a saturday well spent-rachel's version

Today, I went to the Deyang Orphanage and helped put on a Christmas/Chinese New Year party for the children there. Our school visits this orphanage almost monthly, but this was my first opportunity to go. We took a 1.5 hour bus ride out of Chengdu to the small industrial town of Deyang.

We were dropped off on the main road and had to walk through an alley, carrying all our party supplies and gifts, back to the orphanage. The party was to take place in a tent that everyone stayed in after the earthquake. We started getting things set up and the teenagers from the orphanage helped us. I tried to talk to one girl and she looked at me blankly. I was happy to see that later she was talking to someone else and looked like she was having fun. Slowly the kids started coming down for the party...

We handed out ornaments to the kids (mostly New Year's decorations) and they hung them on the Christmas tree. It was touching to see one of the men holding up the kids so they could reach the higher branches. Will they ever have a dad to do that for them?

I spent the bulk of my time in the handicapped room. I volunteered to go up with the kids that couldn't come down to the general party, and I'm glad I did. There were 9 kids in the room either in beds, on stools, or in a wheel chair. When I first entered I was immediately drawn to the boy in the wheel chair because he was soooo smiley and started laughing. He was one of the only kids in the room who could speak and was a joy to play with. Three of the children were completely bed-ridden and could barely move. They reminded me a lot of my sister Leah, but were somewhat more responsive. I tried to spend time with each kid touching their face or giving them a high five.

I was really impressed with the worker who took care of these kids. She was very loving and patient but also firm with the rowdy child who had motor skills. It was hard to see them and I even teared up a bit, but it was good to know that someone is caring for them. I hope someday they will be able to live in a home that will be able to fully love them.

Please keep these children in your hearts and hope that they will someday find a special family. All of the kids at the Deyang orphanage have some level of special needs. Most suffer or have suffered from cleft palette, yet those faces are so beautiful. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing them again!