Three. That's the number of times I've visited the orphanage in the last couple weeks. Still blows my mind that I have the time and resources to keep going back. Thank you to all of HS's donors who are making this summer (and beyond!) possible. Whether you have just started following my blog or have been following every post (hi Mom!), I know that it is impossible to remember details of each kiddo that I talk about. Orphanage days are crazy, and I come home exhausted each time. It's hard enough for me to keep track of their names and personalities! So in this post I wanna try something different, to give you a little glimpse of a few of them more closely. Max is quite the little stunner. His huge, inquisitive eyes melt me with every look. Of all the kids, Max is one of the most calm and reserved. He's never said a word, but seems to understand a lot more than he lets on. I am always surprised by how interested he is in everything I do, despite his quiet nature. Whether I am making balloon animals, or passing out paper and markers, or even taking selfies with groups of kids on my phone, he is right there in the thick of it. Quiet, but definitely a little extrovert in his own way. I heard him laugh once last week... it was surprising and wonderful. I pulled out a new toy, called the Sound Machine. You press buttons on it to make different sounds like clapping, laughing, a drumroll, or a whistle. I let them take turns (not as easy as it sounds) pressing the buttons and picking the sounds. The first time Max got to press the button, a little tiny laugh bubbled up out of him. It was the sweetest sound. Without fail, every time he pressed a button, the same little laugh came out. Looking forward to getting to know this little dude even better over the next couple months. Much love little guy. Little lady Maisy. Really, the pictures of little lady do her no justice. She laughs so easily, at any tickle or smile in her direction--so much so that we first started calling her "happy baby." Maisy is about 6 months old, and spends most of every day in her crib in the baby room. Every once in a while, she gets to sit up in a roller chair that is put into her crib. Maisy has reached the majority of the developmental milestones that she should have at this point (yay!), such as rolling from back to front, holding her own head up, and grasping at things she is interested in. And yet, the more time I spend with her, the more I notice the little gaps in that development; even though she can hold her head up on her own, it is still quite weak and "jerks" up and down when she goes from horizontal to vertical or vice versa. Maisy is definitely a favorite among the nannies. This works in her favor for now, as she needs the attention when she cries or fusses. Nevertheless, she still gets fed a bottle of formula in her crib propped up on blankets, rather than getting bottle fed by a physical person. I was able to give her her bottle yesterday, and hope to do that regularly when I am around. Love you little lady Maisy! For better or worse, the first word that comes to mind for Josiah is SASSY. This kid has so much attitude it is hilarious and horrible all at once. We didn't even see him the first day we went to the orphanage. So, on the second day we were there, when he came waddling in with enough attitude to capture anyone's attention, we were quite surprised. He hopped right in next to the kids, took the entire bag of crayons for himself, climbed up ON to the table, grabbed someone's paper, and sat down to color. Needless to say, he is quite capable of making a scene. At three years old, he is small for his age but makes up for it with his big personality. Emotions come easy for him, happy and sad alike, and being around people is his favorite. When Josiah discovered that we were facepainting, he stuck his little hand right into the middle of the group of kids and said, "Do mine!" (in Chinese of course). And when we were blowing up long balloons, he got a hold of two of them, walked right up to Liz, handed her one, and started fighting her with his own.
I have no doubt Josiah will make waves in this world. My hope for him is that he will use his fire and strength for good, in a community and world that so desperately needs it. Love you buddy.
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A note from Rebekah...If you've ever wondered what it would be like to start a nonprofit from the ground up, to open a home for ORPHANS with special needs in Asia, you've come to the right place. Archives
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