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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