Catching Up on a Rainy Sunday Afternoon

Before I forget, please keep the volunteers working in the Chenzhou Children’s Welfare Institute (Sidney’s orphanage) in your prayers this week. From what I can understand, they are working in the orphanage for a week. They spend the entire day interacting with the kids. I don’t have to tell you how envious I am. They have been making a huge difference. One boy in particular, has had some very traumatic experiences which have left him resistant to interacting with others. I can only assume there is no counseling available as there is a much different attitude about mental health, in this part of the world. One person, in particular, was able to get him to come out of his shell a bit. She was able to hug him, and he hugged her back when they left one day. So neat!


I heard about the volunteers on my Yahoo group for the Chenzhou orphanage. I was able to send a book from snapfish with recent photos of Sidney. Some included her in casts, so I hope they understand she has received medical treatment. The books were given to the director. There is a video on YouTube of Sidney’s orphanage, and at the end, they have glass cases in the orphanage with updated photos of children who were adopted. I hope that one day, she will be shown in this group of children. It is important that the nannies see the good outcomes they have created.

I think I can positively say, we are on the road to health. Sidney started “the funk” a couple of weeks ago. It started with a fever and goes into a chest cold. Tom and I have both gotten over it, but Eli was the “last man standing.” With Boy Scout camp coming up on Thursday for a three night camp, I was hoping he would not get sick. He was supposed to leave Thursday night, but on Wednesday night, he had a fever of 103.2. He was very disappointed. It was a bad moment when I told him he couldn’t go! He has many more years of Boy Scout camp. The part that really sucks is that Eli is a very independent child. He loves to leave and spend the night without a moment’s hesitation. He is a very easy kid. I think much of this is attributed to the fact that I stay home, and he is sick of me!

Sidney started swimming lessons last week, and she loves it. What a brave little soul! We took her one time last October, in a hotel. She did great, but I assumed she would never remember. She let me walk right in, and allowed me to take her in the deep end. I was glad she had so much confidence.

OK, off to iron 60 iron on’s to t-shirts for Vacation Bible School I two weeks. Usually I have a bit part. Last year I did not direct, and I missed participating. Fun to watch faith growing. I am also in the process of planning our curriculum for the coming fall. We do a rotation, and I am busy every 6 weeks getting the next rotation ready.