Day 7 - Visit to the orphange....

Today, we visited Lize's orphanage which was about a 2 1/2 hour bus (through the mountain side -and fog) ride from our hotel. Although she was living with a foster family, she did spend a limited amount of time at the orphanage. When we arrived, the older kids were calling out her name and running up to her. It was easy to see Lize recognized the children as well but wanted to be close to her mommy.

As requested, we will not post any specific pictures of her orphanage . I am posting some pictures from the hotel lobby as we were waiting to get on our bus and then some pictures of the country side there, local streets, a photo of Lize's daytime foster caregiver, and one of the most famous locations in recent Chinese history - the birthplace of the People Republic of China:

As we visited Lize's orphanage as well as the other girls', you were able to see the accommodations provided for the children. With that being said, the caregivers are doing the best with what tools they have available. Although Lize didn't seem to mind being with the kids, it was very apparent that she was also happy to be leaving. I believe this visit helped her to realize that we weren't going anywhere and that we are in fact her mommy and daddy.

I can't help to think about something I heard some time ago, " Our past is a part of who we are but does not dictate what we will become". This is so true of Lize and the other children who were adopted. It's amazing how God works to bring things together that we can only imagine.