Although, naturally, there is a little sadness regarding what I have left behind, it's good to be back in China. I've been back a week now and have settled in to the familiar things of this place - the markets filled with all sorts of raw meats and fish (dead and alive); the constant honking of the taxis; the confusion of the locals as to whether I'm Russian or American; the endless opportunities to consume rice; the walking to get most places or my little #8 bus; the ever-surprising rate at which Chinese flows from the mouths of the locals. However, there are some new things that are present that weren't around late October - the thick layer of ice on the sidewalks and side roads when I first arrived (entertaining watching the women walking on the ice in their high heels...yes, they love heels that much here); frozen fish being sold on carts outside everywhere because it's that cold...they don't defrost in the sun (we're talking the whole fish. not in cute little filet form); the lack of hot water for a shower. i think it's closer to lukewarm (hot showers are overrated, right?); oh yes...the biggie...the frigid temperatures mixed with the ever-popular Hunchun wind. Today was -3 with a windchill of -24 (yes, i'm talking fahrenheit). Whoa buddy!!! I walked to Special School which took about 30 minutes and I couldn't feel my face when I got there. Actually, I'm pretty sure I couldn't talk normal and a little drool may have escaped my mouth without me realizing it, ha! Good thing I'm not trying to score any dates here :)
Okay, okay...on a more serious note. The month of February will likely be a bit slow for me. The children aren't at school because of the cold and we don't have teams visiting this time of year. I'll dive back into the language studies, do some office work at the school, shovel horse poop and snow at the ranch, read some books, and celebrate the Chinese New Year (Feb 14th with a huge fireworks show on the 28th - yippee!!! I absolutely love fireworks!!)
That's all for now folks! Take care and stay in touch
~k
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday, September 25, 2009
Update on Sung Ju
We have a wonderful family here from Indiana who are long-termers - The Howes. They are here in hopes of building an orphanage but have been patiently waiting for funds to come in. They have 4 children here ages 18 months - 13 years whom they home school. I'm just trying to show you that they aren't exactly sitting around :) Well, the Howes heard about Sung Ju and wanted to help immediately. After getting permission from his dad, Sung Ju now goes to the Howe household from 2:30-6:30 Monday through Friday. Instead of sitting alone all day at home, he now gets to interact with other kids and gets fed and cleaned up. This also gives me an opportunity to go in three days a week to do PT with him. Can we say "answer to pr*yer?!!" Sung Ju's dad has really been trying: he comes home from work everyday for lunch to eat with his son and make sure he's cleaned up. Then, when the Howes take him back home in the evening, dad is there waiting. You can tell he really loves his son and wants to do the best thing for him. This schedule can't be easy for him as the locals here work ALL day long, as long as there is sunlight (4:30a-6p).
I want to remind you that his father didn't really know about Sung Ju's disability (Sung Ju was riding a bike and running just 3 years ago). Now, here he is making a huge effort!! It's beautiful. He still is taking time to think about what's best for Sung Ju and his living situation. If he sends his son to the orphanage he would be well cared for, but dad would lose ALL of his parental rights. That's a huge deal. A new thing thrown into the situation - Janet just discovered that if Sung Ju has a helper at school then he can return to Special School!! That would take care of the hours 8a-4p 5 days a week. We'd also need the helper on all school breaks too. There is hope with this option but there would still be time to cover. You get the idea.
Thank you for pr*ying about this. Please, let's keep it up!
I want to remind you that his father didn't really know about Sung Ju's disability (Sung Ju was riding a bike and running just 3 years ago). Now, here he is making a huge effort!! It's beautiful. He still is taking time to think about what's best for Sung Ju and his living situation. If he sends his son to the orphanage he would be well cared for, but dad would lose ALL of his parental rights. That's a huge deal. A new thing thrown into the situation - Janet just discovered that if Sung Ju has a helper at school then he can return to Special School!! That would take care of the hours 8a-4p 5 days a week. We'd also need the helper on all school breaks too. There is hope with this option but there would still be time to cover. You get the idea.
