Thanksgiving

How has it been more than 10 years since I've written on this blog!?  Time flies for sure - especially when raising children.  Since the last blog post we've graduated one from high school, been to multiple countries, and had many ordinary days. Amongst the ordinary, I am constantly reminded of the extraordinary grace of the Lord. In fact, today is Thanksgiving day!  What a great day to reflect on the goodness of God and His abundant provision in our lives. Here are some of my favorite verses on thankfulness: 

• Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34
• Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 1 Chronicles 16:8
• I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. Psalm 57:9
• Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1
• Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thes 5:18
• Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4

Let us always, no matter the circumstance, give thanks to the Lord and praise His Holy name for He is always good. 

An audible prayer...

Our first day back to the daily grind of school. . . . .Let’s just say (ahem) that we hit a few bumps along the way of our day.  Surely my kids didn’t forget everything they learned last year?  That’s really how it felt.  But who is to blame them . . . we’ve only had about 4 months off!  4 months!  Yes- probably our longest on record!  Now, before you go and think we were just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, let me just say that we have had our fair share of some pretty amazing field trips this summer  - even if it was 4 months in length.  It’s not every year that you get to walk on the great wall of china or Tiananmen square.  What about getting to actually see where the duck Ping lived on the Yangtze river?!?   How fun is that for a kid!  And best of all, we got to love on some orphans in the magnificent country of China.

 

After returning from a 6 week whirlwind trip (which I have yet to finish blogging about) I thought we would be in for a comfortable few weeks at home before starting school mid-August.  Well, God had other plans for our family. You see, there were some kids who were in need of a home for a few weeks – and we just happened to be that place!  Was it in my plan? Nope!  But it was in His plan – and I am so glad that He is in control of my life and not me!  Don’t get me wrong, there were definite moments of frustration as I took care of 5 children – the days were long.  But looking back, I am reminded of His grace, His sovereignty, and His provision.  There were times that I was anxious because I had planned to start school mid-august and obviously that was not happening with a few extras around and no time to plan.  However, I felt a loving Savior remind me that my life is not my own and that He asks us to lay down ours because He laid down His for us. 

“And he said to all – if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23

Who am I to question to the God of the universe about His plan for me and my family?  Isn’t He always good and gracious and loving?  Isn’t everything he does for our good and His glory?  So, after much prayer, my attitude began to change as I came to grips with the fact this was exactly where He had our family for the time.  What’s a few weeks, really?  Does it really matter that we didn’t start school until today – the day after labor day?  We were reminded that opportunities like the one presented to us – to love on some kids – is part of the reason we homeschool.  Because we homeschool, we CAN pause our lives for a few days or weeks to love on the least of these and be the hands and feet of Christ. 

And after all of that – you can understand why it might have been a little challenging to get back into our “normal” routine.  Whatever normal means – ha!  And so I found myself slightly discouraged by our first day glitches.  I had just put Emily down for her nap when she called me and said she needed to go to the bathroom.  I was already in the middle of reading Ann Voskamps daily blogpost and so I took her in there and told her to call me when she was finished.  And then I heard it – the sweetest little voice in all the world – praying!!  I stood out in the hall so I could hear her but didn’t want to interrupt that sweet baby.  And what good did that prayer do my soul!  It was almost all a prayer of thanksgiving... thankful for the trees, the birds, the sunshine, her mommy and daddy, her baby and addi (that’s what she calls Caleb and Adelynn), her new bed, her new teacher at preschool, her friend she met today, etc. 

As I listen to her pray, I read these words –

Grace is the only thing is that is ever enough.  Grace is the only thing that ever makes a way.  Grace is always enough when nothing else is.

You see, I was beating myself up about the way our day had started – maybe I had not planned enough, done enough review over the summer, trained our children enough, planned enough fun things to do, prayed enough, the list goes on and on. 

And then I was reminded by a child’s prayer and an encouraging blogpost all at the same time – that His Grace is Enough!  Ann Voskamp goes on to say (full blog here) –

Your sin cannot separate you (or your child) from Christ.

Your Father is bigger that your failures, your flesh, and your faults.

And your strengths can’t save you (or your child) in Christ. 

Christ wrote it with his blood on the Cross – His grace is enough!

Thank you Lord for the precious reminder of your grace through the mouth of a three year old darling girl.  

Father's Day, Pandas, and a Bullet Train

We were so thankful to stay in an apartment while in chengdu. It was a nice change from being a family of five in one hotel room. Being used to sleeping in the same room, the kids all wanted to continue that pattern although it was a four bedroom apartment. It was a struggle to convince them that mommy and daddy needed our own room :)

It's truly difficult to put into words the hospitality we were shown in this city by the body. We experienced some much needed fellowship with both expats and national followers. We had a unique opportunity to share about the needs of the fatherless on Father's Day. Only our Abba father could have scripted such a plan as this. It made my heart swell to hear my sweet husband share about the deep love of our Father, how we were once far off but have been brought near, adopted by our Heavenly Father into His eternal family. And to hear him explain about the Father's immense love for the Orphan.

