asked PHF, after seeing how well-treated she had been, if they could take care of her. Tim said they’d be happy to help if the foster father thought it was best, but a legal way to give custody to PHF would have to be found first.
It was decided the foster father would take her home until the proper paperwork could be found and completed. Two days later, with all the paper work finished, Lingling moved to our children’s village in Langfang; she would stay there until our first home, House of Blessings, was opened at Shepherd’s Field Children’s village.
She is happy. As big sister in House of Blessings, she loves doting on the little kids, occasionally bossing them around. As younger sister to Stacey and Wendy, she loves following them around and asking all the time what they are doing. She attended preschool, but she was recently graduated through kindergarten to a classroom of same-aged children at Little Lambs. She is thriving and takes full advantage of the space, spending hours on the playground each week. When an assortment of puppies and kittens were abandoned at Shepherd’s Field, Lingling was quick to participate in caring for them, making sure they are fed and cuddled.
Lingling’s situation is unique to the work of PHF. Unlike most of the children in our village, she will require a lifetime commitment of care. We are privileged to be in a position to provide that.
Lingling has a mental delay and as a result doesn't have the ability to let things get to her. Nothing bothers her, she never lets the pressure of daily life get to her. How nice would that be to not have ANYTHING bother you ever! While most of us do not have a mental delay like Lingling we can strive to live a life like her. The team has encouraged each other to be like Lingling which seems to keep us going on some days. On our last night there Lingling gave me a big hug and a kiss, what a sweet girl. Even though Linling will spend her whole life at the orphanage she is going to live each day in a happy carefree way. Who doesn't want to live a life like that? So remember when you are having a bad day or it's hard to get going in the morning just try to be like Lingling :)
I hope to write more stories and feelings soon! I will keep you posted!
May you days be blessed with joy and happiness!
Vanessa
Lingling hanging out in our room
Lingling with Peaches the puppy
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