I went to meet "Y" at the main campus and we took the bus to an orphanage. "Y" goes to the 3-self church I've been attending. The orphanage we visited used to be a regular elementary school before the orphanage took over. The orphanage, I learned, used to be situated in the city center, but was moved when it got too crowded. "Y" thinks it's much better where it's at now, since it's cleaner, the air is fresher and there's more room.
The ride took almost an hour and it went through fairly rural territory. There weren't any bus stops in this area...you just told the driver where you wanted to get dropped off. Pickup was the same, just standing on the side of the road and waving for the bus.
The bus dropped us off right in front of the orphanage. "Y" and I were the first, but 3 other people showed up later. Other people from another group (not a fellowship) came to help towards the end. A guard let us in...the gate was kept locked otherwise.
We had 35 kids, about 2/3 of them girls. They were ages 5-7. About 1/3 of them were handicapped in some manner. About 6 of them had to be physically carried, they couldn't walk on their own. They all spoke mainly Cantonese, tho' I was able to converse a bit in Mandarin. We tried to sing a song "Y" made up, using the tune of "Father Abraham", but it didn't work well. The puzzles "Y" brought were a hit, however. They were colored drawings of Bible characters and stories. Later, we taught them another song ("We Are One In The Bond Of Love"). "Y" was careful not to sing songs that were overtly religious, as the orphanage does not allow this. The orphanage was overall fairly well-kept. The kids sleep in wooden beds, situated side by side, about 30 to a room. As we were leaving, we passed out toy fans and granola bars. I brought some candy and chips for the teachers (all female, it appears). At the end of our time there, the kids all gathered to eat lunch. It was pretty calm and quiet during lunch. The kids were quite well-mannered. The teacher would talk with the kids, asking them questions about lunch. The kids would respond back in unison. We weren't allowed to take pictures, which was understandable. The other group helping cleaned up the equipment, washed windows, and straightened out rooms while the kids ate.
Next stop was an elderly assisted-living facility. Once there, several elderly women came out to meet us. They were quite kind and friendly. Like the orphanage children, they all spoke mainly Cantonese. This is a Christian facility, started by the Shamian Christ Church. It is named after the physician (and apostle) Luke. Most of its residents are in the family. The facility was quite clean and modern. We met one man who was 104 years old. One wheelchair-bound woman could sing some songs in English. I chatted with a couple of the women, with help from one of the members of our group. One woman kept asking me questions, some off-the-wall. It was kind of cute. They also asked whether I followed Christ, which I answered affirmatively, an answer they appreciated hearing.
We later visited a seminary library on the same campus. It had very old books, most written in either Chinese or English. There were shelves of commentaries and Biblical encyclopedias. We also visited the Dongpin church and took some pictures there. The Luke Elderly Facility, Dongping church, seminary, and dorm are all located next to each other. They are considered part of the same campus. They've been there since 2002.
During our entire time out (which was several hours longer than I expected), I kept in touch with L. to let her know what we were doing. She had been enduring an entire day without power, which had gone out at 9:30 am and didn’t come back on until past 6 pm! Poor sweetie! So much for grading those finals!
