After an hour and a half on a bus, and a small detour, we made it to the last of our major trip destinations.
Shepherd's Field Children's Village, on the outskirts of Beijing.
Wow. What an amazing, beautiful place this was!
In contrast to the other 2 orphanages, SF has its own land and its own compound, on an industrial lot a little ways out of the city.
At Shepherd's Field we were greeted by Clay and Jewel. They moved to China a few years ago after losing their sons in a tragic accident.
They were able to give us a tour of the grounds and some history on the orphanage, as well as the Philip Hayden Foundation.
SF is unlike any other orphanage. It is not state-run, but rather by the staff, a load of volunteers, and donation money.
Social Welfare Institutes from all over China send some of their kids to SF for one of 2 main reasons:
1. It is closer to the city for better medical care.
2. The kids with more disabilities can get better help here.
They split us into groups and let us visit the kids.
The way it is set up, kids are divided into houses, complete with a kitchen and living room and bedrooms. The same set of nannies work with the same kids, creating a more family-like environment, which is SO valuable to the kids. (this helps them transition to home better when they get adopted).
Precious, precious children. I can not get over how beautiful they all were. All made in Christ's image, all happy to see visitors.
I spent some time with this little guy:He has CP, like many of the kids in the homes.
While we couldn't get up and play, we were still able to communicate. Not sure what to do at first, I just sat next to him, said hello, and held his hand.
His face completely lit up. Touch is usually something the kids in these homes are craving, so I spent a while holding his hand, tickling him, and just being there.
It was heartbreaking, and it was beautiful.
Love is a universal language.
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| A view of SF grounds |
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| The kids even have a playground! |
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| SF provides a school for all the kids, ages 4-18. |
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| The kids planted their own garden and take care of it themselves! |
And I know no more than ever that its important to go and speak that to "the least of these"!
For more info on Shepherd's Field:
www.ChinaOrphans.org
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