Lots To Do

I am officially exhausted! I have run so hard that a barely have time to get a drink, go to the bathroom, etc. I know I am needed here. Wendy keeps telling me that the therapy tools, talks and modeling is a help. I feel just drained. I am either in the therapy room, preschool, toddler room, or out on home visits. I am so tired, I can't even remember what I did yesterday without looking at pictures! Yikes.

Yesterday, I observed a group of three girls doing speech. The therapist and assistant are doing a wonderful job. I worked with a new little one named Lucy. She has hydrocephalus. All they have heard from her up to this point was some vowels and the “m” sound. It was wonderful to hear her imitate three words during our session. Later in the day, I went to the Healing Home to observe the little ones there.

I spoke during Dr Jean's lecture to the nannies about cleft palate babies. I shared how we learned to feed Lydia and gave them suggestions for bottle positioning. Dr Jean lectured on ear infections and we were able to give the nurse here the otoscopes to train on how to detect ear infections.

I also was in the English school yesterday. They were playing Brain Quest and they had us speak the stories to them so that they could hear our dialects and practice.

Sarah has been as busy. She works in the mornings with the babies and in the afternoons in the preschool. She has been loving on them so well!

Today, I spent the morning training the therapist on oral motor exercises and an augmentative/picture board communication system. The therapists and I then went to the Forever Family Home to observe a nonverbal little girl there, Jenna. She is dear and has been thru so much. An American couple is loving and caring for 4 older girls along with their two biological children. We looked at family routine and environment and they are going to see how best to develop a plan to use this picture board I was able to get donated.

This afternoon, we went to see 5 children in their foster homes. It was a wonderful to bring the children and families gifts. And we couldn’t resist doing a little therapy while we were there! We got little Eliana to do her first sign! She got a stuffed animal that made music when you pushed it. She loved it and so when the music stopped, we got her do to the sign for “want”! The family was so excited to see her to this! A special moment.

I need to go! Dinner is over....

Great Expectations

Yesterday was good and hard.
We started our day hearing from several of the staff on the history of New Day and the different parts to it--English school, foster home, factory, formula project, and pearl house (for the elderly). Then we were taken on a tour of the factory and foster home. While heading to the factory, I was able to chat a bit with Karen, who with her husband and another Chinese couple had started New Day. She told me the last Speech Pathologist they had here was worked to death...I swallowed hard. There are many needs here.
In the afternoon, I was handed a therapy schedule! I was thinking I would be sharing my supplies and chatting with the special education teacher and PTA. They had a very delayed 2-yr-old come to be assessed by me! And she had feeding issues! I was quite stretched. The little one appeared burned on the jaw line and Doc Jean thought maybe she had fetal alcohol syndrome too. She suggested she a barium swallow test or be scoped. I just don't know what resources they have for that kind of testing.
I brought out some oral motor tools, and we had her working at drinking from a straw, but needless to say I was an emotional wreck afterwards. They had asked for the straw therapy kit because a speech pathologist had been here in January and suggested it. Here I had assumed they requested it because they were on top of oral motor therapy. Yikes. I was honest about my lack of knowledge and experience, but I felt their expectation and thus disappointment.
I was pretty sad. Sad for this little one, burned and so delayed. Sad I couldn't be a better help to her and to the staff here. But I hold on to the fact that I am here for a reason--if to just bring these supplies and encourage them. I did enjoy talking thru an interpreter to the foster mom to show her how she can be more verbal with this little one explaining how she could talk about what she is doing and what her foster child is doing in order to encourage any vocal attempts. I showed her how to label and read books. Kids do a lot of TV watching.
Wendy--the Special Ed teacher, is from the Virginia! Went to JMU and I like her a lot. She homeschools her children and is only at New Day once a week. I teased with her that I felt way more comfortable chatting with her about homeschooling and curriculum! She said she is considered an expert here too and has been stretched with the training and assessment she has been asked to do. I am thankful for her honesty and compassion on that. She has done an incredible job with doing some assessments and writing up goals for each of the children.
Last night, we took a walk in the village. The cars and bicycles will run you down if you are not careful! So, walking with Jean's little ones and even Sarah made for a nervous time. The people seem happy to see us, and Sarah even had her picture taken by a woman in a store. The market area is wild. Meats on tables to be cut, carts of vegetables/melons, people cooking on big grills or pots on the side of the road. The park was busy with children and adults playing cards. I have seen similar scenes in Guyana. Sarah was a bit shocked at the animal parts they eat and the flies on them...so Sarah and I had to remind each other to be careful with our facial expressions! I am quite impressed with Sarah's faith and comfortablity here. She is running around constantly with Bethany and Julie and so eager to learn and practice her Chinese. When she worked with the babies in the afternoon, she had the nannies help her with her Chinese. I heard from another team member that she was wonderful with the babies! We did hear that one of them has Hand Foot Mouth Disease and that concern our team some. But the Doc seems to be more concerned about other infectious things she is seeing....so please think of us on that. We are all feeling well and very thankful.
One of the staff's little girls had a bad seizure last night and Jean rushed back from the village. She spent a good deal of time with the little one--she was having the seizure and her dad tried to catch her and ended up falling on her. Jean sent her to the hospital.
Today, I am scheduled to observe and work with some nonverbal children.
Thank you for your prayers, and please continue: the expectations, the intensity of the needs, the fatigue...I am still not getting a good night sleep, but thankfully Sarah is!

