Bengbu volunteer - Steven Tao - graduates

Congratulations to Steven Tao, our dedicated volunteer in Bengbu, on his graduation from Bengbu Medical College with a Masters Degree!

Update on Bengbu - Local volunteers!

I'm so proud of our local volunteers in Bengbu!

After I left China, I am still in contact with the high school students. These fine young men and women have been volunteering in the orphanage, and have been spending time with the children, and have been teaching computer classes!

I am so proud!

Very high praise for the students and the new Chinese leaders of tomorrow for becoming involved in local charity for their community!

Here you can see Orphanage director Ms. Wan, the headmaster of Bengbu No. 2 middle school, who was once an orphan, and one of the students at the orphanage.

Last stop - Philip Hayden Foundation

My last stop on my journey to China was the Philip Hayden Foundation (Shepherd's Field, Langfang village), right outside of Beijing, in Tianjin.

It is a premier facility, all due to donations from caring people and organizations.

I had the pleasure of visiting with Dr. Moody, and looking in on Baby Emily, a girl we (at Packages of Hope) had been helping to sponsor to get treatment she needed.

She is thriving now, thanks solely to the staff at Philip Hayden. It was a story that I was proud to be a part of!

Please click HERE to see a video of this precious girl.

Mongolian Dinner - Chifeng

My time in Chifeng was painfully brief. But I was treated like an honored guest throughout my stay, and prior to my plane flight, I was treated as a guest of honor to a traditional Mongolian meal. During this ceremonial meal, a woman in traditional dress sang to me in a beautiful operatic voice, and by drinking 3 cups of Bijou, ensured that I would one day return again to this fair city.

You really do need to click HERE to see the stunning video of the sendoff I received, sung not in Chinese, but in the Mongolian language.

The ChiFeng SWI

I was honored to have a look at the ChiFeng SWI, which is a central orphanage serving all of eastern Inner Mongolia.

Orphanage director Yu was kind enough to show us all around the facility, and showed us the Special Needs facility that was recently made possible by foreign donations.

We were able to make a donation of a boiling water maker, and due to the fundraising efforts of Cathy Rigsbee, we are able to make a donation of a solar water heater.

Click HERE to see some of the precious children of the ChiFeng SWI.

Scenes of ChiFeng

The ChiFeng visit was due entirely to a beautiful boy named Nathan.

He was united with his forever family, the Rigsbee's, recently. His devoted parents wanted to do something for this orphanage, as it is relatively remote. We began correspondence with the orphanage director, and we found out the needs of the orphanage. I wanted to visit this place sacred to the Rigsbee family, in order to see how Packages of Hope could help.

While visiting, I was enriched by the Mongolian culture!

There were several interesting sights, that are definitely different than the other parts of China I have visited!

One of the things that was different was that the signs were all in dual languages. As you can see in the photo above, the bottom row is Mandarin Chinese script, whereas the top row is Mongolian (Manchu).

The food was also very distinct, and I was able to see the different food preparation techniques!

Click HERE to see these VERY interesting food preparation methods. Also, you can see me taking a look at how the city tends public parks by cutting the grass.

Also, while wandering down a street which was undergoing construction, I came across an interesting find - a pelvic bone. I'm pretty sure it was human, and I alerted a local attendant standing by a store front, but he didn't seem to want to do anything. (I photo'ed my shoe for scale)

We also visited the sacred mountain of ChiFeng, which has a very distinct red tint to the granite. We paid our respects to a buddhist shrine in a cave on the mountain.

Click HERE to see a video of this cave (username: packagesofhope, password: donate, you may have to enter it twice)

Train to ChiFeng

After a lunch hosted by the orphanage staff, I said my goodbyes to Siping, and headed for the train station.

Hannah, Helen, and I boarded a train for our 8 hour trek to ChiFeng, Inner Mongolia.

On the first leg of our journey, we had to travel via 3rd class, or "seated class". While this was a short leg of the journey, the quarters were cramped, and there wasn't any space for my two huge suitcases. (there are no baggage cars for "seated class"). Hannah managed to have my bags jammed towards the end of the cars, much to the consternation of some of the passengers.

(note to others -- when traveling via train, either make sure you can get sleeper seating arrangements, or pack light!)

Then, switching trains at TongLiao train station, we journeyed on to ChiFeng.

Click HERE to see some video of the train ride!

Witness to an abandonment

While at the orphanage, I was witness to an event that had a profound impact on me, and was of great significance to me as an adoptive parent – Abandonment.