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are."  I John 3:1

Much to our surprise, there was a Mexican restaurant in this city. To say we thoroughly enjoyed our quesadillas, fajitas, and chips would be an understatement. Lets just say that Herbie was very satisfied with his Father's Day lunch.








I also had the opportunity of a lifetime - I was able to teach some of the principles I have learned from a great friend and teacher, Kay Arthur, to some local followers. My heart was literally about to burst as I facilitated these ladies through a passage from His love letter to us. For security reasons, that's about all the details we can share here but we would love to share more about both of these opportunities with you in person- So feel free to ask us when we return.

We also visited the national panda reserve which is about 45 minutes outside Chengdu - click here.  Interestingly enough, 85% of the world's population of pandas live here in the Sichuan province of china.  At first we were disappointed because it was a very rainy day and we were worried the pandas wouldn't be out. However, it actually worked in our favor because there were fewer people there. We took a quick look at the map and thought we had a nice route mapped out. After walking and walking, all we saw was what looked like a typical wooded area you would see in Alabama - no other visitors, no employees, and certainly no pandas. Now keep in mind that this reserve is upwards of 250 acres. We finally saw some other people who just so happened to be Caucasian. I asked them if they spoke English and they smiled and said "yes!" We told them we had yet to see a panda bear and they said we could follow them and their tour guide. Finally - some pandas! We saw about 6 toddler pandas. One of these pandas had actually been at the Atlanta zoo and we actually had had the opportunity to see it about 2 years ago.







Did I mention how expansive the panda reserve is? We walked and walked and walked. It was neat to see the pandas in more of their natural habitat versus the way we are used to seeing animals at a zoo. Periodically we saw supped up golf carts and thought - hey, that sure would beat our current mode of transportation - our legs! We got on and were immediately asked for our tickets and then realized we were supposed to buy those at the front gate. Who knew! That sure would have been nice to know. No turning back now - we were quite some distance from the front gate - probably a mile and a half. I promise I'm not exaggerating! So, forward ho, on the only god given method of transportation available to us. So thankful we had the stroller for sweet emme. They make you work to see these bears! And bears we saw!

At one point, I wondered if there were more photos taken of the pandas or of us. We were walking toward the back of a fairly large group of people when lots of them started turning around. It appeared as if they were looking at something very cool behind us so we kept turning around looking for this very cool thing worthy of being stared at, only to realize that WE were the cool thing they were all staring at. Although we have now been here a month, I'm still not used to all the stares.

Besides the giant panda bears, the reserve is also home to some red pandas. We have red pandas at the Birmingham zoo so we tried to skip this exhibit; however the kids wanted to see them so we obliged. Now we have seen some interesting signs around china but the signs in the red panda exhibit took the cake.



The picture is a little blurry but this sign says - "Red panda is somewhat fierce, so please do not teach or feed him!  And please keep at least three meters away from him." Okay so notice the big hole in the fence to the left of the sign. The pandas are fierce so stay back - I wonder if they think the pandas can't escape through these holes?







Just a warning in case you decided to jump in the cage and had the urge to chase the pandas.

We quickly left this exhibit after reading another sign that said not to feed the pandas and looked down to notice Emily eating some granola. The fence around the pandas left plenty of room for the red panda to escape and we didn't want to tempt the panda with Emily's granola!

In short, we had a day full of enjoyment and exhaustion visiting the panda reserve.

So thankful for our time in this city, with full hearts we headed to the train station. A bullet ride train was a first for all of us except herbie, of course, our world traveling daddy and husband. We had been warned that the train station would be extremely busy and crazy hard to navigate with all our bags and 3 children. Thankfully they had a way to "check" bags. Basically you pay about $3.50 per bag and they lead you down first and someone carries your bags.

Worth. Every. Penny.

We were quite the spectacle being led down before everyone else - most people don't check their bags, most people are not white, and most people don't have three children. As soon as we went down the escalator it was like the floodgates opened and everyone else headed down after us. Our seats were at the very rear of the train so we had to walk a ways once we reached the plank. We finally reached our seats. It was a very pleasant train ride - we enjoyed the few extra inches of room as compared to airplane travel. I think this is my new, preferred method of travel :)








                                                       Hurry, the people are coming!




            Emme caught a great nap on herbie and looks like he enjoyed getting a little "shut-eye" as well.

