12/25 Visit to Jen's orphanage

Hi everyone,
We want to wish you a Merry Christmas from Guangzhou, China!! We have had a wonderful day here. I want to catch you up on what has been happening here. Thank you for your love and prayers. They are bearing fruit as things continue to go so well for Jen, Kristy and I.

I wanted to tell you about our visit to Jen's hometown last week as it was a very important journey for us. Ever since we began to plan our trip to China, we had hoped to visit her orphanage in Zhuhai -- a city by the sea which has a thrived due to the economic boom in this province. You can watch a promotional video of the city on this blog (it launches a YouTube clip). Zhuhai is a modern city but still has the mix of old and new like so many other places we have seen.

On Thursday, Dec 20th, we took a van with our guide to Zhuhai (about 2 hours). The countryside is dotted with factories and they are building more and more infrastructure to support the growth. Since our guide and driver were not familiar with the location of the orphanage, it took a while to negotiate the streets to locate it. While they were looking, Kristy noticed that Jen began to smile as she realized we were nearby. As we turned in to the drive, she was grinning. At that point, her smiles were few and far between so this was a welcome sign. To give you a bit of history, it was our dear hope to go inside the orphanage. That was a privilege that I was looking forward to. So along the way our hopes rose and fell and we heard we couldn't get in and then that we could and then that we could not, etc. In the final days before departure, we go a definitive no to our great disappointment. However by then, we were so close to getting Jen that its importance had faded somewhat.　

Emotionally, I　ｈａｄ　ｐｒｅｐａｒｅｄ　ｍｙｓｅｌｆ　ｆｏｒ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ｕｎａｂｌｅ　ｔｏ　ｅｎｔｅｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｒｐｈａｎａｇｅ．　Ｓｏ　ｕｐｏｎ　ａｒｒｉｖａｌ，we hopped out of the van and Jen, though smiling, was "stand offish" as we walked up. The orphanage director and several staff came out to greet us. We exchanged greetings and told her that we knew a number of parents of children from Zhuhai and that we were aware that more were being adopted soon. She said, in fact, that 4 children were at the photo shop getting pictures made in preparation for their adoption. Jen responded to the staff but was mostly indifferent which we have come to realize is her demeanor around adults in public. I took some pictures and thought how odd I felt -- I had dreamed of this moment but it wasn't exactly how Ｉhad　ｉｍａｇｉｎｅd it.　Ｉwas thinking that music would be playing in my mind with a great swell of emotion to go along. Instead it seemed normal to be there for the both of us and for Jen it was if she had already come to terms with leaving the orphanage. No tears or sadness for her. So then two exciting things happened which were unexpected. First，we noticed their bulletin board outside the gate and on it were the pictures of a number of children we recognized. In fact, we knew them by name (and their parents) from our Internet group. We had been following these children via their parents for months and months. I began to snap as many pictures as possible. We were so excited. Rattling off names and seeing them --- asking Jen to verify who they were...it was awesome. We saw a picture of a girl that we know about who turned out to be Jen's best friend and bedmate. Capturing those images was a thrill for me -- it was kind of the holy grail of what we hoped to see (except for seeing the girls in person). Before we left, they invited us inside the gate to use the restroom. I was surprised but we accepted the offer. Then the orphanage director offered to show us Jen's favorite tree. We walked around the corner and up Jen climbed. It was a citrus tree with little green fruit that looked like limes. The director stood beside for a picture. Jen grinned.
In that moment, there was something healing about watching Jen come back to her tree as a visitor and no longer as a resident. The fact that there was fruit in the tree conveyed the idea of healing to me...making me think about the fruit trees in Revelation that are for the healing of the nations.

As quickly as it all began, we expressed our gratitude and goodbyes and left. Jen walked away with us -- away to her new life. There were no sad goodbyes. A new orphanage is being built and if we are able to return someday, her home for the first 10 years of her life will just be a memory for her.

In reflecting upon those moments, I realized that I didn't need to go inside. Jen didn't need us to go inside. She just needed us to come get her. I told her tonight over a cup of noodles that on Saturday, we are going to "meiguo" (America). She nodded with a knowing approval. She is ready to go. In her heart, she has been ready for a long time. It was evident on adoption day that this little girl was prepared for the road ahead wherever it led and whatever it meant for her. That was an answer to prayer - such an answer. She has many mountains yet to climb but she made it over the first big one. She has left Zhuhai and that life behind. Tonight as we walked the streets of Guangzhou, she grabbed our hands and swung between us. We looked at the Christmas lights and jumped and ran and giggled.

We will never forget the love and kindness the caretakers of Zhuhai gave to Jen. They have given her so much and for that we are very thankful. The China chapter of her life is almost over...we have a few more pages to write here and then it is off to America. Zhu Hai Zhen has left Zhu Hai behind and now she is just Jen...a citizen of China and soon to be a citizen of a new world.