Faces I Love and More About China

This is my lovely niece along with little Miss Muffet. We just returned from a glorious trip to see my dad and two of my closest friends. It was wonderful and the first time I've been able to catch my breath in weeks. We had so much fun.
Now back to the daunting task of preparing to leave for a year. I cannot believe how much there is to do!
At the time I went to China to meet Abbey, in November 2006, my friends had just opened a school in Sh*nzhen. It's a fabulous cutting edge program for Chinese parents who want their children to learn English. There is a preschool program that runs all day, an after school program for older kids, and weekend classes on Saturday and Sunday. They also run intensive English camps during summer and Chinese New Year breaks. I will be teaching in and overseeing the preschool program. The children rotate through classes like Kindermusic, Zoophonics, and Gymboree in the morning and then have lunch, naps, Chinese, and Math in the the afternoon. So Abbey's instruction in the a.m. will be in English and in the p.m. in Chinese. All her peers will be Chinese speaking but in the process of learning English. I think this will be a great mix for her. We will be living in the same beautiful complex that houses the school. This cuts out the 1 and 1/2 hr commute we currently have each day between daycare and work. Another beautiful aspect of our venture is that part of the proceeds from the school have been used to establish a foundation to help orphans. Two schools have been started inside the two orphanages in the area. These children would not otherwise be able to attend school. In addition to the schools the foundation has also been able to set up surgeries and medical help for children within the orphanages, bring gifts, take groups to HK Disneyland, paint and decorate, etc. I want to be discreet but hope you can understand that this is truly a multi-faceted work that we have the privilege of joining. There is much that I will be unable to share in the blog or in email.
When I first began praying about adoption there was such a huge expansion in my heart of a dream that had always been there, a heart for orphans and children in need. I remember asking God what this big opening in my heart meant. Was I to
a) adopt,
b) encourage other families to adopt
c) work with an orphanage
I felt that His answer to me was d) all of the above, and begin with adopting my daughter.
I knew as I was on the journey to Abbey that I was crossing through a portal and my life would never be the same. This was the doorway into a whole new dimension.
So our current move is an unfolding of that calling, and where it will all lead to we do not yet know. Everyone's situation is unique, but for us I have felt that Abbey would benefit from a bi-cultural experience as young as possible and that the friendships and connections she will have in China will be a wonderful foundation for her life.