           We are now in Chongqing and will update you more as we can.
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We're on the move again

Traveling in china is always an adventure - especially when you can't speak the language and you are Caucasian, both of which happened to apply to us :)

Last Saturday we left zhangjiang headed for chengdu. Just as a reminder, the zhangjiang airport is tiny although it services an area of 7 million people. Go figure! In such a small airport, it became obvious quickly that we were the only western family and immediately drew lots of attention.

One lady came and stood basically right beside us as if she was part of our family. She continued to speak Chinese to us despite our lack response. It was no surprise that she quickly found a seat right next to us in the waiting area. Unlike most airports in the US, most airports in china do not have jetbridges; therefore, one must walk outside or in some cases, ride a bus, to get to the airplane.

During our short wait in the terminal, the bottom fell out of the sky so we had to walk out to the plane in the rain. We were told we could gate check our stroller but once we got to the plane we were told to go back to the terminal to check the stroller. After getting the run around, herbie basically refused and said we would just put the stroller under our seats. Sometimes it pays off to be a "dumb foreigner." There's no such thing as waiting in line to the Chinese. Picture herding animals - that's what it's like when massive amounts of people are trying to get in a small space. Because of the stroller glitch, quite a lot of people had amassed behind us and were getting a bit impatient. Let me just say that when i was getting dressed that morning, i thought to myself, "a long skirt would probably be best for traveling." Little did i know i would be walking through puddles and climbing long,wet staircases to our plane while carrying a baby on my hip, a rolling backpack in my other hand and trying to hold up my nice, long good-for-traveling skirt in my hand too! So now we had lots of people basically pushing us up the stairs trying to get to their seats. We made it to our seats and were greeted with a nice surprise - we had been upgraded to economy comfort seats because of my world traveling husband's diamond medallion status. I was thankful for the extra few inches of room in our seats.

Instead of a direct flight, we had to make a connection in Guangzhou. Again, let me remind you that traveling in china is a little different. Instead of our bags going on through to chengdu, we had to get them at the baggage claim, re-check them and then go back through security. Sounds simple enough, right? Lets just say that our two and a half hour layover went by very quickly.

After a grand tour of the Guangzhou airport, we had worked up a healthy appetite. So we headed to McDonalds - while I don't love feeding my kids chicken nuggets and fries for dinner, trust me, given the options, you would have chosen fries for dinner too.




So what we thought would be a long two and a half hours turned out to end rather abruptly when we realized it was last call for our flight. Keep in mind, no jet bridges. So we hand the guy our tickets and he directs us to board the bus. We walk out to the bus to find it spilling over with people. Realizing there is no way for us to squeeze on we go back to the terminal to let then know there is no room in the inn. The guy walks us back out there, points to the bus, and basically says, "what's the problem?" Through hand motions we explain that there are 5 of us, plus our carry on bags and that we won't fit on the bus that is spilling over with people. It would have made too much sense to get another bus for us plus the other 10 passengers that showed up after us, so instead, he pulled one large bag off the bus and had all 5 of us stand in its place. Makes total sense, right? So needless to say we were packed in there like sardines. Let's just say the ride out to the plane wasn't the smoothest. Grateful to have made it without falling over, we boarded our plane to chengdu.


Adelynn and I sat together right behind a precious little Chinese girl who entertained us most of the trip - she sang several songs to us including twinkle twinkle little star and old McDonald had a farm. We were quite impressed with her English. Thanks to google translate we were able to tell her mother that she was very beautiful and very smart.

We were greeted at the airport by some friends who live in chengdu. After a long day of traveling we were thankful to get settled into our apartment that we would call home for the next few days.

Sorry we are a little behind on our posts - things are extremely busy here! I also apologize if all the details are boring; however, we want to remember as many details about our trip as possible so that is why we are including them.

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From Suixi to Suixi

Here we are almost a week later on the way back to Suixi. At the end of our last post we remarked that the next day we would be visiting Suixi.  As I write, we are in the van on the way back from Suixi.  It's been a fun week - full of pools, a beach, mopeds, pink ponchos, new orphanages, and adventure.

It all began last Friday when we visited the Suixi orphanage. Suixi is about 30km from Zhanjiang, which can take 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.  For the morning session, Caleb and Adelynn joined daddy while mommy and Emme rested back in the room.

Part of the reason for our visit was to request permission to move many of the children in Suixi (a very poor orphanage, with despondent nannies and children) to either private foster care homes or into a partnership center that Lifeline is looking to start with the Maoming orphanage.  After asking the director to consider this request, he immediately gave permission to begin the process and said they would begin a list of eligible children.

