Jesus Drove Us to The Orphanage

December 18th

 

Waiting for our guide and driver.  It was a pleasant surprise when our guide changed our driver because of vehicle problems with the other van.  The new driver had a gentle, kind face. His van was spotlessly clean.   If we had known what the end of the day held, it might have stayed that way.  Now I see how God had a lesson in what transpired.

 

 

In the orphanage hall, the sign was a sweet gesture, even if I felt like Teddy's home is now with us.

There was a lot to take in at the orphanage and it required time to process.  We felt that Teddy was very fortunate.  However, a temporary institution is not equivalent to a forever family.

 

In activity room, Teddy showed us some of the dances he learned.  In 2013, he only lived at this orphanage for about 5 months.  When we were in Bengbu, we learned that Teddy had been blessed to undergo surgery in another city by the kind donation dollars of an American charitable organization.  He lived in Guangxi province for 2 years before moving back to Anhui pending his adoption.

 

 

Teddy showed me where he slept.

Teddy with his special nanny.

Teddy with the Vice Orphanage Director.

Blue-eyed western models fill the billboards in China.

A motorized cart of sorts

Pagodas were everywhere like steeples in the Bible-belt

A $130,000 Maserati on the streets of Bengbu.  It had a newly married couple in it.  When they arrived a few doors down from our restaurant,  they shot off fireworks into the day sky in celebration.

The orphanage took us to a fancy restaurant because the oven wasn't working in the orphanage.  We had a private room for the seven in our family, our guide, our driver, the orphanage vice director, two others associated with the orphanage.  There must have been at least 20 dishes.  My favorite was an amazing eggplant dish. 

 

Teddy was pretty excited by the whole fish platter and wanted to eat the fish eyeball and head.  When I am clumsy with chopsticks and there were no other utensils, I could not think of a way of tearing out an eyeball except with my bare hands.  I wasn't about to do that.  Poor Teddy will have to dream about fish heads and eyeballs when there are knives on the table.

 

Well, the drive back to Hefei didn't start too well.  With his limited stomach capacity, Teddy ate too much.  He promptly threw up all of lunch on our new driver's spotless van.  He then had to sit in his vomit for almost 2 hours since the trip had just begun.  We tried to clean our little boy, the mat and the fabric seat the best we could with tissues from our backpack, but gastric juices are nasty things.  Ben and I were so apologetic to the driver when we arrived.    The Jesus-like driver smilingly lifted Teddy in his arms (with throw up still on his winter coat) to help him out of the van.  How like our precious Lord to extend his arms when we are covered with the foulest of sins.  It was definitely a touching, real example of how Christ cares for us. 

We tried to give the driver money to get his car cleaned, but he refused.   Later we gave our guide money to give to him.  The driver didn't clean the seat while we were in Hefei, the guide said he would clean it on the weekend when we were gone.  A few days later I had to inform Ben that he was sitting directly over the fresh stain.  Thank goodness we travelled with plastic bags.  They make handy seat covers.

Also I think it was God's mercy that the mean-faced driver hadn't been driving us that day, I am afraid he might have boxed Teddy's ears and slapped our faces.