Here at NCCC

This is Tuo Tuo, 5 yrs. old. He likes to follow me around and is the most wonderful greeter I've ever had! He lets me give him kisses and even kissed me back once! Like all the other children here, he washes his own clothes. Can you tell? :P

I arrived at the orphanage last week. It seems like such a long time ago since I left the medical mission and headed to Xi'an before coming here. It feels like I haven't seen an American in such a long time! It's been about two weeks since last seeing one in person.

I'm staying in the guest room here, but one night last week I had to stay in the girl's dorm because some other guests spent the night. I enjoyed being with the girls. The original plan was for me to stay in the big girl's room, but I was kidnapped by the younger ones and couldn't free myself from them! I don't know if it made a difference or not to the older girls, but the younger ones sure did want me to stay with them! I took one of the hardest baths I have ever attempted in their bathroom. It wasn't a bath and it wasn't a shower. It was a spicket in the wall about waist-high that poured burning hot water out onto the floor (but most showers in China don't have a stall; they just are open in the middle of the bathroom and drain out from a hole in the floor). There was a big bucket of cool water under the spicket, so I dunked my hair into that to wash it(don't know who used that water earlier or for what they did, but I didn't care -- I was so dirty!) I managed to get clean by using half burning hot water and half cool water in a little plastic bowl. Another interesting thing about their bathroom is that there is no door from the bedroom to the bathroom. You just have to trust that no one will come in, or just not care if they do. There are about 5 toilet holes in the room adjoining the shower room (no doorway and no walls between the holes). I'm glad I have this guest room to myself, but I also like spending time with the girls in there rooms.

THE CHILDREN

So, who would NOT want to spend time with this kid? Dai Li, 7 yrs. old

The children are so sweet! Some just follow me around and do whatever I'm doing. That can be a very good thing, and I like them to be with me, but sometimes a girl needs privacy! I hope God can use me here and that these children will come to know and serve Him. I've have many weird emotions these past few weeks. Maybe that's part of culture shock, but I think it's mainly homesickness (maybe homesickness is a part of culture shock?!?). I was pretty well prepared for everything I've seen so far, but the way of life is much more difficult than in the States.

A couple of the precious, grimy children! Tuo Tuo again and Ma Quan, 6 yrs. old.

WATER!

Esther gave me some apples the other day, and when I went to eat one she told me I'd better wash it first. “What?!?!” I said, “With what? The water coming out of the faucets? It's BROWN it's so filthy! How can I use that clean my apple?” The water here is different at different times and if you let it run long enough, the brownish rusty color fades away for the most part. But it's still pretty nasty. Right now, our water is shut off because the machine used to supply water to us and the local school is broken or something. We hane to go to the river nearby to wash our hair and clothes. We haul buckets of water to the orphanage everyday. It's not really that bad—very good exercise! My only problem is that it is stressful on us, and we need to be careful not to get heat exhaustion. We usually go in the morning or evening when it is cooler. I went out with a half dozen girls this morning to find water to wash our clothes. The first water hole we looked at was murky (sometimes it is clear) and the second one was just as bad. We finally went to one of the local guys who lives on a small, dirty lake and has a faucet that is fed from the lake (I think it is supposed to be filtered). It took us two hours from the time we left to the time we came back with clean clothes. It should have only taken 30-40 min.! Oh, how it makes me appreciate our washing machines back in the States! They are such time savers! I hope I will never waste time again!

The children's definition of washing and my definition is a little different. Some of the children here are “washing” themselves by the river instead of hauling the water back. That kind of shower consists of getting yourself soaking wet but keeping your clothes on because there are local farmers walking around the area. You don't always use soap—just get yourself wet! That's how some of the girls are taking showers right now. The younger children are very dirty most of the time, but I am too. It's just a dirty place, but it's not like it's filthy disease-ridden kind of dirty. It's a grimy kind of dirt because it's really humid here and there isn't much grass at NCCC, so you sweat your head off everyday and anywhere you go there's dirt. So you get pretty dirty no matter what you do or where you go!