After our meeting, the leadership took us to the obligated Chinese banquet where the kids and I learned that it was the director's birthday.  Caleb and Adelynn quickly learned how to say, "San yo fallo."  In case that makes no sense to you - it means "Happy Birthday" in Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese that is spoken in some Southern provinces.  The  kids enjoyed saying San ya Fallo and giving him a lollipop from our collection for the orphans.

Caleb has such a magnetic personality and has always loved meeting adults. His engaging personality has really transcended language and culture. This week he has made friends with orphanage directors, nannies, guides, sisters in faith, and drivers. When he gives them attention and then ends up getting hugs, people truly light up. It is so neat to see him minister in so many varied ways.

After lunch we picked up Ashley and Emme from the room and traveled back for our afternoon training session at Suixi.  It was an adventure and so much more difficult than Maoming.  Kids roamed free, nannies sat with stale faces while the two Ashley's did the training and the orphans truly craved attention in ways that made our kids a bit uncomfortable. The need is great, the stench is pungent, and the neglect is heart breaking.

Here is a picture of Ashley Newell and Ashley F. conducting training with the nannies at Suixi.

We did not have much time to interact with the kids because we were leaving for Beihai, a 2 hour trip from Suixi. Beihai is in Guangxi province which is west of the Guangdong province.  It is also the home of one of Lifeline's three new orphanage partnerships.

Beihai is a beautiful city located on the Gulf of Beibo and just bursting with old town charm and character.  Our hotel had 2 pools, one with a water slide, a great view of the Gulf, and a fantastic breakfast. We reached beihai at 7:45, just early enough to talk Ashley into allowing the big kids and Daddy to go to the pool for 45 minutes. Jayson and his son Davis also accompanied us to Beihai and indulged in the late night swimming as well.

Saturday morning we went to the BeiHai orphanage with Jayson, Davis, Lily (who flew over for the visit), and David (the Lifeline in-country staff member assigned to Guangxi.)  The leadership at the orphanage reminded us of Maoming  - they also have a contract with Half the Sky Foundation and appear to be utilizing their partnership well. The facilities; decent, the care; comparable with Maoming. After meeting with the leadership of the orphanage, the director and I countersigned the contract.  We then split into 2 teams and did brief evaluations on all of the "paperwork ready" kids.

Quickly we finished the evaluations and then were taken to lunch at sunset beach of BeiHei by the orphanage directors.  The Assistant Director taught  Caleb and Davis how to catch little crabs - something he had done on these beaches since he was a child.  The boys were excited to put their finds in a bottle with sand and water - a souvenier!

Afterwards they took us to the most exotic Chinese banquet of the trip. Ashley and the girls were thrilled that they missed it. On the menu was duck with the full accompaniment of body parts, squid with the tentacles, whole fish soup (even eyes), shrimp with heads, sea worms, pork consisting of 90% fat, and seaweed jello. I was thankful that they finally brought rice and brocoli. Caleb was a champ and we helped each other distract our company - I don't think they even noticed our lack of indulgence in the delicacies!   We were also thankful for Davis as he ate and enjoyed everything which took a lot of attention off Caleb and me.  Go Davis!

After lunch we joined the girls at the pool for several hours and then joined Lily and David for a stroll down a very old walking street in Beihai and then dinner at a very good Asian restaurant along the street called Nirvana. After our lunch escapade, it was truly a food nirvana for Caleb and me.

Sunday morning we woke up to breakfast and another packing session as we headed back to Zhanjiang. Let me just say that we are becoming expert packers!  Once back in Zhanjiang we checked into our hotel, unpacked for the week, and enjoyed some much needed family game time before joining the Faulkners at their home for dinner.

This week in southern China is a 3 day holiday called the Dragon Boat Holiday. School is out, work is out for most, and people flock to the streets and water to see the dragon boats. Monday morning we decided to take things slow after the kids slept until 9:30. We made our way after noon to the Faulkners for lunch and then all traveled back to our hotel to enjoy the pool and get away from the heat and humidity that tend to be prevalent here in South China.

Tuesday morning we woke to a very nice surprise . . . A 16 degree drop in temperature AND a major drop in humidity. A win win for us!  Partly due to the beautiful weather, and partly due to the stir-craziness (is that a word) of the kids, we decided to take all 7 kids (4 Falkners and 3 Newells) to the nature preserve park just down from the apartment. It was such a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the trails, lily pad pond, banana trees, and exercise equipment. The weather was delightful.

Adelynn and Morgan on some of the exercise equipment

Caleb trying out a Chinese version of an elliptical machine

Emme working her obliques

All the kids (minus the youngest Faulkner)

posing in front of the lush background

Do you see the green bananas in this tree? We were so excited to see real banana trees.

