Ni Hao! (Hello!) – We said this a lot in China! We are back and wanted to take a minute and share our experience with you. Because without you, this trip would not be possible. So first, THANK YOU so much for your generosity, prayers and support. We are so blessed to have the Bruce Gilley Foundation make these trips possible.
The best way to actually describe this trip was “productive.” That may not sound very spiritual, but when we share why, you’ll understand. We were very blessed to help in an orphanage with about 300 orphans. The directors of this facility were very professional, loving and very excited to cooperate with our team.
Finding a “Forever Family”
Our goal was not to just love on babies… which we did with the love of Jesus, our goal was to advocate for these orphans, so they could soon have a “forever family.” There are many families in the United States who want to adopt, but don’t have enough information to help make the best decisions or there isn’t even a file yet on the orphan. So our interaction with these children (ages ranging from birth to teens) was to also evaluate and build each qualified orphan a personal file to help increase their chance of adoption.
Because of God’s amazing favor, our team was given more access to the facility. This was a first for any visiting team. We evaluated medically, emotionally, physically, socially and mentally, so families can fell like they know more about the child God is leading them to. And these children are precious in so many ways. They are loved and cared or so well by the nannies, therefore they know how to give and receive love so well.
“Smuggle Babies”
What we also discovered is not every child qualifies for adoption. We saw many children without special needs who cannot have a file for adoption. They are referred to as “smuggle babies.” There has become a real problem in China with babies being kidnapped. They are stolen from hospitals and from families for the purposes of black market selling or sadly for using the child for street begging for profit. It’s just unthinkable. Similar to a drug bust, Chinese police rescue babies often, but have no idea where they were taken from. So the child ends up in an orphanage. Because there is a chance of parents coming forth, the government will not allow these children to be adopted. We had to emotionally process this one. while it was so sad to think about a child never having a family, but growing up in an orphanage, we had to remember that by the grace of God, He plucked them out of a horrible situation and placed them in a clean, safe and loving environment.
He truly is a God who cares for the orphans.
From holding and loving babies, dancing with special needs children, to even seeing the Great Wall of China, we experienced God’s mercy, grace and powerful love He has for all of us. The Chinese people are so sweet and just need the love of Jesus. These trips are very hard emotionally and physically, yet they are certainly a reminder of how blessed we are to live in this country. Please continue to pray for these orphans… they are so precious in every way. Serving them was an honor and privilege.
May God bless the Bruce Gilley Memorial Foundation and all who support them.
Thank you again so much!
– Mary Lee, Grace and Alena
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