Sunday Smiles

Cathy and Sarah had a good day yesterday, visiting the Beijing International Fellowship and spending the afternoon downtown at a flea market.

Sarah is enjoying some good food (see picture) and our friend Kari is making sure we get some shots of the trip.

Please continue to pray for the team as they dig in today. SOme team members from Charlotte NC were injured in a "moving sidewalk" accident at the airport. There was a pile up at the end of the people mover and there were actually some broken ribs and a broken finger suffered as a result. Cahty and Sarah are fine though, and we're thankful.

Bless you all,

Essen

Jet Lag in Bejing

Here we are at the Beijing Airport!

Sunday am here. I am tired still....I woke up at midnight, at 1:00 am, and then finally at 4:30. Sleeping in community--ie snoring--Oh well. Wasn't up with Sarah at all! Just push through today with lots of coffee and coke!

After attending Beijing International Church, we are shopping today. Can't wait to find the bargains that our team has found in past years. Bethany, Jean's oldest adopted daughter, is apparently quite the bargain/deal maker! Heard coats, purses and jewerly are on the team's shopping list. I am not a shopper...but when I am with friends and have a list...I do pretty well.

Answered prayers!

Last night, at our church's prayer meeting, I told everyone how the physician on our team was planning to teach on ear infections and I had found an otoscope company selling otoscopes for us at cost. We were thrilled to be taking these much needed otoscopes to train the orphanage staff on ear infection detection. Well...the otoscopes didn't arrive. I had the group last night pray, and God answered our prayers in an amazing way! The medical supply company said this morning that the shipment should have arrived a few days ago and on line it showed they were in Richmond. How could they possibly get here in time? Our mail comes pretty early most days and Richmond is 2 hours away. So, when the postman arrived at the house(later than normal, I might add) I ran out to ask him if the package came in tonight, could I pick them up at the post office. He then told me he had a package for me--and it was the otoscopes! Now, that was amazing, but this is the incredible part of the story. The postman then proceeded to tell me how another postman had gotten in his own car this morning and traveled the two hours to get the package along with 20 or so other packages that had been misdirected. Wow! That's answered prayer! My postman seemed pretty happy to hear about the blessing these otoscopes would have on orphans in China. I love my dear prayer warriors!!! Isn't it fun to see answered prayers! God is soooo good!

Where is New Day Foster Home?

Where in China are we going to be and what it is like? New Day Foster Home is 45 minutes or so south of the airport. The Qingyundian village feels very rural eventhough it is in Beijing. Here are some pictures Essen and I took while on a walk in the village three years ago. We will be visiting the orphans and their foster care families in the village. There is also a home for the elderly that New Day supports and for some of our evenings we will play in the village park.

Sarah and I leave tomorrow pretty early! Doing the last bit of laundry and packing. Lydia seems little more clingy and easily sad. It is always harder on the ones staying behind.....

We're at full support!

Sarah and I are at full support! We are so blessed to see all the necessary funds to come in for our trip!

Waiting for the Fedex truck to come today. We have some cleft palate bottles purchased by a few families and I had a company "Talk Tools" donate some needed oral motor tools. We have otoscopes on there way too--sold to us at cost! This will enable our team to train the orphanage staff on how to detect ear infections. So amazed to see this generosity!

Thank you Lord for your provisions! Thank you family and friends for supporting us in this amazing trip to China!

Love to you all!