After our excursion we went back to the apartment for a meeting with 3 sisters who are interested in starting a foster home in Zhanjiang.  They just happen to know other brothers and sisters who would be interested in helping as well. It was a struggle to translate and make sure we truly understood one another, but also humbling to see the true mission of Lifeline being realized here in China - the body coming together in China to care for orphans. During the meeting it became apparent that I needed to procure some materials from the hotel room to share with these women. So Jayson and I hopped on the mopeds and were greeted with a downpour!   Jayson got out the ponchos, his red one and his Ashley's pink one - you guessed it - I was assigned the pink poncho for the long ride back to the apartment.

Wednesday had a much slower pace as after breakfast we joined the Faulkner's at Zhanjiang's world famous (ahem) beach for swimming for the kids and a picnic. We were joined by tourists from other parts of China and many times we felt as though we were at the zoo, except we were the animals that everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of. I guess it's not everyday in Zhanjiang you see 4 white adults with 7 white, young children. It was very funny and we were all convinced that we could start a reality tv show for China that would be a smashing success.

After a shower and a rest for the kids we went out for Chinese with the Faulkners, as if there would be any other choice. And so now, here we are back in Suixi coming home from another visit. This visit was harder than the last, primarily because the neglect of the children was highlighted the more time we had to interact with them.

They were so needy for attention and love. We had 30 kids surround us all wanting me to pick them up, all wanting Ashley to notice them. They were all mesmerized by the 3 white children. As I picked them up they would giggle with delight and push and shove to be next. As Ashley played with them, she noticed that 8 year olds could not do simple tasks that our Emily could do.

Then I saw Sawyer, the little boy I met in April of 2012. He was abandoned at 4 years old. The note with him said his birthday was the day after Caleb's - December 22, 2004 - I naturally was drawn to him because of his birthday.  Sawyer wept bitterly for weeks after being abandoned. He wanted nothing to do with the caregivers or the staff, and so became his lot in life. He was labeled autistic or stupid and never approached, never touched, and never communicated with.   The afternoon I met him he sat in stunned silence wanting nothing to do with another human, obviously the victim of neglect-imposed developmental delays.

After trying to get him to respond for 2 hours, I finally started making some progress.  We played games of sliding cars down the slide as a ramp.  He soon began mimicking my every move. Finally, he let me hold him and then refused to have his medical check done anywhere but my lap.   When it was time for us to leave that afternoon - he wept bitterly and all of the specialists confirmed my speculation - he is NOT autistic.  He, like millions of other children,  is simply a victim of severe neglect.

It was as if no time had passed when Sawyer saw me today. He cannot run but in his own little way - he ran over and quickly became my shadow.  He would hold my hand, stroke my face, wrap my arms around him to hug him. Caleb had found another friend, but Sawyer really seemed to take to Adelynn - stroking her arm and hand. She gave him a big smile back, warm enough to warm the hardest of hearts.

Difficult day indeed to see these sweet children who have not only been abandoned by their birth families, but also, in a way, abandoned by the orphanage workers as well.  It seems that the workers are oblivious to the problem.  We hope and pray that Ashley's training on child developement and basic care giving will begin to permeate their thinking.   It was disheartening to find the children dirty again today since just a few days before, Ashley explicitly explained basic hygiene needs.  Please pray for Suixi  - the kids and the workers, and most importantly, for them to somehow know the love of sweet Jesus.  If you are interested in adopting one of these or checking out their profiles, click Here

So, for now, we close the update from Suixi to Suixi.  Please continue to lift us up to the Father.  Pray that He would use us for the spread of His Glorious Gospel. And last, but certainly not least,  pray that our hearts would break for what breaks His.

I Chronicles 29:11-13, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name."

Much Love,
Herbie, on behalf of The Newell family

Romans 10:14-15

Imagine children sitting in their own urine, others playing with trash, and another playing with a dead bug.... This was the scene at the orphanage we visited today. The children are literally starved for attention. One little boy giddily laughed when herbie picked him up. I doubt he has been picked up in months.



I engaged another child in playing with a shape sorter and then was whisked away by another. However, wherever I would go, this child would seek me out.


They were constantly in our faces, touching us all over - sometimes in inappropriate places. But how would they know that it's wrong to do that if no one has told them? How do children learn unless someone teaches them? How do they learn to love unless they are loved? More importantly, who will pray for the least of these unless we do?

Unkempt,
filthy dirty,
and severely neglected
barely scratches the surface in describing these orphans.

Beautiful,
image bearers of Sovereign Creator,
fearfully and wonderfully made loved by jesus Himself -
This too barely begins to describe these sweet children.



Praising Him for the opportunity to love on the least of these!

Adelynn's pig tails were special entertainment for this little girl!

