Mourning into dancing?

Where to start? After our post yesterday we went out to grab some lunch, check out the local market, and get our $6 massages at the hotel. I think that nearly everyone in our group got a massage and we all had very interesting stories to tell afterwards. But, I will say that it felt SO good! We crashed around 6:00pm last night and slept well until 1:00am and it was off and on until our 4:30am wake-up call. We left for Ninh Thuan at 6:00 this morning and drove 7 hours to the city where Sarah lives. We checked in to our ridiculously nice suite at the ridiculously nice beach resort. An hour later we were back on the bus to go the orphanage.

I’m not sure we know how to articulate our first impressions of driving down the road leading up to the facility. Many children of all ages began to come out to see the strange looking people on the big bus. It was probably the first time they have seen something like that. Sarah was brought to us—and that is when the realization hit—she isn’t all the excited to see us! The majority of our visit was spent trying to console and appease an upset child. She cried, and cried and cried some more. Michael faired a little better by singing to her. She seems to love her “nannies,” one in particular to whom she is very bonded. We are actually very thankful to see this; it means that after grieving her losses, she should be able to transfer the bond to us. The breakthrough moment came 15 minutes before we had to leave. She was being held by her caretaker and she reached out to touch my face. After that, I was able to hold her for 10 minutes without tears and she even gave us a few smiles and giggles! We’ll see how it goes tomorrow…..

The children are so beautiful – and plentiful! It is a bare-bones facility, but the children are loved. Sarah’s crib is completely wooden with no padding or blanket. The back of her head is a little flat from sleeping on wood planks, but we are told this is common VN practice.

We finished off our day by taking a swim in the South China Sea and eating a good meal. We are off to bed. We will return to the orphanage at 7:30am tomorrow and our G & R ceremony is around 9:00. We take her “home” afterwards.

I almost forgot…..they don’t diaper the babies here, so I received a lovely urine shower on my shirt, down my pants and into my shoes! Tomorrow she’ll be wearing a diaper for sure!

“Hast thou not seen how thy desires have been granted in what He ordaineth?”(from the hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty)