Welcome to Nantong!

After about 24 hours of straight travel, we arrived in the city of Nantong. After checking into our hotel room we were greeted by Ms. Zhou, from Nantong SWI, who is responsible for the Journey of Hope program. We weren’t aware that the staff from the orphanage had been waiting for our arrival to share a big meal with us. After trying to “freshen up” we met 4 directors from Nantong along with Ms. Zhou for quite a feast of Chinese delicacies!

The following day (Monday), we went to visit the orphanage while they were rehearsing for the program. Ms. Zhou wanted us to also meet several children there who were not participating in the program. It was quite obvious that Ms. Zhou has such a big heart for the children, as she pointed out every one of them that she really wants to have a family. While she acknowledged that the orphanage takes very good care of the children, she realizes that they need to be in a family as soon as they can be in order to develop as they should.

We met an 11 year old boy that we have nicknamed Sean. Sean has a repaired cleft lip and palate and talks very clearly in both Chinese and English. He earned the nickname of the “Little Leader” as he was working very hard to lead the other children in their performance.

We met “Sunny” who was a bit shy with us. She is 12 years old and was born with hydrocephalus. She came to the orphanage with her foster mother of 6 years, who was clearly proud of her. She brought some of her artwork and crafts to show us what she had made. Sunny rides her bike 20 minutes every day to school. She saves her money to use for donations.

Some of the children whose files we weren’t assigned, but who really want us to find families for including little Ting Ting. She immediately captured all of our attention, and rarely let us lose sight of her. Ting Ting had a tumor on her brain that caused her to be significantly delayed in her growth. When seeing her one would think she was around 5-6 years old but is actually 12 years old. The tumor has been removed and we are hopeful that we can find a family for her that will help her reach her full potential. Ting Ting loves to be hugged and has a ready for smile for every adult she sees.

We met 3 children with Down’s Syndrome. Ms. Zhou reports that all 3 are relatively independent. One of these little girls insisted on taking our pens and practicing her writing skills!

The one thing that has impressed us the most here is the loving attention that these children have from the orphanage staff. All of the children, even the few that are severely handicapped, clearly recognized Ms. Zhou and smiled or hugged her every time she entered their room.

Today we will do some sightseeing of Nantong and then meet with CCAA officials for supper. Tomorrow will the official start of our program. It should be a very long day, but we’ll try to upload more pictures as soon as we can!