Thank you for pr*ying about this. Please, let's keep it up!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A matter of the heart
I previously shared about a young boy, Sung Ju, who has Muscular Dystrophy and came to Special School last semester. Janet and I went to visit him about 3 weeks ago and unfortunately discovered that he had declined physically over the summer break and could no longer stand or take any steps. This broke my heart. I had encouraged the mother to do a couple of exercises with Sung Ju but she stated during the visit that she didn't have time. Without the ability to walk or toilet himself, Sung Ju was unable to return to Special School. Janet went to take ice cream to him last Wednesday and found him alone in his home. He said that his mom had been gone for a few days. Janet had to leave so she called me and I went and sat with him for a couple of hours. An additional complication to this whole matter is the fact that Janet and I are foreigners. It is not wise to get involved in domestic issues but we couldn't turn our backs either. The abbreviated version is this: his parents are divorced and Sung Ju has been living with his mom and 16 year old sister. His mom just up and left for South Korea (to live) sometime last week, took her daughter with her and left Sung Ju behind. Janet met with Sung Ju's dad the day after we found Sung Ju alone. He said that he works construction 13 hours a day, sometimes more and cannot give the proper care to Sung Ju. He knew very little about his disability. Sooo, yesterday Janet met with the headmaster at Dail Orphanage here in Hunchun along with Sung Ju’s dad and uncle. The Orphanage, run by a young South Korean couple, has never taken in a disabled child – he would be their first. They said that the dad would have to sign a waiver that frees him of all parental rights. Dail also said they would have to talk to the local government and to the head Dail office in South Korea to get permission. If both parties say “yes” then Dail wants to take Sung Ju in and try. This is a huge responsibility as Sung Ju cannot walk anymore and would need total help when going to the bathroom. The other thing that weighs heavily on my mind is the fact that Sung Ju will only continue to get worse physically. He will eventually reach the point where he is totally dependent for all tasks…it’s only a matter of time. Sung Ju's dad has not yet made a decision. We should know within a week. There is so much I want to do but can't. I’m realizing that all I can truly do is pr*y that G*d would hold this little boy in his arms and would love and comfort him. This situation is heart-breaking. In the midst of it I thank G*d that a place like Dail Orphanage exists in this town! The people there are amazing and I know that Sung Ju would be loved and well taken care of. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and pr*y that this is resolved quickly.
Hay is for Horses
A trip to Inner Mongolia: There were 6 of us who went – myself, Jessie, ZaiBin, Ruth, and Gary and Mike from the Montana Team. The purpose of this trip was to buy hay for our five horses. It started out with a 6 hour bus ride to ChangChun – nothing special about this ride. Then we boarded a bus to ChangLing, 2.5 hours away. This bus was a bit older and Ruth and I were put in the front two seats. The unfortunate thing about this was that there were about 8 people too many in the front of the bus. We’re talking on the floor leaning against my legs, in the aisle and in the stair well. The guy in the front who acted as an assistant to the driver, who takes the money and lets people off and on, was a bit flirtatious and kept feeding us fruit talking in paragraph-long sentences in Chinese – non of which I understood. That didn’t seem to discourage him. The driver was horn happy while going down the road but that’s to be expected as this is the norm here. However, the horn was much louder when sitting in the front of the bus and I’m pretty sure this one could be compared to a cruse ship’s horn! Not only was the driver able to manage driving, eating fruit, smoking cigarettes and talking he also busted out his electric shaver while going down the road. Impressive. At one point, a pheasant flew up and hit the windshield with a loud thud. Not to worry, the driver immediately pulled to the side of the road, the assistant jumped out and retrieved the dead pheasant and brought in into the bus…wouldn’t want to pass up a dinner opportunity :)
After the 2nd bus we had an hour taxi ride which brought us to our final destination – a small, sleepy village in Inner Mongolia. The guys in our group had established relationships with the owners of a small hotel in town in previous years. We stayed there this year and had great fellowship with the locals. By hotel in this case, I mean there are 4 rooms above their home/cafe with a hole for a toilet outside behind the building. Ruth and I found out that we were the first white women to ever come to this town – kinda crazy to think about. That night after dinner there were several children around whom I started playing with. I was able to practice the Chinese I know and charades made up for the rest. We took turns singing songs and they overloaded me with pictures they had drawn with the word “love” written in English. It was precious. They kept feeding me fruit and would stand there patiently waiting as I ate and then would hold their hand out in order for me to spit the seed into their hand. :) They were so cute! The 13 year old daughter of the hotel owner, Wang Wen Zhuo, asked me to sleep in her room that night. Of course I accepted and we spent some time working through my broken Chinese and figuring out she is just like any other 13 year old girl – she likes boys…a lot :) After looking at the night sky filled with stars and thinking the big dipper was close enough to drink out of, we said goodnight to each other and to the little mouse that had set up camp in her room.