A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TEACHING

One night, for English class, I asked the children to tell what is important to them. Their answers were terrific...I was so pleased to read them! The boys wrote in red and the girls in white. As you can see, the boys don't like to participate as much as the girls do! There actually are more boys than girls here at NCCC.

Notice how "Water" is very important to some of them? We need it so much! I sure hope we can get running water again soon!

Xi'an

I was able to visit Xi'an before coming to the orphanage. I saw my precious little friend, Li Dan Dan and met her family. I had an absolutely wonderful time in Xi'an, though I didn't do much sight-seeing. I was only there a few days, and my purpose was to visit with Dan Dan. Maybe I'll be able to go back sometime and see more places, but I loved just being with her and her family.

She loves her father. She says he and his motorbike are cool!

This is Dan Dan and her friend who lives in the room about their's.

Dan Dan's mother and a little neighbor kid. This little girl is so skinny!

Dan Dan's family live in a small room in an ally in the city, but it is clean and comfortable. They leave the door open and have a blanket covering the doorway. Every time someone would stop by, Dan Dan's mom would ask them to come in and have something to eat, but most would not. Just this little girl did. She is 2 or 3 years old. She is so quiet and sweet! I really like her.

Dan Dan's father took the Dan Dan and me to a park by the river. When we were leaving their house, Dan Dan's mother asked her father how we would get there, and he said the three of us could go on his motorcycle. She replied, “Faith wouldn't dare ride on that!” I said that I would, and away we went! That was so much fun! We were going about 25-35 mph in the city, and when we got to the highway we went 45-50 mph. Dan Dan's father was in front driving, Dan Dan was behind him, and I was sitting side-saddle in the back. Many women here in China sit on the back of their guy's motorcycle, and, since it is summer, many of them are in skirts sitting side-saddle. It's not really too dangerous. There are not a lot of accidents here, but we did come within inches of a car that tried to pull out in front of us. That was the only scary part. I think if a person really wants to see China, one of the most enjoyable ways would be to sit on the back of a local friend's motorcycle or electric scooter-bike and see the life of the people here and enjoy the ride! But just be sure your friend is a good driver—the traffic here is crazy! Whether you're crossing the street, or or riding in a car or on a motorbike, you can reach out and slap the vehicle next to or in front of you—you really get that close just about every time you go out. And I have seen many little kids crossing the street all by themselves!

I thought this bridge was cool. I really like bridges, and China is full of them! I was sitting on the bike when taking this picture.

It was wonderful getting to meet Dan Dan's family and friends. I love them all so much and hope to go back there before returning to the U.S. Dan Dan's parents are really very good; they love and discipline and take very good care of their children. It is very encouraging to see her mother trust our Father, and I hope Dan Dan will make the decision to follow Him like her mother has done. I was able to talk with Dan Dan a little bit about how important it is to honor her parents and please our Father. She is not the most obedient child and not the nicest big sister, but will do better when given firm direction. I have many more pics of my trip to Xi'an, but am having trouble getting them up. I don't like posting without pictures, but I'll go ahead and get up what I can.

A GOOD REASON TO LIVE IN CHINA

Know how much a milkshake costs? Try to guess... Look and the picture and think about how much you would spend for a delicious blueberry milkshake. It's not the best quality—more like a frozen yogurt shake.

It cost me 4 RMB. Divide that by seven and that's how much you are paying in American money. Unbelievable! It would probably cost me about $4 USD in the States. Who would not want to live here in China???

They took me out to get the milkshake. Such nice girls!

I had a dream last week that I was back in America buying something for $9 USD when I can buy it here in China for 9 RMB. I said, “This is ridiculous! I'm going back to China!” I miss everything and everyone back home so much, but I don't know how I'm going to adapt to the price differences.

