We spent the morning at Dr. Lin's clinic doing assessments on several children along with education of parents and grandparents. It was so wonderful to have the parents and grandparents attend therapy sessions and want to learn how to help their child. Bridget has continued to educate on assessing and planning therapy activities. Bridget's sweet and calm spirit has been wonderful for our friends here in China. Carol observed the intake nurse complete an assessment and gave suggestions on functional activities to help with development. Cindy assessed two children and made recommendations on therapy. She also had the chance to talk with the therapists about some tools to add to their therapy toolbox.
We then spent time preparing for our presentations that afternoon at the orphanage. Once at the orphanage we took a tour, and gave presentations. We had caregivers, administrators, and physicians present for the presentations. We found out that many of the workers grew up there and are now helping raise the next generation of children. We were able to present the orphange with some toys and they provided a nice dinner for us.
Dr. Lin assessed several babies in the clinic and then was an amazing help during our presentations that afternoon at the orphanage. He is the best interpreter and so passionate about sharing with others working with children.
We had a great day, seeing 20 kids at Dr. Lin's clinic. Carol was able to observe Dr. Lin complete an assessment on a four month old baby, he was great with the baby and the parents. Carol was also able to train staff on administering the Early Learning Assessment Profile. Briget and Cindy worked with staff on therapy activities and assessments. We love the staff, they have been very welcoming and are passionate and eager to learn.
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and lunch provided by the hospital and dinner provided by Dr. Lin and gelato. He was also kind enough to drive us around for a nap (like you do for babies he said) because jet lag has hit us hard! We will blog more tomorrow!
Thanks for the prayers!
After leaving XNA at 6:40AM on Saturday, we arrived in Dallas to catch the LONG flight to Shanghai. There were no hiccups and Dr Lin has been very kind, gracious, and helpful during our travel. We had an 8 hour layover in Shanghai so Dr. Lin took us for a nice meal. We left the airport and went to the Shanghai financial district. We had fish, chicken, pork, vegetables, bubble tea and everyone's favorite, dumplings! We made it back to the aiport in plenty of time to catch the next flight to Changsha. We were greeted at the Changsha airport by two very nice people from Dr. Lin's clinic. We will get some rest and head to the clinic at 7:40AM tomorrow. We are all ready to get started!
Continued prayers for widsom and energy as we our work are appreciated.
We finished Saturday morning at the clinic, seeing several children for repeat visits. After that, we had a great wrap up meeting with Dr Lin and the staff. We shared ideas, answered questions, and exchanged gifts. We are very thankful for the opportunity to play a part at Dr Lin's clinic and in the lives of the children we met this week.
Our hearts are also so heavy for the children we met at the orphanage Thursday, but we are also looking forward to the relationships that will come out of our first visit. And even though the needs are tremendous, we know that He is in control, and our hope remains because of that.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao tzu
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58
And just to prove that it wasn't all work, we had a great sight seeing "fun day" in Beijing. All four of us played some Chinese games in the park this morning, with Dr Lin leading the way. The game consisted of throwing a ring to your partner and your partner catching it with their head. Fun was had by all!
Prayer requests:
-We would love prayers for smooth and safe travels home
-for continued work and relationships here in China.
-prayers that our second suitcase would turn up, and we could get all of our additional supplies to send on the next trip. Thank you all!
This morning we saw many children for second and third sessions for the week. This was so nice to have additional time to talk to the parents, demonstrate techniques, talk about treatment plans, and just build more of a relationship with each of them.
After lunch and a rest, we drove across the city to the orphanage. Driving across the city might not sound like far, but trust us when we say in a city of 11 million people, it's a drive. We were warmly greeted and given a quick tour of some rooms. We loved getting a chance to talk to, touch, and interact with the kids in their beds during the tour. We were then taken to their therapy room and the needs started pouring in. We were so fortunate that they trusted us and started handing over kids to work with. We saw several kids and were able to explain the most significant areas to work on and had their staff demonstrate the techniques afterwards.
We know this was just a small beginning to the relationship we will build with this orphanage. Dr. Lin has invited their staff to spend the week training with us at his clinic next time we are here. They have expressed interest in that! They also asked for us to come back multiple days on our next trip to work with their kids and staff.
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. - Psalm 68:5"
ALSO! Our other luggage was found!! We are so thankful and appreciate everyone praying. Prayers to finish strong tomorrow and smooth travel to Beijing and home are appreciated.
Once again, we had a very busy morning. We all went to different places, with Katie using the clinic's new sensory room and Kati and Amy teaming up to see a little boy for his second session at the clinic.
Kati and Amy were able to incorporate movement, functional play, engagement, and communication during his session. He did so much better today, he imitated play, had great eye contact, and imitated a "puh" sound for "pow-pow" aka bubbles! When he imitated the sound mom was so excited that she scooped him up and kissed him immediately. We will even get to have him back for one more session this week. His parents came in very concerned about his development and we are hopeful that we were able to encourage them. He has so much potential and we had so much fun working with this sweet boy.
The little boy Katie worked with in the sensory room was so excited to try out the ball pit! His mom was concerned about his attention, fine motor skills, and sensory processing. Katie emphasized the importance of him learning through movement. He did a great job today with following simple directions during an obstacle course. He was also able to teach Katie some Chinese characters by forming them with toy sticks.
The afternoon consisted of a presentation by Dr. Lin to staff and parents as well as Amy presenting on speech therapy treatment.
We are feeling very thankful for the blessing of knowing these kids and their parents.
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." - Psalm 139:14
P.S. Please pray for our suitcases. One has been located, some where in the world, however the other is missing still. We would love our supplies, gifts and Katie's makeup to show up in time to be used.