At this point I was praying we made the right choice.
Car ride=nap time, again! You know he's sleeping hard when his finger comes out of his mouth. Otherwise, his finger is in his mouth much of the time he sleeps.
This building has been Esther's home since she was about 18 months old, which is when she was found. I cannot fathom the added heartache of having your child for that long and then for whatever challenging reason have to give her up. She had to have been loved.
In this picture, we are being led to the rooms she spent most of her days in.
This orphanage houses about 600 children. We were told it is currently being updated and that the floor she usually stayed on was being painted with murals. We know that she was part of the Half the Sky program; therefore, I will be contacting them when we return home to get whatever growth and development information they have on her - excited for these glimpses into her past!
We arrived right before lunch time. We met most of her nannies and some of her special friends- one of whom is a 13 year old girl who is wheel chair bound - I try not to think about the fact that at 14 China deems you aged out for adoption. With so many children in the orphanage, she likely isn't even paper ready. We also got to meet with a little girl who was hosted last summer and who's family will be traveling to get in about 2 weeks. The poor girl began crying while we were there and when the nanny asked why, she said she wanted her mama. My heart broke for her, I told the guide to let her know that mama and baba were coming soon.
My heart broke for all the children there who will be left behind, we saw 30 of them in that room, who will never know a mama.
Esther was very quiet during the entire visit and kept a straight face. I began to wonder if we had made the right decision. I'm sure she was wondering if we were leaving her. Though she never shed a tear. Then after we headed back down to leave, we saw a glimpse of the girl we know and a grin crossed her lips. She knew she wasn't being left behind and I am so glad that we chose to give her this opportunity for closure.
Stress makes you sleepy.
How heartbreaking that must have been for you to see all of the other children, but reassuring to see where Esther came from. Thank you for sharing your journey, Tracy!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it worked out. I was thinking of you. I can't imagine seeing all of those babies left behind. May God hold your whole family in his arms as you make your way home. Take care!
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