The next morning we walked to a small building and had service with some of the local people. I was escorted by 4 little girls all holding my hand or leg. Later that day we visited a local Korean War veteran and his wife whom Jessie had built a friendship with two years prior. They were so precious and welcoming!! Their little mud home quickly reminded me how little we can truly live with. This 86 year old man, Xu Yuan Chun, had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and his wife, Song Hui Lan, was so beautiful and warm-hearted. The wild thing about this story – the last American Yuan Chun had seen before Jessie was a soldier in the Korean War who had shot him in the leg. Then one day while sitting along the road in his humble little village in the middle of nowhere, at the age of 84, he met a blue-eyed, white-haired, smiling American who wanted to be his friend. It was really touching to meet them and to spend time with them. They told me I need to come back next year with my husband, ha ha!
That night we stayed out in an area with a cluster of yurts (Mongolian-style teepees). When we first arrived we came upon a big bonfire with people doing various dances around the fire…some were traditional dances and some were simply attempts of resembling dancing, ha! Being white we couldn’t exactly hide and were soon pulled into the commotion. It was pretty entertaining. It soon died down and we were left in the stillness of the night to enjoy the coolness and the stars that stretched down to the horizon. It looked as though we were in a dome made of stars – incredible. I slept like a baby that night. In the morning I headed over to the bamboo “outhouse.” It’s a basic, shallow squattie toilet with a bamboo wall blocking any view of you to outsiders. As I was getting ready to, well – you know, I suddenly noticed a live chicken pecking around underneath!! Whoa!!! Beside the obvious shock and concern I had a “note to self” moment…don’t eat the chicken here! Ha Ha!!
We made it back to Hunchun safely after 13 hours of traveling by bus and taxi. The next morning we unloaded our 10 tons of hay bales and I must say – that is NOT an easy task! Whew! Hope those horses are happy :)
After the 2nd bus we had an hour taxi ride which brought us to our final destination – a small, sleepy village in Inner Mongolia. The guys in our group had established relationships with the owners of a small hotel in town in previous years. We stayed there this year and had great fellowship with the locals. By hotel in this case, I mean there are 4 rooms above their home/cafe with a hole for a toilet outside behind the building. Ruth and I found out that we were the first white women to ever come to this town – kinda crazy to think about. That night after dinner there were several children around whom I started playing with. I was able to practice the Chinese I know and charades made up for the rest. We took turns singing songs and they overloaded me with pictures they had drawn with the word “love” written in English. It was precious. They kept feeding me fruit and would stand there patiently waiting as I ate and then would hold their hand out in order for me to spit the seed into their hand. :) They were so cute! The 13 year old daughter of the hotel owner, Wang Wen Zhuo, asked me to sleep in her room that night. Of course I accepted and we spent some time working through my broken Chinese and figuring out she is just like any other 13 year old girl – she likes boys…a lot :) After looking at the night sky filled with stars and thinking the big dipper was close enough to drink out of, we said goodnight to each other and to the little mouse that had set up camp in her room.
The next morning we walked to a small building and had service with some of the local people. I was escorted by 4 little girls all holding my hand or leg. Later that day we visited a local Korean War veteran and his wife whom Jessie had built a friendship with two years prior. They were so precious and welcoming!! Their little mud home quickly reminded me how little we can truly live with. This 86 year old man, Xu Yuan Chun, had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and his wife, Song Hui Lan, was so beautiful and warm-hearted. The wild thing about this story – the last American Yuan Chun had seen before Jessie was a soldier in the Korean War who had shot him in the leg. Then one day while sitting along the road in his humble little village in the middle of nowhere, at the age of 84, he met a blue-eyed, white-haired, smiling American who wanted to be his friend. It was really touching to meet them and to spend time with them. They told me I need to come back next year with my husband, ha ha!