Of course the event caused an emotional response in me that I had rehearsed in my mind several times, in the extremely improbable event that I would be faced with the “Truth” behind our daughters origins.

It’s one of those things that me as an adoptive parent am forever labeled as “unable to understand”. “The pain of separation” is something that only abandoned children must truly reconcile with, while I am left to read books and consult with therapists in order to prepare myself with the inevitable discussions with my daughter.

In many ways we are all left, at one point or another in our lives, with facing these unanswerable questions of loss and grief. I only am cursed with the fact that I will be unable to truly share this pain that my daughters will hopefully learn to cope with.

And while most of us adoptive parents are left to sift through the reports about our daughter’s abandonment, in those very nicely printed and sealed documents that are presented to us by the orphanage or government staff, we wonder what REALLY happened, and wonder if we really WANT to know what happened.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to know or understand these things, but during my time in Siping I had the distinct honor of being part of a story which few beyond the orphanage walls are privy to, which is the beginning of the great story of a baby.

I named her “baby Joyce”. Of course Joyce isn’t her real name, but it was the name I gave her. I know that her forever family will have a name for her, and I can’t wait to hear what it is.
It started with Hannah and I preparing to leave the Siping orphanage. The director thanked us for our donations, and in particular, for our support of needed surgeries.

I had my camera, videocamera, and notepad tucked away in my backpack, when Hannah and the director began chatting vigorously between each other. Hannah looked very intense, and when they spun on their heels and went back towards the orphanage, I knew something was up.
When Hannah began to talk back at me as she was climbing the stairs, a chill gripped me, and I felt unable to breathe. Hannah said there is a foundling upstairs, who is less than 3 days old. She was found only hours ago, and has a special need, which is the suspected reason for her abandonment.

Hannah’s eyes locked with mine as she said, “We’re going to take a look.”

I knew that look from Hannah. I had seen it many times before. Hannah doesn’t “take a look”. Hannah is an Angel, and she saves lives. I knew right away that we were now path of destiny, one which now involved a little girl.

The head of the orphanage was a few paces ahead of us, and as we finished our climb up the steps, I saw her duck into a room at the end of the hall. When we arrived, I saw a room full of spare equipment, and looked down and saw only a pile of clothes.

Only it wasn’t a pile of clothes. It was an oblong and white, and was angled on a bouncy seat. Only when I saw a tiny head move did I gasp in surprise.

All alone in the little room, the tiny girl lay swathed in blankets. Hannah knelt down beside her and stroked her face, and little tiny eye slits parted, revealing crystalline brown eyes.

Hannah chatted with the orphanage director, as they discussed the child.

She still had amniotic fluid dried in her hair. Her bellybutton still had the remnants of the umbilical cord.

My eyes went wide as I realized that the mother of this child was probably still nearby. She would still be recovering from the birth of the child. While I am not worthy to even speculate as to her thoughts, I began to grieve for her (which I know is still presumptuous of me).

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. I am near to the nexus of the most unknowable part of this child’s life, of the causes of why and how. And I know that even as this girl comes of age, and I am able to talk with her and share with her all the photos and pictures, and memories, and thoughts and opinions I have, I still will not be able to provide her with any answers.

But I will be able to tell her that we found solutions.

The director and Hannah came to an agreement that Hannah would be able to care for this child in the short term. I can only hope I played a part in the decision, letting her know that we would do what it took in order to make sure this child received the operation she needed.

We took her to Hannah’s facilities where she was cleaned up and placed in a crib.
Hannah continues to monitor her progress, and I look forward to seeing her surgery go through successfully.

Click Here to see a video of this really cute child

Siping Park in the Morning

I spent one night in a very nice hotel in Siping.

The next morning I awoke early, and took a walk around a nearby park.

Even on just an ordinary day, the park was alive and bustling with people.

There were several elderly people engaging in various social activities, like singing, or playing the erhu and singing opera, or exercising. There were young people running around looking bored and up to various mischief. And there were young children being escorted around by elder family members, no doubt on their way to school.

The park was really neat, a mix of a carnival theme park, and a quite area of respite for those looking to take a meandering journey through gardens.

Click Here and Here to see some video of the park

When I returned to the hotel, I ate breakfast in the lobby, and saw that there was a wedding reception going on. A great group of people were together, and the bride and groom, still in fancy dress, were walking around greeting people, and serving BEER and BIJOU (the strong stuff). All still before 9am!