Day 10 - It Got Really Real Today

Maria's View-
This morning at the orphanage we saw and experienced a lot.  Some good, some bad.

To begin with, we took our little sweetie outside to play.  We had to compete for a place this morning since the weather is so beautiful and warm.  I don't mind sharing, though, because the little swing that we usually use for "Finn" was being used by another precious little boy with Down syndrome.  He was being sung to by someone who I assumed must be his babushka but I was wrong!  It was a nanny!  Another nanny brought another special needs child out to sit in a walker beside the swing set and they spent a good 1 1/2 hours outside.  God bless this woman for being so kind to these 2 boys.

We moved to the next area over for a swing that I could put him in and all of a sudden we were surrounded by 2 groupas of toddlers!  They were absolutely precious.  One little girl kept coming over to hug us.  She would hug my legs and then hug Chris' legs.  We reached down to rub her back and say hello.  She would look up at us and smile as big as she could.  The 2nd time she did this, I tried desperately to get my camera out in time but I was too late.  I felt comfortable being mixed in with these children because the nannies brought them to our area so I didn't feel like we were intruding.  So I think I will start "accidentally" going to this area every morning in hopes to be surrounded by these little ones again! 

Our little one enjoyed every moment of being outside today.  We pushed him in the swing for a good long while and then we decided to just walk him around the outside of the orphanage.  He relaxed himself in to his Papa and we just enjoyed the light breeze and sunshine.  As we were walking around the building, I noticed a car parked right outside the front entrance of the orphanage.  The next lap, I noticed a nanny sitting in the back seat with a special needs child probably 4-5 years of age.  I believe he could have Cerebral Palsy just by a quick glance.  We made another lap.  This time, beside the nanny sat another nanny holding another special needs child.  I believe we witnessed a transfer to the mental institution from what I gathered from the situation and that crushes my heart.  The 1st little boy in the car was obviously very worried because he was crying as he sat facing his nanny.  The nanny was trying to comfort him the best that she could.  Unfortunately, this is reality.  I pray that these children were not being transferred but it happens here.  When they age out, they are transferred, no matter how great the orphanage is, it happens.  So very, very sad. We made another lap and as I made the corner, a little groupa was passing by us and a little girl reached out and grabbed my hand.  I held it until our directions caused us to let go.  What a sweetie.

Our evening visit went very well.  We have now stretched our 20 min allowance of outside time into our entire visit of 1 1/2 hours.  I think they are pleased that we want to stay outside with him since it's so pretty outside.  Our little dude is so pleasant and peaceful.  He just seems so content and he is smiling more and more with those serene, natural smiles.  Those smiles make me think that he's saying inside that cute little head of his, "yeah, this is nice."  I hope that one day you can meet him and you'll understand what I mean!

He is loving his stuffed giraffe more and more.  He held it for almost the entire time we were outside.  We have lovingly nicknamed it "giraffe meat".  I think we will leave giraffe meat behind on the 10 day waiting period so that maybe he will think of us.

As we were making our laps around the orphanage toward the end of our visit, a little girl kept going crazy when we would pass by!  She would yell out his name almost with panic!  It was like she was worried about him.  It was so cute!  And I love how she knows his name and they aren't even in the same groupa!  Maybe they were at one time or another.

But anyway, like I said, today was good and bad.  It is awesome seeing our little boy happy but so sad to see those little ones transferred to where a child should never have to go.  Please pray for them...

I learned today that a baby house very close to ours is shutting down for good and a 15 month old adorable boy listed on Reece's Rainbow is headed for the mental institution.  Please pray for him as well! 

Sorry that there is such sad news today but I don't want to sugar coat this experience.  These children are in need and it's pretty hard to sugar coat that.

Until tomorrow!  Paka Paka!


Chris's View:

We had the chance to see some of the local animal population up close & personal!  For those of you who have been following along, you may remember Maria writing about one of the little girls surprising her nanny with a handful of beetle... yes, singular beetle!  We usually get to the orphanage 5-10 minutes early, so we go to a bench that sits under a small pine type tree and talk about our little dude.  This morning though, all attention was on one of these massive beetles rooting around in the dirt and grass.  The only problem is that there are tons of ants that roam the grounds of the orphanage too.  The ants would run up grass blades and get on top of the beetle and try to bite it, thinking it would make a stupendous meal for the queen of the colony.  We have seen several that were being pulled apart by the ants on the pavement around the place, but thought that those were probably the beetles that somehow got flipped over on to their backs.  Once they get in this position, it seems like they are similar to turtles and either cannot, or it is at least difficult, to flip back over.  So, Maria, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, stomped the ants to keep them away from the beetle we were watching... I was all in to the National Geographic aspect of the situation and watching the circle of life happen!

Anyway, I guess the beetles figured they'd exact their revenge.  Since our normal area with the swing was occupied this morning, we roamed to another swing near where we normally play.  We decided against putting our dude in this one, since it looked like some sort of "droppings" were occupying the seat of the swing!  Just then, I felt something fly by me, then something hit my neck!  As I wiped my neck, there was a small wet spot... I looked at my hand and it was brownish-yellow!  Oh no!  I got "dropped" on!  I did not see any birds, so I am assuming it was a beetle!  Grrr!  Off to the bathroom to wash my hand & neck!  Guess I should have tried to help the beetle after all.

When I got back, Maria was at the swing where we hung out for the majority of the morning.  One of the little girls walked up & hugged Maria's legs, then turned to me, with an outstretched hand and eyes wide.  I look, and there was another beetle!  LOL!  These things are everywhere.  I guess the kids use them as pets & toys, as several of the boys were playing with them, not really afraid of them or anything, just picking them up, walking to another boy, and handing him off.  Another boy picked one up in a cup, then buried it in the sand, then used the cup to scoop it up out of the sand.  He seemed to wait until just before it dug its way back to the surface of the sand in the cup, then he'd dump it again and the beetle would be buried again.  I guess when you are in this type of environment, you make use of everything around you to help entertain yourself and the others.

Speaking of entertainment, there was a puppeteer out today, giving each of the groupas little shows.  The kids seemed really into it, and I am glad that people take time out to spend with these kids, who are unwanted by the society they were born into.  I am impressed with some of the nannies here.  They really seem to play with the children... at least most of the ones we have seen do.

One of the other things we have been curious about is the trees here on the orphanage property.  They are currently being redone.  Yes, these trees are being painted white on the trunks, from the ground to maybe 4 feet up.  All of them seem to be painted about the same height, except for the new trees that are still really small, but even those are painted.  Does anyone know why tree trnks get painted like this?

See ya'll tomorrow!