That night we stayed out in an area with a cluster of yurts (Mongolian-style teepees). When we first arrived we came upon a big bonfire with people doing various dances around the fire…some were traditional dances and some were simply attempts of resembling dancing, ha! Being white we couldn’t exactly hide and were soon pulled into the commotion. It was pretty entertaining. It soon died down and we were left in the stillness of the night to enjoy the coolness and the stars that stretched down to the horizon. It looked as though we were in a dome made of stars – incredible. I slept like a baby that night. In the morning I headed over to the bamboo “outhouse.” It’s a basic, shallow squattie toilet with a bamboo wall blocking any view of you to outsiders. As I was getting ready to, well – you know, I suddenly noticed a live chicken pecking around underneath!! Whoa!!! Beside the obvious shock and concern I had a “note to self” moment…don’t eat the chicken here! Ha Ha!!
We made it back to Hunchun safely after 13 hours of traveling by bus and taxi. The next morning we unloaded our 10 tons of hay bales and I must say – that is NOT an easy task! Whew! Hope those horses are happy :)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Trip to Beijing
Wow, talk about a "Western" city in an "Eastern" land. Beijing is a boombing city with all the luxuries an expat could want...ice cream, cheese, real coffee, Western dishes, newspapers in English. Amazing. I stayed very near to the well-known Forbidden City which resulted in lovely streets shaded by glorious trees. It had more of a warm fuzzy feeling than I had expected (the warm fuzzies leave when you reach the less traditional parts of the city). I stayed in a hostel down a hutong (older, Chinese alleys) which was nice and quiet and quaint. Tucked away in these hutongs are the local people carrying on their slower-paced, daily activies. It made me feel more at home in a city that holds more than 17.4 million people.
I woke up early my first day and left the hostel at 6:15 to head to the Great Wall. I decided to be a bit adventurous and chose to complete a 6 mile hike on the Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai. Whoa...let's just say that there are some parts where the stairs are so steep you have to turn sideways to go up or down. It was pretty intense in places and tiring but well worth it. This area was 3 hours from the city by bus which meant far fewer tourists and less renovations...just the way I like it :) Another payoff - I got to take a zip line across the river to a boat that then took me to the parking lot!
The next two days I met up with my former boss, Leslie, and her husband who were in town on a tour of China. How bizarre to visit with old friends in another country. We toured around the main sites which all represented Old China. This meant walking, walking and more walking. I was a whimp with my post-Great Wall legs and had us sit a few times to rest that first day, ha! The last night in town we went for Italian food. I cannot tell you how excited I was about this. My taste buds were alive with the flavors of cheese, balsalmic vinegar, CREAM sauce, salmon, arugala, fettucini, bread with pesto, cheesecake with strawberry drizzle and real ice cream!!!!!!!! Talk about positive overload!! It had been 4 1/2 months since my taste buds had experienced such joy. I literally had perma-grin during and after the meal. Heavenly!!!
A little bit of drool just came out of my mouth :) My time in Beijing was wonderful and Leslie and Tom spoiled me rotten. The trip ended with a 25 hour train ride and 1 hour taxi ride - it's nice to be home.
I woke up early my first day and left the hostel at 6:15 to head to the Great Wall. I decided to be a bit adventurous and chose to complete a 6 mile hike on the Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai. Whoa...let's just say that there are some parts where the stairs are so steep you have to turn sideways to go up or down. It was pretty intense in places and tiring but well worth it. This area was 3 hours from the city by bus which meant far fewer tourists and less renovations...just the way I like it :) Another payoff - I got to take a zip line across the river to a boat that then took me to the parking lot!
