At 6:52am sharp, the sound of little feet would come rushing down the hallway. Sitting in the cold dark, I would take a deep sigh to prepare myself for what always came next. BANG, BANG, BANG. Chir fan! Chir fan!! Time to eat! The sharp pounds of impatient fists and excited five-year old voices told me that another day in Henan Province, China, had begun, and that our breakfast of watery porridge, mantou, and vegetables awaited us just down the hall.
However, the slight annoyances of the early morning rush always seemed to disappear the moment we sat down to breakfast among the smiling faces of Eagles Wings 3. From ages 5 to 14, fifteen beautiful children greeted us each morning with such ecstatic joy that it was hard to stay unhappy about anything.
The children of Eagles Wings all have various disabilities, ranging from cognitive development challenges to Cerebral Palsy or Spina Bifida. Some are more mobile than others, but all of them amaze and inspire me by their perseverance, their tenacity, and their strong, independent, self-driven spirits. Despite the wheel chairs and walkers that dotted their rooms, these children were just as rambunctious, mischievous, and downright joy-giving as pretty much every other child I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
Our days at Eagles Wings were few but full. While the children were at school, we organized and sorted two and a half truckloads of donations, painted the long hallways, or worked on construction at the new babies’ home. I had the privilege of spending a day teaching English at one of the province’s best college-preparatory schools. While it was definitely great fun to be back in the classroom, it was also quite a different experience to have 50 teenage children in each of the six classes I taught, as compared with the 21 students I was used to spending full school days with.
One of my favorite things was taking the children out for 2-on-2 outings. Joshua and I took two of the older girls out in their wheelchairs one afternoon, and after watching them both polish off two McDonald’s cheeseburger meals, two hot fudge sundaes, and two giant sodas, we decided to visit one of the cosmetic kiosks so the girls could get makeovers. I could feel the questioning stares as we wheeled the girls around the department store, but I could have cared less. What mattered was bringing the girls a few hours of joy, to show them how precious and beautiful they are, and to shower love upon them as their Heavenly Father poured His love on them.
Our final night with the kiddos, Megan had the wonderful idea to throw a party for the children. We had heard several days before that, except for birthday cake on their birthday, none of the children had ever really experienced a party before. Using a "Kingdom" theme, Megan wanted each child to know how special they are, and how they are a part of a royal kingdom. She made spaghetti, garlic bread, and broccoli, and then we had games like pin the crown on the king/queen, ring toss, and makeup/dress up. Needless to say, the kids were very excited about the evening, and we all had a fantastic time, especially when Stephen pulverized Tom's beard with silly spray. It's a good thing Tom was still all-smiles at the end of the evening.
Our three and a half weeks in China flew by much too quickly, but there are countless memories that I will always treasure in my heart. Although this slideshow doesn’t do our time justice, hopefully it will still reflect a few of our favorite moments with the children at Eagles Wings.
