Orphanage Trip

Yesterday was much harder than I expected. We drove to Penelope's orphanage 4 hours south of Guangzhou. The ride to the orphanage was not as bad. The guide spoke most of the way about the agancy and how it began which was very interesting. He also spoke about China's one child law and that's why there are thousands of abandoned girls because the families prefer boys. There is an orphange in every city in China. Imagine how much the need is for every city to have an orphange. We drove up to the orphange and were greeted by the director and caregivers. We sat in the reception and spoke to the director for a few minutes. We asked what the orphanage needed in terms of donations and she mentioned that the children who have Hep B are isolated from the rest of the children so they want a play area for them. We are going to put our resources together and try to make that happen. The caretakers picked up Penelope and she let them but would not stop looking at me, that felt great. We later went upstairs to the baby room and it was heartbreaking. There were 45 steel cribs with a 2 inch plywood as a matress. All of the children's heads had flat bumps behind. Some had bandaids on their heads because of the bleeding on their heads. All 45 beds were occupied and some children were asleep on the floor. They each had washcloths to grabbed to for comfort and to suck on. It was so hard and none of us were able to hold back the tears. I wanted to grab as many as I can and bring home with me. It's hard to imagine that these beautiful babies were abandoned because they were the wrong sex. I walked out of the room onto the balcony and saw down the hall an open door with babies lieing on the floor. There were about three of them and they looked to be about 2-3 months old. A lady was picking one up and moving it down roughly, then wiping it's face down hard as if it was an assembly line, I lost it at that moment. I wanted to run and yell at her for being so inhumane, but I had to turn away and just cry. I'm still crying and I can't get that image out of my mind. We walked to front of the orphange and took pictures in front of the gates. Trying to smile for the camera was practically ridiculous. But I just had to pray that each of those babies would find a home one day and live happily ever after. The director treated us to lunch at a local restaurant and it was okay. Not much of an appetite. After lunch we were all driven the spot where our babies were abandoned. Penelope was abandoned at the steps to a park. The city of Yangxi is old and poor. All of the buildings are concrete boxes. It seems that the park is located at center of the city where all of the shopping is done. The park is the only beauty in the city. I can only imagine what Penelope's mother was thinking when she left her there. What was it about this place? Did she want her to be surrounded by nature? Did she want her be surrounded by beauty? I do know that she left her there so that someone can find her and give her good life. And that's my promise to Penelope to give her the best that we can provide. For her to appreciate her life and what is given to her because after yesterday my perspective has changed. My life has been difficult but I don't think it will ever compare to those babies. For those unlucky children that are not adopted what will happen to them? Who will hug them and tell them that they are loved everyday of their lives? I feel so blessed to have Penelope and to be given the opportunity to hug her and tell her that I love her everyday of her life. Tomorrow we will be going to a Buddist Temple where Penelope will be blessed. I will pray for her to live a healthy and happy life.