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| Our "kids" during a visit in 2006. Simon/Ming is seated, second from right. Ben is in the first seat on the right. The orphanage director wanted uniforms, and our friends in the US provided the funds to have them made. |
The metal entry door clangs shut. Children's artwork lines the walls of the hall. The ceilings vault over ten feet. Frequent mopping leaves water pooled on the concrete floors. The walls are two-toned, the bottom sporting an institutional green, topped with white. Void of furniture other than a long, low table and small chairs, the room echoes in the emptiness. Voices rise faintly from the television room and the upstairs bedrooms. Feet clatter, and twenty-four children appear, excited, laughing, gibbering away in Chinese with arms open to hug the arriving American grandmothers..
Once again the ninis (Chinese for grandmas) are back in Fuzhou, China, at the Living Hope Children's Home . . . and a long way from Layton.
Beginning in 2004 the Living Hope children drew those grandmas back across the world for six or seven visits. Bearing suitcases filled with English lessons, games, prizes, stickers, skit props, and craft projects, the grandmas settled down to do what grandmas do . . . talk, sing, laugh, tell stories, take walks, and hug. On that first visit to Fuzhou, the children ranged in age from four to eleven.
Last month, the grandmas returned again, after a hiatus of several years, for a special reunion with the children who had run to meet them so often, but the "little ones" weren't so little any more. Teens and young adults greeted the ninis, some with an outstretched hand, others with a hug.
Simon, seated second from the right in the photo above, returned to the orphanage too. He was one of only two or three children adopted out, due to unusual restrictions in Chinese law. Simon (Chinese name "Ming") had been adopted by an American family from the state of Washington. Jody Bowser, a pastor in WA, and his wife Karyn have three children of their own, but hearts big enough to include the adoption of two Chinese children.
Simon graduated from high school in June. His senior project, a ping pong tournament called "Ming Pong," raised over $1000 to buy a ping pong table and other materials for his orphanage home in Fuzhou. So the Bowsers brought Ming and the rest of their family back to Living Hope Children's Home this summer to meet the "brothers and sisters" and "mommies and daddies" he had not seen since his adoption about eight years before..
Articulate, charismatic, and energetic, Ming is an adoption success story. He has enrolled at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania this September. An interesting twist that our Chinese grandson would eventually attend college in Pennsylvania. Ming's desire is to live a life of gratefulness, thanking and honoring God for His watch care and love through his growing-up years.
Ben, seated in the first chair on the right in the photo above, also came back for the reunion. Ben's crippled leg was just one of the obstacles he sought to overcome. He left the orphanage at eighteen and struck out on his own to experience the world and live the life he'd seen on television. Things did not go well, Ben said. Now, twenty-one years old, Ben admits that he learned hard lessons about choices and the world's empty promises. He grew up fast.
Ben took a six hour bus trip to spend a single afternoon with his "brother" Ming, his orphanage siblings, and the American ninis. And he wanted to tell those grandmas something special . . .
"You gave me some of the best memories of my childhood," Ben faltered. "As a child, I didn't understand the level of your commitment. I thought you came from nearby. I'm older now, and I know that you came a great distance. It cost you a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of trouble."
Ben's hands and voice shook as he rose from his chair and invited the ninis into an adjoining, vacant room. Closing the door behind him, Ben lined the grandmas up, shifted his weight from his lame leg, and bowed deep and low to the older women. "I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice for us. Thank you for the good memories." And he hugged each one.
Once again the ninis (Chinese for grandmas) are back in Fuzhou, China, at the Living Hope Children's Home . . . and a long way from Layton.
Beginning in 2004 the Living Hope children drew those grandmas back across the world for six or seven visits. Bearing suitcases filled with English lessons, games, prizes, stickers, skit props, and craft projects, the grandmas settled down to do what grandmas do . . . talk, sing, laugh, tell stories, take walks, and hug. On that first visit to Fuzhou, the children ranged in age from four to eleven.
Last month, the grandmas returned again, after a hiatus of several years, for a special reunion with the children who had run to meet them so often, but the "little ones" weren't so little any more. Teens and young adults greeted the ninis, some with an outstretched hand, others with a hug.
Simon, seated second from the right in the photo above, returned to the orphanage too. He was one of only two or three children adopted out, due to unusual restrictions in Chinese law. Simon (Chinese name "Ming") had been adopted by an American family from the state of Washington. Jody Bowser, a pastor in WA, and his wife Karyn have three children of their own, but hearts big enough to include the adoption of two Chinese children.
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| Simon/Ming with his orphanage "parents," Robert and Deborah, and with his adoptive parents, the Bowsers. |
Simon graduated from high school in June. His senior project, a ping pong tournament called "Ming Pong," raised over $1000 to buy a ping pong table and other materials for his orphanage home in Fuzhou. So the Bowsers brought Ming and the rest of their family back to Living Hope Children's Home this summer to meet the "brothers and sisters" and "mommies and daddies" he had not seen since his adoption about eight years before..
Articulate, charismatic, and energetic, Ming is an adoption success story. He has enrolled at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania this September. An interesting twist that our Chinese grandson would eventually attend college in Pennsylvania. Ming's desire is to live a life of gratefulness, thanking and honoring God for His watch care and love through his growing-up years.
Ben, seated in the first chair on the right in the photo above, also came back for the reunion. Ben's crippled leg was just one of the obstacles he sought to overcome. He left the orphanage at eighteen and struck out on his own to experience the world and live the life he'd seen on television. Things did not go well, Ben said. Now, twenty-one years old, Ben admits that he learned hard lessons about choices and the world's empty promises. He grew up fast.
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| Ben with American nini, Marilyn Stracham. |
Ben took a six hour bus trip to spend a single afternoon with his "brother" Ming, his orphanage siblings, and the American ninis. And he wanted to tell those grandmas something special . . .
"You gave me some of the best memories of my childhood," Ben faltered. "As a child, I didn't understand the level of your commitment. I thought you came from nearby. I'm older now, and I know that you came a great distance. It cost you a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of trouble."
No other reasons are needed to answer the question,
"Why do you go back to China?"
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| Becky, the tallest girl in the back row of the photo above, works part time in a pharmacy and takes pharmacy courses at a technical school. |
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| Amy, sixth from the right in the photo above, spent the summer as a cashier in a local supermarket. |
I can't get enough of your stories, Jo Ann. What a wonderful way to touch lives and bring hope . . .
ReplyDeleteYOU have been a great mentor.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you reconnect with these children. Distance doesn't have to separate.
ReplyDeleteJo Ann, this is nothing short of amazing . . . like living in a Pearl S. Buck novel!
ReplyDeleteJo Ann, this is nothing short of amazing . . . like living in a Pearl S. Buck novel!
ReplyDeleteThankful for my cheerleader!
Delete