Saying Goodbye to her Orphanage

Mei Mei was in Sunshine Academy at Dongguan Social Welfare Institute. There are orphans as well as elderly people and those with special needs unable to care for themselves. The orphanage was 1 1/2 hours away from where we were staying in Guangzhou . We had our guide tell Mei Mei that we were going to the orphanage to say goodbye to her friends and nannies. She told her that mama and baba would stay with her the whole time and she would leave with us. She looked away and promptly fell asleep in my arms for the rest of the drive. 

When we arrived, we were greeted warmly. We went upstairs to her classroom and her friends shouted in excitement, "Mei Mei! Mei Mei!" (They actually called her by her Chinese name) One little one said that her hair was beautiful. One little one called EJ "Uncle". Another little one pointed to me and said, "Mei Mei's Mama!" Mei Mei was in my carrier but I felt she was okay to get down and greet her friends. 

She got to have snack time with her friends while we watched the little class eat and drink. She was the star of the show. The class had 3 boys and 7 girls. Her best friend in the class is being adopted soon by another family using our agency. I am so excited to say that we are in contact. It will be a special connection for the girls when they are older. Mei Mei says her friend's name frequently. She asks to see the pictures of them together. (We were not allowed to take pictures of the children. In fact, the staff member who gave us the tour took pictures with our camera since she knew what could be photographed.)

We said goodbye and then toured some more of the orphanage. Miss Mei Mei led the way. We stopped in a room that had special needs little ones. A tiny little child (unsure of gender...they cut their hair short and they all wear uniforms) just stole my heart. This little one was a premature baby and was now a tiny almost 2 year old. I held his little hand and rubbed his back. He soaked up the attention and held my hand tight.  When it was time for us to leave he welled up with tears and so did I.  Oh precious little one, there is room for you. If only we could bring you home too!

We are extremely thankful that we were able to tour her orphanage. We want to be able to give her as much information as we can about her life before she came home. We thank God for those who cared for her over the past two years.