The next two days I met up with my former boss, Leslie, and her husband who were in town on a tour of China. How bizarre to visit with old friends in another country. We toured around the main sites which all represented Old China. This meant walking, walking and more walking. I was a whimp with my post-Great Wall legs and had us sit a few times to rest that first day, ha! The last night in town we went for Italian food. I cannot tell you how excited I was about this. My taste buds were alive with the flavors of cheese, balsalmic vinegar, CREAM sauce, salmon, arugala, fettucini, bread with pesto, cheesecake with strawberry drizzle and real ice cream!!!!!!!! Talk about positive overload!! It had been 4 1/2 months since my taste buds had experienced such joy. I literally had perma-grin during and after the meal. Heavenly!!!
A little bit of drool just came out of my mouth :) My time in Beijing was wonderful and Leslie and Tom spoiled me rotten. The trip ended with a 25 hour train ride and 1 hour taxi ride - it's nice to be home.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Providence
I still cannot access my blog from China so we may have to give up on that one. Just wanted to send a note before I head off to rest. I went to the doctor today in Yanji (a bigger city about 90 minutes away) due to some pain and fever/chills. He confirmed that my "appendix is sick" but not bad enough to remove it. Praise G*d!! Can't say I'm exactly thrilled about the idea of surgery in China (it's still a possibility if the pain worsens so please pr*y). I'm on antibiotics now and need to "rest" - that's a difficult concept for me. You know me - I'll still be plenty busy but I'm trying to make myself cut out extracurricular activities. This too is difficult being that we have two teams in town and Mama and Papa (the leaders) are gone. :o)
Some fabulous news...last Thursday I took 4 children from Special School and their mothers to the hospital in Yanjito see an orthopedic surgeon from South Korea who was in town for 3 days. First let me say this day was quite emotional for me. We rarely see the parents of these children because some live at the school and the others ride a bus to and from school. It was so touching to see these mothers who love their children SO very much caring for them, helping them on and off the bus, dressing them up in their nicest clothes, having pride for their children who have a disability and are so often shunned by the public. Ah, my heart was in my throat. The doctor recommended that two of the children have surgery - Lang Qiang and Jun Qiang (sounds like Long Chiong and Jun Chiong). Jun Qiang's mother agreed right away and they stayed behind. However, Lang Qiang's mother got on the bus with her son to return to Hunchun as she could not afford the surgery. My heart broke and of course I cried - I was actually able to hold it in until I could sneak off to be alone. The entire way home I couldn't stop thinking about how this little boy could be helped if only the finances were available. A long story short - I told Mama the situation and a couple from a visiting team said they wanted to pay for the surgery and the mother finally accepted!!! So, Lang Qiang and Jun Qiang have undergone surgery on their legs in hopes to have the ability to walk better. G*d is SO, SO good!! I visited them today when I was at the hospital and their faces lit up! It was so special to see them again. :o)
The children at Special School go on summer holiday July 10th - September 1st. It will be strange not seeing them. This will open up my schedule a little bit but I'll still be working in the office, organizing teams, doing labor at the ranch AND I finally will have time to take Chinese class. Yay!
I miss you all and hope you are well!
~Keira
Some fabulous news...last Thursday I took 4 children from Special School and their mothers to the hospital in Yanjito see an orthopedic surgeon from South Korea who was in town for 3 days. First let me say this day was quite emotional for me. We rarely see the parents of these children because some live at the school and the others ride a bus to and from school. It was so touching to see these mothers who love their children SO very much caring for them, helping them on and off the bus, dressing them up in their nicest clothes, having pride for their children who have a disability and are so often shunned by the public. Ah, my heart was in my throat. The doctor recommended that two of the children have surgery - Lang Qiang and Jun Qiang (sounds like Long Chiong and Jun Chiong). Jun Qiang's mother agreed right away and they stayed behind. However, Lang Qiang's mother got on the bus with her son to return to Hunchun as she could not afford the surgery. My heart broke and of course I cried - I was actually able to hold it in until I could sneak off to be alone. The entire way home I couldn't stop thinking about how this little boy could be helped if only the finances were available. A long story short - I told Mama the situation and a couple from a visiting team said they wanted to pay for the surgery and the mother finally accepted!!! So, Lang Qiang and Jun Qiang have undergone surgery on their legs in hopes to have the ability to walk better. G*d is SO, SO good!! I visited them today when I was at the hospital and their faces lit up! It was so special to see them again. :o)
The children at Special School go on summer holiday July 10th - September 1st. It will be strange not seeing them. This will open up my schedule a little bit but I'll still be working in the office, organizing teams, doing labor at the ranch AND I finally will have time to take Chinese class. Yay!
