A few weeks back our team was able to go visit and help out - if "help out" means playing with the kids - at an Orphanage just outside the main part of Nanchang city. It was truly a blessing to have such an opportunity to go visit those young kids, and I think they gave us a much greater gift and blessing than we could have ever given them. It is amazing how such experiences can open up and shape you despite your ignorance and/or blindness to such places. It is almost like our Father knows just when to spring surprises of this nature on us and bless us with such compassion and love that we might not otherwise know.The Orphanage that we visited was set up - in what seemed a unique fashion to me - so that all the kids lived with a "mother" who was in charge of watching and/or caring 8 young kids each. In this manner, each kid was given a rather stable environment to grow up in, instead of just being put all together without any family structure at all. By all means, I must admit that I am rather ignorant to the way that orphanages are run. Perhaps, this method of placing children without parents would be similar to the way that Foster Parents act in the States.
Nonetheless, we arrived around 2:30 in the afternoon and were welcomed by 30 or so young children ranging from 5 to 14 years of age. At first, both the groups - kids and us - weren't exactly sure how to interact. On a good note though, our girls had been bright in thinking ahead and had prepared sugar cookies for the kids to put frosting on as well as sprinkles. This activity, while approached tentatively by the kids at first, soon took hold of their attention as well as their eyes and allowed us to interact freely with them.
The younger ones were perhaps most trusting and curious in figuring out what these strange foreigners had brought that looked like food. With some help from the director in encouraging the kids to come over to our tables of cookie-making-operations, the kids lined up rather methodically and with discipline that it would have seemed somewhat peculiar to the Western eye. Bundled-up in Chinese like fashion they hovered quietly around us waiting for instructions. We awkwardly begin to demonstrate how to spread the frosting over the sugar cookies and fumbled intermittently between English and our poor Chinese to engage the kids so that they might make their own cookies.
At first, I have to admit, it seemed like we were making their cookies more so than they were. However, after the first two groups kids had gone through the process, the rest started to get the idea and begin to experiment and/or direct their peers and younger sibling in how to put frosting on as well as how to use the sprinkles. In addition, by the time that seconds were offered most of the kids fears and inhibitions about being around the foreigners had faded. In true American like fashion the girls had over-prepared and had made 80 some cookies - so there was more than enough for the kids to have seconds. On the other hand, perhaps it was eating the cookies that heightened their conversational skills and willingness to interact with us. Furthermore, there is something about watching children's eyes light up that seemingly breaks down ones' guard and attempts to be reserved when interacting with these little kids.
An hour into visiting with the kids we were starting to make friends and finding little kids attached to our arms and legs. We decided that we should play some games with them and "Duck, Duck, Goose" was suggested. So after making a short attempt of it inside, we headed outside and found it to be a great success with the children. More specifically, the game drew-out the younger and older boys who were incredibly reluctant to interact with us, let alone speak. Within in half-an-hour we had most of the young boys and some young girls laughing and playing it, even if they created some unique and distinct cultural adaptations to the game.Many of them so greatly desired to be picked that you would constantly hear "Gei Wo (给我)" or "Give Me", which I guess roughly translates into "Pick Me". Anytime someone was picked it usually just ended in the kids laughing and rolling on the ground as it also usually ended in unfair match-ups. At which point, the whole group was good in making sure that the level of playing field was evened out - this took form in older kids being joined by youngers in ensuring that the person was either stopped from catching the other too fast and/or getting away and having no chance of catching them.
We played with the kids for a total of about 3 hours, which was such a blessing. We were loved on more than I could possibly share with words, unless you had some time to sit down and talk about it. The kids latched on to us like we had known them for years and rested their little heads on our shoulders. It was perhaps one of the most endearing things that I have experienced since coming to China. I hope that we will have an opportunity to go back and visit those little urchins and entreat them to another game of "Duck, Duck, Goose".