Yes, it was pretty good!

Good Times with Good Friends

I had an awesome time in Changde on the medical mission and met plenty of fun, amazing people. Some were fun, some were amazing, and some were a little of both. I'm at the orphanage now. I left Changde last week, but wasn't able to catch up on everything I wanted to write about before I left, so here is some of it:

A KFC EXPERIENCE

Loved their sign...so true!

One night, some of us from the team had eaten enough Chinese food for our western stomachs, so we thought to give KFC a try. What a treat! We went out with a group of our translators.

After the fantastic food (which was a little spicier that what the States serves—we are in Hunan!) two of the cutest kids I have ever met came up to us Americans to shake our hands and introduce themselves. SOOO sweet!

This first one said, “Hi! My name is Lucy, it's nice to meet you!” “Well, it's nice to meet you too!” I replied (what else can you do in such a precious situation?!?). “How old are you?” “Um...(the little black eyes rolled to the back of her head as she thought about it) I'm nine years old.” “Oh, well your English is VERY good!” I said. Then she moved on to the next person to go through the same routine. The older gentleman in the picture is Dr. John Baily. He sponsors many of China Agape's medical missions and is one of the moste pleasant persons I have ever met.

The little girl's friend came up to me, and I asked her the same questions. When she said she was nine, I turned to the first girl and said, “You're nine too!” “No, I'm not,” she said, “I'm Lucy.” Wow, I lost it! Way too sweet and just so cute!

They were facinated with the hair on Dr. Wallace's arm!

These are some of the interpreters that helped us SO much! The American lady is a nurse, Becca Wallace.

MORE TO COME

Thank you all for your patience in waiting and watching my blog. I'll definitely be posting more because I am now at my final destination: North Canton Christian Care Center. I'm so glad to finally be here and am having a good time. I really need pr.yers so that I could be a good Engish teacher and friend. Oh, as a P.S. I can't tell who is who when reading your wonderful comments, so if you could, please write your name when you post! Thanks so much! Oh, P.P.S. there is a humongous evil spider in my bathroom and there is no door between him and my bed, so PLEASE remember to pr.y about this! Thank you!

Yu Zhi

This girl was just so sweet! She is 11 yrs old and has trouble speaking due to the fact her pallet was not repaired until two days ago. She was very hard to understand, but very smart. This was her first time meeting foreigners and she was really excited! She wanted to be with me everywhere and kept asking me to take her to see more Americans, because “Americans look good,” she explained to me. We went outside the afternoon before her surgery and walked around a bit. I offered to buy her ice cream. She said no because the doctors told her not to eat anything that morning due to the fact she was scheduled for surgery in the afternoon. What a great little girl! She asked if I'd be there in the operating room with her, and it "so happened" to be that my shift in the OR was at the time of her surgery. I held her hand as she went to sleep and was there when she woke up. She was such a brave girl and didn't seem scared at all!

This is us in our OR uniforms. We all have to wear hats, masks, and apprpopriate hospital clothes. I am smiling, really!

She was pretty beat after the surgery and took a while to snap out of the anesthesia. She came kicking and screaming, literally. We had to hold her on the bed to keep her from falling off, but she was fine once she woke up completely. The Chinese guy helping out (I think he's an anesthesiologist) kept tapping her head and yelling her name to get her to wake up!

That's Jared in the background. He's the 18 year old guy from Canada. He's really good with the patients here.




I saw her the next morning, and she was doing great! She's such a trooper! Unfortunetly, I wasn't able to say goodbye to her the morning she left because I was late in getting to the hospital. That was sad for me! I came to hospital an hour after I usually do and almost all the beds were empty! The children had gone home, but I'm know they are glad to be home! There are 4-6 beds in a room, typically. They usually can go home the day after their lip surgery and a couple days after cleft pallets are repaired.


I hope Yu Zhi can learn to speak well someday. It will be hard because she has already learned to talk, so please remember her before the Father. Thank you for careing!

