The Orphanage Visit

Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12

 Thanks to the magical powers of Ambien, I got about seven hours of sleep last night.  I was desperate for it, so I took a chance that Vivi would sleep through the night again and took the sleeping pill. Thank the Lord she slept great, and now we all feel a little better today!

We had the option to visit Vivi Cate's orphanage, and we jumped at the chance.  A lot of orphanages will not allow anyone inside for obvious reasons.  It is not uncommon for adopted children to come home with rope scars on their wrists and their bellies.  What most people outside of the adoption community don't know is that not having parents isn't the worse thing that can happen to them.  Some of the unimaginable horrors these children face behind those walls will take your breath away.  This is why most aren't allowed to see what happens behind those walls.  Vivi's orphanage is considered a good orphanage.  Would it pass any American standards?  Not a chance.  They don't even have heat.  For China's standards, it is very nice.

I had some apprehension about taking Vivi back to see her nannies.  Sometimes only one parent will go while the other stays back at the hotel with their child.  I wanted both of us to go, so that when Vivi gets older we can both tell her our memories of this day.  Sometimes the adopting parents do not allow the nannies to hold their child while they visit.  I went back and forth up until we got in the car to drive there, and I finally decided to let Vivi go to whomever she wanted.


When we drove up to the orphanage, I saw her nanny standing in the driveway with several of the other caregivers.  While we parked they tried to peer in and get a glimpse of Vivi.

When we got out, I walked her straight to her nanny and let her go.

and I'm so glad I did.

Because if I hadn't let her go, I wouldn't have seen this

 or this ...

And this was one the purest displays of love I have ever seen.
  

and right then I knew I was being blessed just to witness something so beautiful.

Because in a country where my Vivi could never go to college, have a job, or be accepted by society...

Inside these orphanage walls, my Vivi was a star.


When we finally got on the elevator and went up to her floor...

this is what we saw when the doors opened.

and they cheered for her.

Everyone took turns holding her and talking to her.

 They all wanted a picture with her.

 She got to smother her nanny with kisses...

 and I had the pleasure of seeing true joy radiating from my daughter's face.

 It.was.amazing.

While they loved on Vivi, Aaron and I got to look around a little bit.  This is the front room in between the crib rooms and the small playroom.

This is the view outside the window. 

 The windows are always open in the winter time, so it's chilly in the building. Notice everyone is wearing coats.  Aaron wore a t-shirt, and all of the nannies talked about him and pointed to his shirt.  Finally they asked the guide if Aaron was cold because they couldn't believe he would walk around without a coat.


 The nannies said this giant stuffed bear was Vivi's favorite thing in the playroom...

Her nanny loved her outfit.  Before I left for China, I had taken pictures of the girls' room at home and the playroom, so I could show her.  She loved looking at them, and then she showed me all of the pictures of Vivi on her phone.  

They showed us where she slept at night.

  This was her crib.

 This room consisted of two rows of five cribs.

 That means 10 babies in this room go to sleep every night without a mom or dad. 

 My heart breaks for them.


Last week, I posted a message on our agency's Facebook page and mentioned I would be at the Chongqing SWI and if anyone had sweet babies there, I would try to take their pictures.  Several adopting mommas replied, and Aaron and I had the joy of taking pictures of some adorable children ranging in age from 12 months to 13 years old.  Because Vivi was off gallivanting with the nannies, we got to take our time with meeting them.  I loved every second of it.  We also got to meet a few children who are on our agency's list but do not have parents yet.

Ya'll, I fell in love.

This certain little girl is 5 years old, and her special need is Dwarfism.  She is PRECIOUS.  If I could have walked out the door with her, I would have in.a.heartbeat.  She's beautiful, charming, and physically she is amazing.  She even showed Aaron and I how she can do the splits!  We were cheering her on!  She thought Aaron's beard was funny and reached out to 'pet' it.  She was nothing but smiles, and I am so hoping a family will step forward for her soon.  When I saw her, my mind went back to a few days ago when we saw a lady with dwarfism who was begging on the street for money.  This is typical.  What's worse is that someone is probably making her do that (forced labor), and they will take the money when the day is over.  This is also typical.  If the people who asked us why we weren't adopting from our own country only knew the monstrosities that happens outside of our country... and how much we Americans take our human rights for granted.  It's heart wrenching. 

 Finally it was time to say our good-byes.  I braced myself for Vivi's reaction.  Her nanny put her in my arms, and the orphanage director quickly led us to the elevator.  All of the caregivers stood by the elevator and waved.   Vivi started to cry a little, but then she stopped and waved good-bye as the door shut. 


Through the front door, you can still see a few of the nannies who came down the stairs and watched her leave.  

We walked around to the playground, and she whimpered for a moment, but my little girl was so brave.

Was the orphanage perfect?  Not by any means.  There are things going on there that would never be okay in the US, and they weren't okay for me.  Are the caretakers in there trying their best considering the limitations and cultural mindset?  I believe so.  They didn't have to shower our Vivi with love and affection.  It would have been socially appropriate to leave her in her crib all day and not say one word to her. It happens.every.day.in.China.  I will never forget those women, and I will always be grateful to them for what they did for her.

And this is where her story with us begins...