Orphanage Visit & Kung Fu

The last 2 days we have been waiting for Jack's passport, and will get it tomorrow morning.  Once we get it, we hop on a plane tomorrow afternoon for Guangzhou which is where the US Consulate is located.  So for these 2 days we have been planning on 2 different day trips: visiting Jack's orphanage and the Shaolin Temple.  Jack is still having trouble keeping his formula down (please pray that Jack's tummy would settle down), so we have had to split up these last 2 days. 

Orphanage Visit from Elise:

I have thought from the beginning that I would like to visit Jack's orphanage.  This is the place he has been since he was only several days old.  I wanted to see for myself where he spent his short life.  Wednesday was my opportunity to see.  Because I wanted to go so much, Doug and Hannah stayed behind with our sick little sweetie.  Aaron and I got in a van with a local travel agency guide for a two hour ride.  We were greeted by Ms. Li Jun (I think she is second to the director).  The orphanage looked  the same as the many pictures I had received from other families who had visited before.  At the same time I found it far more depressing than I had imagined it would be. Don't get me wrong, the nannies seem to care for the babies.  But there are so many babies, they can't possibly get the love a family can give.  I know I am stating the obvious.  I can't adequately describe the sadness of the orphanage.  I am so thankful Jack is with us now and not there any longer.  I was also able to visit some sweet girls who are waiting for their mama's and baba's to come bring them home.  I prayed for them and took some pictures to send to their parents.  I know how precious it is to receive such a gift during the long wait. 

After looking around, my guide led Aaron and I to an office.  The office seemed 20 degrees warmer than the area where the children were.  It was freezing in the kid's rooms.  It is now understandable why they are so bundled up.  I was then given a gift, a picture of the national flower the peony.  My guide also said they wanted to take us to lunch. Yikes!!  I didn't really want to without Doug with me, but I said yes.  I was very nervous to spend a meal with people who don't speak the same language.  I think they might have thought we were a little crazy.  They asked how many children we had and I said now 5.  All the ladies laughed, I think in disbelief.  I told them that was nothing.  I had many friends with 9 and counting children.  They were very kind and the lunch was not too painful.  I was just a bit nervous.  Aaron was a great distraction.  They took a liking to him.  He is very cute, I can't really blame them. 

The next stop was Maria's Big House of Hope.  The name is in honor of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter Maria who died several years ago.  She was a special needs orphan. What a difference the two places are.  Maria's was a beautiful place.  Children are sent to Maria's from the local orphanages if they don't have the means to care for these children.  Their preschool teacher Rebecca showed us around.  She is from Alabama.  It was so sweet to see how she interacted with the children and you could tell she truly loved them.  Some of the children there had severe special needs.  Others had them, but were not obvious to me.  It was a wonderful time.  It was so refreshing to be with Rebecca and I ended up giving her a hug.  There is something to be said about having a bond with fellow believers. 

Our last stop was Jack's finding spot.  This is the place where he was left at 2 days old.  It was at a very busy intersection in a park.  The park was a beautiful place with several people bustling around.  It was this place that someone found our sweet boy left alone.  Although he was left physically, God had plans for this boy's life.  He knew that Jack would be a LaCroix one day. All to the praise of our Great and Mighty Lord!!

Here are some pics from our day:

                                                       Jack's Nanny

                                                  Jack's former roommates

                                                      Jack's old room

                                           Maria of "Maria's Big House of Hope"

                                    Rebecca of "Maria's Big House" showing some love

                                           Park where Jack was abandoned and found

                                           Reunited after a long day apart



Next day, Shaolin Temple visit from Doug:

The province where we are located is called Henan.  Henan's claim to fame is that it is where Kung Fu originated and is still currently the epicenter of Kung Fu. Specifically, the birthplace of Kung Fu is the Shaolin Temple, located in the mountains of Henan, about 1.5 hours drive away.  Besides being a tourist attraction, the temple still teaches thousands of students the various levels of Kung Fu.  Their goal: to become the best and get a movie contract.  I'm not kidding, they all want to be Bruce Lee

There weren't many tourists at the temple and I now know why.  It's stinkin cold, I mean really cold.  I don't know how those Kung Fu monks wander around barefoot and bald headed.

After we toured their expansive ancient facility, we were treated to a Kung Fu show which was pretty cool.

Here are some pics from the day.  The last is a picture of our favorite course at dinner tonight.  Some friends we are traveling with offered to pick us up some dinner from a local restaurant, so we thought we would share some of the local fare with y'all at home:

                                                        Shaolin Temple entrance

Hannah had some trouble channeling her inner Kung Fu, Aaron - no trouble at all

Apparently these dragon-turtle creatures are good luck to the Kung Fu monks - Aaron would beg to differ

                                               Mountain backdrop of Shaolin

                                       Chinese Gov't program -  No chicken parts left behind