The patients

Hey, All, sorry it's been so long since the last post. We have given surgery to about 50 children so far, but like I said, we are running out of patients! I hope and pr.y that more show up tomorrow as is planned. I fall in love with some of the children and their parents.

These first pictures are of little Yang and his mother and aunt (he didn't really want his picture taken at that time!). They are from Xi'an and had to take a 22 hr. train ride to go home the morning after the pics were taken. I promised to try to see them when I go to Xi'an later.

These twin brothers, one of which came for cleft pallet surgery were so cute! Some of the nurses brought toys with them from America, and I was asked to help pass them out one afternoon. This boy, the one with the IV and medical ID band, looked and looked at the four small stuffed toys I held out to him and then GRABBED a little lamb once he realized one was for him. What a sweetheart. He was very up and at 'um soon after the surgery.

This is just a tired mom and her baby girl late at night after her surgery. I offer to hold them sometimes, but most of the time they just want Mama! Such precious people...

It's really great to see kids come here who have such a big problem and walk away with a new face or a new mouth inside. It makes SUCH a difference! I haven't seen anything quite like it before.

Interpreters

Clare (middle) is a good frend and kept me supplied with tissues for when I had to use the restroom!

Nacy's English is very good! She says they don't have any real American friends, so they like talking with me.


Sophia (front, middle, white shirt) did not plan to come along as an interpreter, but was drafted! She's the oldest and one of the best.


The fingers. It's a Chinese thing! I'll be doing it before too long! These girls make a great team.


Being a translator here is not always easy because we are working in a hospital. There are about a dozen of us, mostly girls. Most of us are young and just want to help—we are by no means professionals. Students from a local college(Hunan college of Science and Arts) volunteered to help the mission. There are times when there is not much to do, but when we are needed it can be difficult. But because there are Chinese and American interpreters (some of the American doctors are ethnic Chinese and serve as interpreters as well) it goes very smoothly. Sometimes I need to run to another interpreter to ask about a word and sometimes they run to me. We say to each other, “If I have anything complicated, I will ask you!” Ha ha, we do have a good time doing it and really like being able to help with the work. In the spare time between jobs, we can help each other with new words and talk about different things in our lives. The conversation helps improve our language skills and is a good way to know each other better. We also visit with the kids who had surgery and their families. The children have parents, grandparents, aunts, siblings, and others staying with them. Each kid probably averages two or three family members with them.


Some children are orphans. I fell in love with one little orphan girl who is a year old (above). She wanted everybody to hold her and liked it when I came to see her. She was just so drooley and smiley and sweet! She especially loved playing with my hat. She had a cleft lip repared and looks great! It was hard to say goodbye. She was scheduled to go home today.

I worked in the OR the first day and the patient rooms the next. Today I am scheduled to serve in the OR again. I don't get near as much time with the kids and their family when I'm up there, but I do like serving there as well (mainly because there is more work to do). Please pr.y for more children to come and get surgery. They are running out of kids to work on. I know that sounds weird, but that is one of the things we need most right now. Thank you all!

The first day on the mission

The day we arrived in Changde was not very eventful at the hospital. After dinner we had a brief meeting of all who were there from America and those from the hospital who will be working with us. After the meeting, the American team headed out to see the hospital settings and screen some patients. There was a couple there with their baby boy (about a year old). They came a long way to see the foreign doctors because their son has a tumor growing in his mouth. The poor boy looked really bad and the mother was so worried about him. She asked the doctors if there was anything they could do for him, but they said this kind of tumor just needs time and it will clear up when he's four or six years old. She started getting upset and worried because they said they wouldn't do anything for the baby. She asked them to operate, but they said it would do more harm than good and that he was too young for surgery anyway. She started crying and asking them if there was anything anyone could do for him. She said she couldn't stand waiting for it to go away because it just keeps getting bigger. They tried to make her understand that it will be okay and examined the tumor to help her feel better. They told her to bring him back next year if she would like for them to look at him again then. I did the last half of the interpreting for this poor lady. She was just so heartbroken and worried and upset. She wasn't yelling or anything, just crying and begging them to do something. She felt much better after they looked at him and promised her a dozen times her baby would be okay. She was much better when we left her and thanked us all profusely.

