Good Morning

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. Psalm 5:3


Hearing the voice of the one that you love first thing in the morning is such a sweet sound. I imagine that is how our voices sound to Him every day. What a gift we have to be able to have a G*d that loves us enough that He wants to talk to us.

I hear Him everyday too! I start my morning off by hearing Him in the children here at Shepherd's Field Children's Village. What a gift! My apartment is directly across from Samaritan's House and first thing in the morning, one ayi (nanny) loves to take her children with her as she gets food from the kitchen or brings the trash out. As a speech therapist, you know any one who is really helping children's language to grow by how they talk to the children and how the children imitate them. This is what I hear every morning with this nanny. When the puppies were outside, I would here her say "xiao gou" (meaning small dog) and Zephaniah, Emily, and Margaret would be repeating it right back. It brings a smile to may face, even though it is happening at 5:30 in the MORNING right outside my window while I am trying to bury myself deeper under my covers. Any of you who know me well know I love my sleep and mornings are challenging to me! G*d has a funny sense of humor as He does these things! I just wanted to share with you what I woke up to this morning outside my window.

Zephaniah (tricycle) and Luke (red car)

Adrian (blue and white car), Mei Mei (Tiffany),
Tristan (in orange) and Ginger on the potty

Who says potty training has to occur inside? :) Have potty, will travel!

One of my latest tasks I have chosen to do first thing in the morning is to take care of an abandoned kitten. This one was abandoned last Sunday and it was not ready to be without a mother. I have been feeding it formula with an eye dropper.

For a few days, it started to take in more and more food and was doing well. Over the past two days it has started to deteriorate...probably the reason the mother abandoned it. I don't expect it will make it through the day as its breathing is slow and labored. Many have asked "Why do you feed it? Why don't you just let nature take it's course?" This is the reason why.

This is Ling Ling. She is 16 and comes over daily to check on the puppies and the kittens. She helps me feed them and she in turn gets some unconditional love right back. Isn't that why many of us have pets?

Ling Ling and Obi Wan

I made a rules for the boys. We don't name any of the "orphaned" pets anymore. This means they are ours. Our daily pr*yer when we get new "orphans" is that the puppies and kittens get homes. He answered the one for the puppies. The kittens may be going to an pet shop in Shunyi later next week as I will be heading home for the summer soon. Until then, Ling Ling will help me by giving them love, food and some attention.

Ling Ling and I

I am so thankful for my time with Ling Ling. She is precious. The older girls here have a hard time with her as she is a little sister mentally yet in a teenager's body. I love that about her. She just loves life to the fullest! She finds joy in the little things, such as riding tricycles that don't fit her, riding bikes with a broken seat and figuring out a way to do it because it is her favorite one or coming over to check on the liang ge xiao gou (2 puppies)and wu ge xiao mao (5 kittens) as soon as school is done for the day. Her smile always brightens my day. May you too come to love the Ling Lings in your own life.

Boys and their bikes

This is the day the L*RD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

I wish I carried my camera around with me in my pocket. You would think by now I would remember to do that in the morning. Yesterday was a wonderful day. I wish you could have watched it. It started in the morning. Right next to building I am in is a cement driveway. It is perfect for riding bikes and trikes and anything with wheels! Now that it is paved, the nannies love to bring the children over to this side in the morning. They get the shade from the fence and the children can play. Unfortunately, all the bikes had been taken back to the houses so Zack and I made it our mission to get them all and bring them back for the children. As we pulled cars and bikes and trikes and motorcycles across the lawn, the boys immediately got up and came running to us. It was so cute to see. No matter what country you are in...boys love their bikes! Give them something that moves and they are happy! The more we brought over, the more children got up to play with them. It was such a joy to watch them playing with all the stuff. It was even more fun when I looked out in the afternoon and one of the nannies was on the tricycle peddling with the children! They too want to have fun!

The fun didn't stop when the little ones went to bed either. Later in the evening, I could hear Ling Ling outside my windows. Ling Ling is 16 years old and developmentally delayed. She has the most precious heart! Many have fallen in love with her. She adores Stacy, our oldest girl her at Shepherd's Field and many nights she can be found walking the grounds and chattering at Stacy. Last week, she was following Stacy on a bike...a two-wheel bike with training wheels made for a 4 year old! It was precious. I just found myself smiling (and laughing) as she rode by. I'm not sure whose smile was bigger, hers or mine! Last night, she decided to try the tricycle. Ling Ling has waist length hair and it kept getting in her way. I think in the 9 months I have been here, this is the first time I saw it down. It is almost always braided. She would peddle along and then stop and flip her hair out of her way. She kept doing this, flipping her hair from one side to the other. I think my favorite was the Little Tykes black truck. You know the traditional orange bottom car with the yellow roof that the kids get in and use their feet to move like a Flintstones car? Well, we have the same one but also trucks that have the part in back like a pickup truck would. Ling Ling couldn't climb in it so she got in the back and pushed it backwards. She was so much fun to watch. I tried taking pictures but she caught me and started telling Stacy what I was doing so they both stopped. (I should say I THINK she was telling Stacy that since I still don't understand lots in Chinese unless I know the context!) I just wanted to share the joys I had yesterday. For those of you who have met some of these children, I hope you can picture all of this in your own head. Maybe soon I will get some pictures of this and post them for you. Until then, use your imagination. Better yet, start planning a trip to come and visit us here! I like that idea best!