Monday....Day Two....

I put all the quilts in the cupboard and the extra pillows on my bed and that made it a lot more cozy. None of us slept as well as we would have liked and were up at 6am. Last night we watched Narnia with Katie and had some snacks together. Bedtime was 9ish.

Today the girls again tried the canteen breakfast. Beth attempted the congee (popular rice porridge) and found it ok. Grace likes the flat bread. It's two for two for the menu. I suspect it maybe the same everyday.

I headed down to the clinic at 730 to meet Molly, the Doc and Mona, the nurse. The nannies showed up with any babies there were concerns about. All were minor.......slight temp, the snuffles, rashes and such. Then we went upstairs to the special care area where the younger babies were and checked them out. They are expecting a team from the US in April to come and do repairs on several of the cleft kids. This unit is funded by Love without Boundaries and it is good to see what they are doing.

The little ones are overjoyed to see us every time! Their sweet faces just light up and they come running with arms outstretched calling Bai .......which means up. They loved to be picked up and carried and give big, very tight hugs. They just like to cuddle in to you and it is hard to put them down and they are still reaching for you as you walk away. We have to try to give equal time so everybody gets some love.

I am trying to put names to faces and will try to get photos for those folks who asked for them. Each child has a Chinese and an English name so this may be difficult. Still it is only day two.

Robin is at the home in Henan and will be back tonight. Joyce is still under the weather and taking advantage of having Molly here to rest.Molly will be leaving after a month here this week. I barely got to know her. :( Now Rose has gone down with a cold and is keeping her distance from the kids.......so no preschool today. She is doing office work. Mona is giving meds and restocking. She is so good with the children and clearly has a gift and a heart for them. The girls are taking a nap despite it being only 10am. They have hit a bit of a wall and need it. Katie is at school. The other nurse we met yesterday has left Hope and is off traveling. I think Jason is moving on soon too. I am not sure if other volunteers are expected or not.

Basically it is find a niche and do what you can. I spread our time with the kids out so as not to disrupt the schedule.
Coupla hours in the am and same again in the pm. That's the plan. We are happy to do anything we are asked to do, but it is a pretty well oiled machine and functions well despite our presence.