China Adventures continued:
Jill and I traveled east 17 hours by train heading to Beijing and navigated the metro system for an hour or so toward our ultimate destination of New Day Foster Homes. It was our second full week in China and two of our teams were working at the center.
We were picked up by Autumn and Ben, two team leaders and Marissa, a missionary kid and all around BOSS. We snagged some street food and then hung out on a public bus for a bit. We watched a 2 year old drop trousers and relieve herself on the steps of the bus. Who needs a bathroom when you have public transit?
We pulled into New Day and I could see right away that this place was special. The center has been around for some time and is extremely well established as a foster care center for abandoned children with severe health issues. The staff at New Day make it a point to meet together each day in prayer over the children, staff, and the needs of every person involved in the care, and future homes for the children. This place believes in the power of prayer and I loved being able to take part in the daily prayer meetings. The staff are a blend of Chinese, Americans, and British (and probably others). I loved that prayers were being spoken in both English and Mandarin.
There are roughly 25 children living in the foster home at a time and the nannies are paired with up to three children at a time. These nannies are incredible. They love these children like they are their own. We had the privilege of going into the preschool and foster homes to hang out and cuddle with the children during the week and they are adorable little nuggets.
Each child has some sort of medical condition. Some have had open heart surgeries or liver transplants or are in need of one. Some have hydrocephalus and have spent months at a time in the hospital. New Day makes all of the arrangements and payments for the medical care of their children. No child is ever deemed without hope by the staff at New Day; each child is given a chance at life because they believe each person has value and worth in the Lord. In a country that has not always demonstrated a faith in this, New Day is known for giving hope and is often contacted with news of more children that need help.
During the week that I spent there, I took Mandarin classes that they provide for all volunteers. I took a field trip with the older kids in the foster home and I pushed my buddy, Adam, around in a stroller all day. Adam is 13, and nonverbal and unable to walk. He was left abandoned under a bed for a long time before he was taken in by New Day and he currently functions a toddler. Adam is albino, so we ran from shade spot to shade spot because he refused to rock his hat or sunglasses. The sun was too bright for him to really focus on any of the animals, but I do believe he enjoyed the day. And man, did he giggle when we got going quickly.
I also helped paint some murals in the preschool rooms.
We were able to hang out that week a good bit with a team from Oral Roberts University and a couple of other young people that work or live at New Day. I loved playing ultimate frisbee with them and I really appreciated the ORU team’s enthusiasm for what they were doing. Hopefully they felt as encouraged by our teams as we were by them. I loved extending some of our community life to the people at New Day and I am grateful for the life they shared with us.
My final week in China and on the Race was spent rushing around and then relaxing a bit in Beijing. Jill, Lauren and I traveled into the city a few days before the squad to try and arrange meeting places and to set up events for final debrief. We ended taking over our hostel’s courtyard and bargaining a deal with a local pizza shop to use for a couple of events. Using these spaces meant that we were going to be singing worship music for everyone to hear. And sing we did. God let us be a light to the staff at both the restaurants and the hostel.
Final debrief was good. It was a simple close to the year. Our coaches and alumni leader, Dan, flew in for the final days and shared in the final events. We played games and laughed together as a squad. We prayed, and worshipped and shared with the squad. And to wrap up and amazing year, our final day was spent relaxing and hanging out together on the Great Wall. What What!?!
I definitely have more to write about the year, but for now… the World Race was so so worth it. Every second. Nothing is wasted.
