Women ai nimen, cong nimende Meiguo pengyou: We love you, from your American friends

Yesterday, we woke up after a good night’s sleep to go and visit our good friends at their home here in Kunming. There is a reason that Kunming has gained for itself the nickname of ‘Spring City’. At an altitude of about 6,000 feet and with position closer to the equator, very similar to that of a place like Mexico City, its climate is very unique. The weather has been beautiful, with bright, clear, blue skies and a crisp breeze that almost makes it cool at times. Everyone seems to be recovering. The only thing we have to worry about is that Micah is complaining about a slight pain in his stomach, perhaps from eating bad local water or food somewhere along the way. Anna is doing wonderfully; she loves to tease, she loves to laugh and she is very smart, imitating almost every word we say. She knows everyone’s name, except mine of course. I am afraid we might have to resurrect Rebekah’s old nickname, Nonny…oh well.

It has been a long time since we last saw our friends here and we enjoyed the time we had with them, exchanging gifts and just getting a chance to talk. We ate lunch at a small café (amazing salads, hamburgers and soups) with their son and his family nearby.



Then, later that afternoon, we had the great privilege of being able to see the homes where the sponsored children live. As we entered, they lined the stairs leading upward, singing a welcome song and passing out cups of water and handmade cards. On every floor, there were large racks with lots of removed shoes and a wash station. There were little pots with flowers everywhere and the rooms, with two bunk beds in each, were laden with colorful blankets and lots and lots of hand-drawn pictures on the walls. We first went to see a small girl recovering from a severe case of a spinal condition which left her severely bent over and her growth stunted, who had just been provided with world-class medical care for her back. She was happy to see us, although a little nervous, and sang a few songs. After so much work to help fund children like her, it was such an amazing thing to actually be walking through these halls we had seen so many times on video and through pictures.

We passed by several small classrooms with little backpacks on the benches, on our way up to a homemade dinner, cooked by one of the woman workers. On the open patio on the roof of the building was an entire array of different sized pots holding all kinds of different flowers. Our friend told us that she believes it is important for the children to see how much everyone cares for them by making sure the facility is in good shape and decorated beautifully with lots of flowers and art. Our entire family split up to eat dinner at all different tables, in order to talk to the children through an interpreter over the meal.



After dinner, we gathered with all 150-250 kids in a large room, where our friend introduced us and where we shared some about ourselves- how excited we were to see everyone and how much we loved them even from so far away.

Children were playing with Rebekah and Anna as they sat on a couch; they were having a lot of fun interacting with each other, despite the language barrier. Then, several age groups performed songs and dances and the floor was opened for several of the children to talk to us. This exchange was probably the most touching- how many times we have thought of them all the way on the other side of the world, and here we were meeting them for the very first time. It is amazing to see these kinds of things happen! To close it all, we stood by the door passing out candy, stickers and pictures of our family, telling each child goodbye as they held our hands, told us ‘xiexie’, waved, and filed out the door. It was such a beautiful thing to see the joy and happiness that fills this place- children so loving, so happy and so grateful, despite the numerous obstacles they have all faced. That is something I will never forget.