Tuesday, May 25

Our Internet has been down for about 24 hours so I couldn't post this as I have been. Sorry!

We went to the orphanage today and what an experience that was. The closest thing I can liken it to is a concentration camp. We began our day at 8am- we were on the bus and started our 3 1/2 drive to the town of Yangxi, China. First let me tell you that this drive was interesting because there aren't seat belts on the bus and we just held our babies for the whole time. I kept praying for no accidents on the trip because we would all be seriously hurt. It was probably easier for the babies because they got to move around and be held because they weren't strapped in- but our nerves were a bit shot after that! We got to see quite a bit of country side on the drive. This is very tropical so the best I can compare it to is the Caribbean area. The dirt is red- like down south and everywhere are tall trees with hardly any branches until you get to the top where there is a puff of leaves. It was quite interesting. We saw poor parts where they lived in shacks and grew rice. We saw duck farms and trucks carrying dead (and a few live) chickens, baby pigs, and adult pigs- we can only guess that they were being driven to a slaughter house. It was quite interesting. The traffic is incredible. At one point there were 4 vehicles wide on a street meant for 2. If there are lines on the road they don't mean anything because often the people will drive so they are in 2 lanes. It is very weird and disconcerting. We got to the orphanage at 11:30. We got out of the bus and all we heard were crying babies. The orphanage director and vice-director met us and lead us into a reception area. Before we sat down and talked to them we walked around the courtyard of the orphanage which was filled with potted trees, a little bit of grass, a few pieces of playground equipment and lots of weeds. The reception area had a fancy table and chairs and on one wall hung pictures of families with their babies from the orphanage- that was neat to see. We sat down and the director greeted us. They gave us leches which is a local fruit that have a similar taste and texture to grapes but they are much bigger and have a pit in the center. We were expected to eat them- we all did but I did not care for mine. We only asked a few questions at this point and then were told that they would take us to see one of the baby rooms. Patrick and I did not want to take Olivia back to the room for fear that she would think she was being left there. We went up one at a time. When you walk into this room sadness fills you. It was nap time and all of the babies were in their cribs- about 20. The cribs were lined with planks of wood- nothing else- no blanket or anything. Some were sleeping but most were just in there rolling around. Some of these babies had been matched to families waiting to come and get them but most were not matched. There is one nanny in this room- 20 babies between the ages of 6 months to 1 year and 1 nanny. That was heart breaking. This is not the room where Olivia stayed. She was in a room upstairs that is for babies 0-6 months. I think they left her there because she had already been matched. All I have to say is that this is one county in China- that had about 90 kids in it- each county has their own orphanage- there are many babies in China waiting to find families to love them. The temptation was strong to pick 2-3 up and say let us take them home- I promise we will find good homes for them. Patrick and another man in our group went around and prayed (quietly) over each baby that we saw- We know that God is good all the time- sometimes when faced with a situation like this it is hard to see the good. After we had seen the room (we could only take a picture of an empty crib- no babies in the picture) we went back down stairs to talk to the director more. I asked what the process was when they found a baby. When the baby is found the person who find it calls the police. the police come and look for the parents for about 2 hours with the baby. Then the orphanage is called and they come get the baby from the police station. The baby is brought to the orphanage for temporary care. The police put a finding ad in the newspaper to look for the parents. the parents have 2 weeks to claim their baby. At the end of the 2 weeks the baby is officially put under the care of the orphanage. This is when they do a medical exam and register her. All people in china have to be registered with the government. Then the orphanage gathers the necessary paperwork to send to CCAA which is the adoption center for the Chinese government. This takes about 4 months to do all of this. Then the baby is set to be matched with a family who is waiting. I asked how often parents have come forward to claim the baby after they have abandoned it and they said never- they have never seen or heard of a baby being claimed. this makes sense because it is illegal to abandon a baby here. Not all the kids who are at the orphanage are up for adoption. The serious medical or mental issues are not even given to CCAA. A child with Downs or very low IQ are not eligible for adoption. They will spend all of their growing up years in the orphanage until they are put out when they are 18 (I think that is the correct age). This was hard to hear as well. We then got back on the bus and we drove around to each of the girls' finding spots. Olivia was found outside of a cell phone store in a very hard part of town. It is dirty and loud. If you are in Boise- think of the worst part of Garden City- if you are in Seattle, think of the worst part of Lake City Way. It was very hard to go there but I am so glad that we did- I think it is important for Olivia later in her life to know about this part of her life. After the finding spots we went to lunch at a place called MFC- which is just like KFC in the states. Our guess is that the M stands for Mandarin. It wasn't bad. I had to use the squatty potty for the first time and if you don't know what that is - it is just as it sounds. You squat and hope you don't pee on your pants. Not a glamorous experience but you don't always have a choice in these matters. In the town of Yangxi we got quite a few stares. In Guangzhou it is not unusual to see many white couples with Chinese babies. We are the minority but not strange. In Yangxi we had many people stop and point- taking pictures and so forth. We kind of felt like animals at the zoo. I am glad we had that experience as well but it was strange to say the least. We got back on the bus and headed for home. We were all exhausted and ready to be back at the hotel. We finally got back to the hotel at about 6:15. We pretty much just went to our room and stayed for the rest of the night. Whew- this was a long post. I hope you enjoyed hearing about our experience!
Lots of love,
Patrick, Donna, and Olivia