Praise the Lord that the orphanage visit was a success and the kids enjoyed themselves. Three days is really too short to get to know the children well. Gan Chuandao and her husband oversaw the running of the orphanage, a pity that we didn't have the chance to meet her husband though. I was really touched by Gan Chuandao's sharing about the children, God's love for them, and the faith of her husband and herself in God.
Once, they expended the entire savings in their bank account, and for a month they had zero income. Yet by God's grace, God provided all their needs by having random people send food and necessities to their home. It was then they had a deeper understanding of God giving Israelites manna on a daily basis. On a separate occasion, the kids asked to have cakes for their birthdays as they only have a mass birthday celebration once annually, so Gan Chuandao prayed together with them for one. The following day, God answered their prayers. And this happened more than once. God is good, for "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deut 10:18.
Gan Chuandao also shared with us how she was once angry with God. She just gave birth to her first child and her baby fell ill not long after. They gave her various medications but still didn’t recover. Seeing their daughter getting weaker by the day, she and her husband took her to the hospital but could not afford one night's hospitalization. Feeling helpless, Gan Chuandao carried her daughter back home. As she prayed, she asked God why He allowed this to happen despite having done so much; giving up much to set up the orphanage. At that point, she heard God asking her, if she was still willing to serve Him if He took away her child. After some struggling, her answer was yes. The following morning, her child began to eat again and finally recovered. From then she understood the pain that Abraham endured when placing his son on the altar.
那些孩子真的很单纯，可爱。他们吃饭前祷告的时候，眼睛是紧紧闭上的，双手握在一起。当我看到他们如此认真地祷告，不禁觉得自己对上帝的信心及依靠，跟他们相比之下显得微不足道。看到那一幕，他们对上帝没有一丝犹豫的表情，让我感到十分忏悔。That morning the team had QT together and one verse read "Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." As the day went by and I interacted with the kids, this verse kept replaying in my mind and I asked, "What are the traits that a child possess that Jesus says that His kingdom belongs to them?"
Another verse Jesus said from the second day's QT spoke to me too, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." So in what way must I be like a child to enter God's kingdom? I observed the kids hoping to get an answer. But Paul said that we shouldn't be like children in other ways. Then I remember another time Jesus said to "be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves." Be like little children, which part - self-centered, immature, selfish, impolite, mischievous, or, absolutely helpless and thus completely dependable on their caregiver?
The children at the orphanage are really responsible. They keep their house very tidy and each has an assigned duty which they perform very efficiently, like washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, feeding the toddlers, toilet cleaning etc. And they memorize bible verses too! Even though their family background are not good, I think they are fortunate in other ways in a sense that, they get to know God by reading His word at a young age. This has also reminded me to cherish the Bible more. During bible study with the youths, they were spontaneous and willing to share about themselves without much prompting.
我要向高山举目，我的帮助从和来，我的帮助从造天地的耶和华而来。哈利路亚。It was really nice to hear voices of little children sing this song.
Funny quotes:
You Le: 睡觉像天使，醒来像魔鬼。(He was referring to a toddler who was sleeping)
You Le: 看你左边。(The guys were talking about ghosts before sleeping)
You Le: This sounds so wrong. (When Renjie asked if the kids were to call him Renjie 老师)
You Le: This sounds so wrong. (When I asked Ren Jie if he would miss sleeping beside me)
Jia Feng Chuandao: 眼睛看我。
Song Lian老师: … (When a little boy asked if she wanted to go to his house)
Song Lian老师: 虽然不能去风筝山，但我们还是有爱心。(We were supposed to bring the kids to 风筝山, which was later cancelled. But as we already had everything printed, laoshi blacko away 风筝山 on the timetable and replaced it by drawing a heart)
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