I miss you all and hope you are well!
~Keira
Thursday, June 4, 2009
"Fatigued, but I feel so alive here!"
I’m back! Sorry for the long pause…it’s been crazy busy! However, the teams are all gone now and today was my first day being home alone without work to do…all day! Woo hoo!
As I mentioned in my last blog, we had 4 teams here within a 2 ½ week period. I think I only stopped when sleeping, but it was a very blessed time. The teams brought people from Missouri, Kansas, California, Indiana, Hawaii, Norway, Sweden and what great people they were. It was wonderful getting a chance to spend time with everyone and hearing their life stories…something I love! The time was filled with labor projects (turning soil with shovels all day, moving big rocks and sand at the ranch with rickety wheelbarrows, painting, planting flowers), helping teach English classes, hippotherapy sessions, time in the rehab room and bakery at the special education school, medical clinics in neighboring villages, time at an orphanage in town…everyone was busy! There was also time to plug in some tourist stops and massages. By the way – the massages here are crazy! You are literally gumby being twisted all around, walked on, and slapped around – it’s hilarious and a bit painful but so good! Ha!
The hippotherapy sessions started last week and are going well. It’s actually therapeutic riding that I’m doing so less focus on the physical therapy aspect. To do true hippotherapy I want only one horse at a time in the arena and consistent sidewalkers. We have three horses going at a time due to the number of children involved and we generally have the short term teams volunteering their time at the ranch which is fabulous. Regardless of which type I’m doing, it’s still so good for the children…balance work, coordination, following instructions, attention to task and the wonderful interaction with an animal. It’s so amazing to see the faces of these children when they arrive out at the ranch. They are all smiles the entire time. It’s so beautiful and it touches my heart! Ah, I’m so blessed to be here!!!!
Things in the rehab room are also going well. The two teachers in there are incredible! They work so hard and they really love those kids. They have said they are relieved to have a PT around again to teach them more things and to ensure that what they are doing is right. Ms Wong and Ms Chong both speak Korean and Chinese so thankfully I’ve had a translator! And thank goodness for good ol’ charades! I’ve had the chance to evaluate three new children since I’ve been here. One especially stands out to me. He has what seems to be muscular dystrophy (by what was attempted in translation, history and by physical presentation). For those of you who don’t know about MD – it’s a progressive disease with the life span of about 21 years. The muscles get weaker and weaker until the person needs full assistance. This boy is 9 years old and can only walk a few steps. He can’t go from sit to stand or into sitting without help…he drops like a noodle. But when he was 5 he could ride a bike. Ahh. Well, I met with the mother who didn’t fully understand what was wrong with her child. That was a very difficult meeting. While we were talking (with a translator) I was watching her. Wow, how she loves her son. She has to put him on her back to carry him around if it’s more than a short distance. She moved to Hunchun so that he could go to school. The Special Education School here is the only one around. That might not seem like a very big deal but most people with disabilities are kept in back rooms here in China. The fact that she moved her family to give her son a chance speaks volumes. I just looked at her and told her she was such a good mother. She started crying which is very unusual. Women here don’t show their emotions like that. I sat down beside her and hugged her then held her hand as tears streamed down her face. She said she wasn’t a good mother because she couldn’t afford medicine or surgery. But there isn’t surgery or medicine for muscular dystrophy. I told her that her unconditional LOVE is what makes her a good mother! We got through the tough questions about the disease and we discussed the wonderful benefits of her son being around other children and attending the school here and all of its programs. We may not make a major difference in his physical deficits, but we can love him and give him a better quality of life – together!