Will you join us in prayer for these defenseless orphans in china and around the world?

 If you don't, who will plead their cause?

Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:17

Ashley, on behalf of the Newell family



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A Week around China in 1 blog post

Sorry that we have been silent, it hasn't been intentional - we have just been extremely busy and on the move. In order to catch up, consider this similar to Fox News Channels', "Around the World in 90 seconds" by Shepherd Smith. So we present you with "A Week around China in 1 blog post."

Isaiah 26:8 " Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

Throughout this trip this is our prayer, that the Lord's name and renown would be displayed to the people of China. The last week has been certainly an adventure as we have explored the sights, loved the people, and visited orphans.

We woke up Wednesday morning and Lily (our in-country facilitator for China) and I went first to the CCCWA - the government office in Beijing in charge of all child welfare for the country. The meetings were fantastic and Lifelinewww.lifelinechild.org was granted another 3 orphanage partnerships - bringing the grand total up to 10. We also invited the director to visit Birmingham with the delegation in the fall and during the conversation he asked if they could visit a church. Here we come BrookHills.




After the lengthy meetings with all department heads at the CCCWA - we left for a rather American shopping/dining experience near our hotel on a walking street with a huge mall, and a western style children's bathroom that Emme loved. After pizza and sweet tea at Pizza Hut we made our way to a visit at the Apple store (where the kids found some great new apps for the ipad, including a haircut game) www.tocaboca.com and then to a very famous old part of Beijing called Wangfujing street.  Lily showed us the booths where you could buy a live scorpion and have it fried in front of you - needless to say we didn't oblige, but sweet Lily did buy the kids a hand blown animal for the year associated with their birth according to the Chinese calendar - Caleb, monkey; Adelynn, pig; and Emily, Tiger. We then ate snacks in the room for dinner and went to bed. Ashley has really relaxed her standards for meals!

Our family on Wangfujing Street!

According to Emily, this is the cutest bathroom in the world.  We took multiple trips just to see it  :)

Caleb holding his monkey.  It was so neat to watch the guy making these.  Imagine glass blowing techniques but he was using sugar instead of glass.

Adelynn holding her pig.

Emily holding her tiger.

And, last but least, a look at the guy trying to sell us a fried scorpian for dinner.  No thanks!

The very next morning Ashley and I were delighted to take the kids to one of our favorite places in Beijing: New Day Foster Home - www.newdaycreations.com  If you have a chance, it would be well worth your time to explore their website and read their story.  It captured our hearts 10 years ago and still a place we think about quite often. Amazing things are being done on this little plot of land outside of Beijing.

We got to the facility and met many new friends who took us to a traditional Chinese lunch. It was a splendid afternoon connecting with friends and loving on children at New Day. As New Day is 45 minutes from downtown Beijing, we left in just enough time to catch the 5:15 showing of the acrobat show in Beijing, complete with an opening act, a man standing on 15 chairs, balancing umbrellas with feet, juggling straw hats, a partner act on a high beam, 15 ladies on a bicycle, and then 7 motorcycles on a sphere cage. It was awesome and exciting. I think I have some new ideas for some routines for Dave and I to practice for our upcoming staff retreat.  To add a little more drama to the night, Emily, who had been taking pictures, decided to drop Ashley's phone underneath our seats without anyone noticing, that is until we got back to the hotel and Ashley realized her phone was missing. After a few minutes of panicking, we were blessed to have Helen's fiancé go back to the theater and find the phone untouched - A true blessing indeed.

Our friends from New Day took us on a ride in the back of her scooter to a local ice cream place.  What an experience for our kiddos to ride through a little Chinese village, eating ice cream on the back of a scooter.  You truly never know what you might experience here.  

On Saturday morning we woke up to a very hot Beijing Day, with direct sunlight. What a great day to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with about 100,000 of our closest Chinese friends!  It is at this moment that I must reveal that our kids are quite popular in China. They apparently have a sign on them that says, "Photo Op." We have been constantly asked if people can take their picture with them, especially the girls and particularly Emily with her blonde, curly hair. We now truly know what it feels like to be chased by the paparazzi.  We are constantly being stared at but the stares are usually accompanied by lots of smiles.  After many photos where taken of her on Saturday (thousands I am  sure have been posted to China's Facebook like site, QQ) Emily asked us, why do they all think I'm an "American Girl Doll?"

The kids in front of a turtle statue at Forbidden city.  They affectionately call any turtle we see anywhere, "Tommy the Turtle."  Story behind the name: early this year we found a turtle in our driveway.  The kids were so excited to have a "pet" and they quickly gave him the name "Tommy."  After keeping him in a cardboard box for one day, we decided to let him go back into the wild.  They still talk about Tommy the Turtle quite often.  So of course we had to take their photos in front of this Tommy!