The next day was very hectic and pressured, but things settled down and got better as the day went on. I went with my roommate (one of the anesthesiologists) to deliver supplies to the OR first thing in the morning. We were going to go right after that to the opening ceremony, but the hospital started bringing in patients before the rooms were ready! Everything was pretty confusing for the most part because it was the first day. The arrangements between the American doctors and the local staff needed to be set and that took a little while. But every one wants to work together in harmony, so it is going pretty well. One thing I like about China is that there are so many people that want to help you no matter what you're doing.

I'm in Changde

The flight from Shanghai to Changde was interesting. First of all, the domestic airport's weight standards was different than the international flight. I had to dish out 400 RMB (Chinese dollars) at the check-in counter, but didn't have that, so my friend with me paid with her bank card. I need to pay her back! The other Americans on the medical team had to pay a lot for their luggage too. The plane was delayed for an hour because of the pouring rain, but it was all fine.

Lines in a Chinese airport are something else! Had someone cut in front because I didn't step up soon enough and they all just PACK into the plane or bus or whatever as fast as they can and get off the same way, not looking out for others too much. But it's not like they're rude. That's just the way things are done here. The people are very nice and very excited when I speak Chinese to them. They kind of fall back and get a shocked look on their smiling faces. "You speak Chinese?!? Your Chinese is so good!" They are very kind, even though my Chinese isn't that good. I struggle a lot.

The American lady in the pic. is one of the OR nurses named Max. We were waiting to get in line to board the plane.

The lady I sat next to on the plane was very nice and ended up giving me her phone number in case I need anything while I'm in Changde. We took a couple pictures together. The one I have was taken in front of the little airport of Changde. That's my plane!

The air here is pretty bad, but it's not like you feel polluted exactly. It's like heavy air. Really hot and humid. And kind of foggy, but not a cloud kind of foggy. Your skin just feels sweaty, sticky, and dirty when you walk around outside. I'd like to go to a garden or park and see if it's better there. I really want to see people doing their exercises in the early morning.

I used my first Chinese toilet today! Their wasn't a door for my stall, but there was a separation between me and the other lady. And there was toilet paper! The hospital isn't bad, but working there is kind of difficult because OR vocab is really hard. Harder than I expected. But, I've got the dictionary and a whole bunch of young Chinese college kids helping with translating, so everything is working out okay. We have AC in our hotel and in the hospital, so the heat doesn't get to us. I'll write more about the hospital, workers, and patients another time. Sorry if my posts are funky sometimes. It's hard to make it perfect. More pics coming!

Heading to Changde

It was great fun to be in Shanghai for a day and a half. I didn't go many places, but did end up at the mall to buy a new carry-on suitcase because the handle of mine broke in the Newark airport! Everything here is a good deal cheaper than in The States. The suitcase is very good and just cost me 116 Yuan (about $16 USD) My friends here talked me into letting them take me to get my hair washed at the beauty place down the street. That was great! They soap up your hair, rinse it, and give you a free massage. They were surprised at the length of my hair and even more surprised at my Chinese! I had a good time, and the whole only cost about $2 USD. I will be doing that again!

I didn't take many pics here in Shanghai. Stupidly left the camera in by bag instead of taking it with me. I DID get pics of my hotel....big deal, right? I'll take plenty more later. I leave for Changde, Hunan Sunday afternoon. I'll be meeting the medical team at the local airport in Shanghai and pretend to be an interpreter for them. Hehehe... More posts later! Comments are cherished and appreciated!