See – my heart is already beating stronger while writing this. There are tough situations and often a fatigue, but I feel so alive here! My desire has been to have a servant’s heart and for the love of Chri*t to pour out of me as if the flood gates have been opened. Every good thing that has occurred here is because of Him! ☺
****Hey folks, our lovely friend seems to have no access to her blog. We do not know if it is temporary or not, but for the meantime, I will be posting her messages to us in her absence. Please keep her in your pr hair time
~Bobby James, some random dude****
As I mentioned in my last blog, we had 4 teams here within a 2 ½ week period. I think I only stopped when sleeping, but it was a very blessed time. The teams brought people from Missouri, Kansas, California, Indiana, Hawaii, Norway, Sweden and what great people they were. It was wonderful getting a chance to spend time with everyone and hearing their life stories…something I love! The time was filled with labor projects (turning soil with shovels all day, moving big rocks and sand at the ranch with rickety wheelbarrows, painting, planting flowers), helping teach English classes, hippotherapy sessions, time in the rehab room and bakery at the special education school, medical clinics in neighboring villages, time at an orphanage in town…everyone was busy! There was also time to plug in some tourist stops and massages. By the way – the massages here are crazy! You are literally gumby being twisted all around, walked on, and slapped around – it’s hilarious and a bit painful but so good! Ha!
The hippotherapy sessions started last week and are going well. It’s actually therapeutic riding that I’m doing so less focus on the physical therapy aspect. To do true hippotherapy I want only one horse at a time in the arena and consistent sidewalkers. We have three horses going at a time due to the number of children involved and we generally have the short term teams volunteering their time at the ranch which is fabulous. Regardless of which type I’m doing, it’s still so good for the children…balance work, coordination, following instructions, attention to task and the wonderful interaction with an animal. It’s so amazing to see the faces of these children when they arrive out at the ranch. They are all smiles the entire time. It’s so beautiful and it touches my heart! Ah, I’m so blessed to be here!!!!
Things in the rehab room are also going well. The two teachers in there are incredible! They work so hard and they really love those kids. They have said they are relieved to have a PT around again to teach them more things and to ensure that what they are doing is right. Ms Wong and Ms Chong both speak Korean and Chinese so thankfully I’ve had a translator! And thank goodness for good ol’ charades! I’ve had the chance to evaluate three new children since I’ve been here. One especially stands out to me. He has what seems to be muscular dystrophy (by what was attempted in translation, history and by physical presentation). For those of you who don’t know about MD – it’s a progressive disease with the life span of about 21 years. The muscles get weaker and weaker until the person needs full assistance. This boy is 9 years old and can only walk a few steps. He can’t go from sit to stand or into sitting without help…he drops like a noodle. But when he was 5 he could ride a bike. Ahh. Well, I met with the mother who didn’t fully understand what was wrong with her child. That was a very difficult meeting. While we were talking (with a translator) I was watching her. Wow, how she loves her son. She has to put him on her back to carry him around if it’s more than a short distance. She moved to Hunchun so that he could go to school. The Special Education School here is the only one around. That might not seem like a very big deal but most people with disabilities are kept in back rooms here in China. The fact that she moved her family to give her son a chance speaks volumes. I just looked at her and told her she was such a good mother. She started crying which is very unusual. Women here don’t show their emotions like that. I sat down beside her and hugged her then held her hand as tears streamed down her face. She said she wasn’t a good mother because she couldn’t afford medicine or surgery. But there isn’t surgery or medicine for muscular dystrophy. I told her that her unconditional LOVE is what makes her a good mother! We got through the tough questions about the disease and we discussed the wonderful benefits of her son being around other children and attending the school here and all of its programs. We may not make a major difference in his physical deficits, but we can love him and give him a better quality of life – together!
See – my heart is already beating stronger while writing this. There are tough situations and often a fatigue, but I feel so alive here! My desire has been to have a servant’s heart and for the love of Chri*t to pour out of me as if the flood gates have been opened. Every good thing that has occurred here is because of Him! ☺
****Hey folks, our lovely friend seems to have no access to her blog. We do not know if it is temporary or not, but for the meantime, I will be posting her messages to us in her absence. Please keep her in your pr hair time
~Bobby James, some random dude****
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