What a hot but great day to visit and experience so much of China's history. I love seeing the sovereignty of God throughout this trip and our lives.  We studied modern history this year which included learning about Tianenman square and other events in recent Chinese history.  It was like one big field trip to be able to go and walk in these places we had just recently studied and read about.  What an exceptional experience to visit the home of the Chinese emperor.

Afterwards we ate lunch in the van - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which we prepared with bread and jam from to breakfast bar and our stash of peanut butter brought from home. Then we changed our schedule for the afternoon and instead of visiting the summer palace, we decided to take rickshaw rides through the oldest living quarters in Beijing, the Hutong area.

Hutongs, a term of Mongolian origin meaning "towns," refers to a type of narrow alley or street in the Beijing area.  We loved seeing this part of Chinese culture and history which they have preserved and how many people still live in them today.  The kids got to ride the rickshaw, go to an old market with fresh fruit, meat, vegetables, and grains as well as go inside of a families home to see how they live and lived many years ago in China. I think it was definitely eye-opening for us all to see their daily lives.  None of the homes have bathrooms; therefore, the people must all use the public toilet.  It was a true highlight and would highly recommend to anyone traveling to Beijing.

Afterwards we went to the silk market where I got to negotiate for some scarves for Ashley and a belt for myself, yet the highlight was teaching Caleb to negotiate as we negotiated over some sunglasses - he loved it! After the silk market, Helen took us for rice,vegetables, and Caleb's new favorite - congee.

Caleb and Ashley on their rickshaw ride through the Hutong district.  

Our whole family posing with our rickshaw drivers. 

In front of a traditional home in the hutong district

Walking through a traditional Chinese market in the Hutong district

Inside the home of a typical Chinese family - Caleb is holding a sword of the Kung Fu master.

Emily begged us to take her picture by this ice cream cone.  She said it was just her size!

Sweet Adelynn posing beside a black lamb statue inside the mall.  

On Sunday morning we woke up and headed to the Great Wall. It was a fabulous adventure to travel to such an old section of the wall and a different section than we had visited last time we went to the Great Wall of China. Our fabulous tour guide, Helen, took us to a section where we could ride up on a lift, walk a spectacular section and then take a toboggan ride down - the Mutianyu section.   This section is one of the less crowded (being a relative term in China) and a section where many locals go and visit.  Needless to say the kids and adults loved it. Walking on the Great Wall was definitely surreal.  In relation to how many people are in the world, few walk on the wall - even fewer with a baby on their back.

Then we visited a burger place out by the wall run by Americans called The SchoolHouse Restaurant. We all five split 2 burgers, fries, fruit, and a milkshake - western food done right is very pricey in China. Much to Ashley's chagrin but her eating delight, I snatched some bite sized cheesecakes from a table after the people had left but before the busboy came. So we got a little free desert.

 After the Great Wall we traveled back to Beijing and visited the Olympic park and got to see the Bird's Nest, Watercube, and Olympic Village. Lastly, we went to a noodle place near our hotel and then went back to pack and get to sleep before traveling to Guangdong province and Zhanjiang.

Adelynn and Helen, our awesome tour guide!

Emily and I on the toboggan ride from the great wall down to the bottom!  She loved it, no doubt!

Caleb in front of the Bird's Nest.

All of us in front of the water cube

The girls posing for pictures  . . . feeling like a rock star!

A very traditional Chinese restaurant

We woke up at 4:30am Monday morning to hop a very early flight to Zhanjiang. Fortunately it was a direct 3.5 hour flight, which felt like a blip after the 15 plus hour plane ride. Emily even commented, "wow that was quick."  It's all relative, my dear.  At the airport our friend Jayson and our driver were there to meet us. We were able to go from 7 checked bags to 5 because we mailed a lot of the supplies for the orphanages from Beijing to Zhanjiang and ChongQing ahead of our arrival, which was a huge blessing.

We were the only Westerners on this flight and in this airport so needless to say, we had lots of stares.  

Air China:  not an airline you fly on everyday.

A city of 7 million people has an airport the size of Fayette, AL or Statesboro, Ga - go figure.  Oh wait, 7 million is considered a small city.  

Here's a photo of the very small baggage claim area -

The remainder of Monday and then the better part of Tuesday we were able to spend time with friends in Zhanjiang. Tuesday night sweet Rebecca arrived from Guangzhou and we were able to meet her for dinner. We also had a planning meeting for the next several days of training and visiting the orphanages. Another highlight of the day was a scooter ride through Zhanjiang with the kids.  Needless to say, Mama was nervous.

Me and the girls getting ready for our ride

Our friend, Jayson, and Caleb getting ready to ride

Hey - they even have a Walmart super center in China!

On Wednesday morning we all woke up and packed a bag for the 2 day excursion to the Maoming Orphanage, an hour and a half drive from Zhanjiang. Moaming was the first orphanage that the government allowed Lifeline to partner with directly. This was my fourth visit to Maoming, so it kind of felt like home. For the morning, our friend Ashley watched the kids in the playroom while my Ashley and I visited with the director. Once we finished our meeting, the local Civil Affairs director invited us to a formal lunch with the orphanage officials. Caleb, Adelynn, and Emily got to go to their first formal Chinese meal. It was an adventure from the beginning when we walked in and saw a giant sea turtle which was for purchase to eat. Emily instantly identified the turtle as a pet - calling him "Tommy the Turtle."

Caleb and Adelynn interacting with the Nannies and children at Maoming.

This little boy took to Caleb - and he loved it!

Herbie with the Director of Maoming orphanage and the civil affairs director for this province

A giant sea turtle - affectionately named Tommy by our Emily

Enjoying a traditional chinese meal.  I took several for the team - Ashley did not want to eat the squid so I discretely ate hers so she would not appear rude for not eating what they ordered.  She can thank me later.  

Sweet Emily passed out on Ashley during lunch

After lunch, the two Ashley's went back to train the nannies on child development and techniques to engage the children. The nannies loved the training and had pen and paper handy to take notes. Rebecca translated. Ashley Newell was in her element and I'm thrilled she got to do this. I teased her that she actually got to put her Child Development degree to good use.

While they trained, Caleb, Adelynn, Emily, and I entertained many of the older children and then joined Ashley and played with the babies. We ended the evening at the "swimming" pool at the Maoming International Hotel, emphasis on swimming. This was a lap pool, but we had fun anyway watching the Chinese watch us.

Adelynn loving on an orphan boy

Ashley handing out the hair ties that our small group prepared as gifts for the nannies.  They loved them!

Ashley conducting training for the nannies while Rebecca translated.  

Emily has had a desire to give orphans toothbrushes - so we brought some along and she is always quick to remind us to give them the toothbrushes she packed.  Here she is demonstrated how to brush their teeth using balloons with faces.  

It's hard to capture the heart this child has for the orphan.  Oh how I wish you could see him interacting with the least of these.  I'm most positive it would melt your heart.

Then this morning, Thursday we got a truly unique experience. We set off on foot and our family got to visit the 3 foster families which Lifeline supports in Maoming. We climbed up many flights of stairs (now I know why how the Chinese keep the weight off) How incredible to see these families and the children interact in each home. It was as equally splendid to see our sweet children interact with the families and act unfazed as the smells, conditions, and bathrooms where completely different from what they were accustomed to. It was a fabulous morning. Then we got the opportunity to visit again with the children at the orphanage, where Caleb has been a huge blessing. One of our most special memories will always be looking over from an impromptu meeting with the staff and seeing our sweet boy loving on a little 3 year old girl who was abandoned and brought in yesterday. He took to this little girl and would seek her out.

Lifeline had several "moby" wraps donated to give to the foster mothers to promote attachment.  Here Ashley is showing a foster mom how to use the wrap.  

Our family with one of foster families in their home.

Another foster family

Caleb giving out a "taggie" blanket to one of the foster children who is blind.  He loved the blanket and quickly went to put it in is bed.  He kept saying "thank you, thank you!"

Adelynn handing out another Taggie blanket donated or made by a Lifeline supporter.  

The third foster family home we visited.  

One of the foster Dad's wanted to take lots of photos with Caleb.  He said he had a great, friendly personality.  I would agree.  

The foster mom with Adelynn - she said adelynn looks like a princess.  I concur :)

Sweet Emily passing out Taggie blankets at Maoming.  Thank you Lifeline supporters - the kids loved them!

He has a heart of gold!

He would go from child to child, loving on them, showing the love of Christ.  

In each of their own ways our children have truly ministered to these sweet children in the foster homes, in the orphanage, and then as well they have loved on the nannies and staff in more ways than we could have imagined.

Whether through posing for pictures, smiling at strangers, making every effort to say Nihao (hello in Chinese) to strangers, hugging the nannies and staff at orphanages, or by visiting orphanages we have seen the Lord's name and renown become the desire of our children's hearts - and if this had been the only reason we were called to China for this season  - then it's all been worth it.












Tomorrow we visit the Suixi orphanage. It is by far the hardest I have ever visited here - we hope to update sooner this time, but for now this has been a week around China in 1 blog post with your host, Herbie Newell! - and a few side notes from Ashley :)
For the Newell Family




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