Arrived in Beijing

Hello Everyone;
We finally arrived in Beijing after 22+ hours of traveling. Upon arriving in Beijing, we were met by our driver from the Philip Hayden Foundation. We have been here for two days and are so glad we decided to make this stop a part of our trip. What an amazing place this is. We have all been moved by the love and compassion this place shows. Yesterday we spent all day playing with all the children. We first visited the critically ill children, most of them have severe heart conditions or other major problems. The Nanny's take such good care of them. We were able to hold the dear babies and comfort them. We were all very moved by this experience. Leah, our guide, then took us to the other homes on the campus. Each home has about 6 nannies each that work 12 hour shifts. The children in these other homes range in ages. One home may be 12-24 months. the next 2-3 year old, then the next house would have older children. It was so much fun playing with the children. When we went into one of the homes, two little boys about 2 years old each, walked right up to Walt and Andrew and wanted to be held. We held them, talked to them, and they adopted us as their buddies for the day! They didn't want us to put them down. When we did, they came right back over and sat in our laps for the entire time. Maylee especially enjoyed playing with a precious little girl with a brain tumor. The little girl taught her a Chinese song hand clapping game. Jacquelyn adored holding all of the sweet babies. Donna's heart was touched by a little boy, Jamison, who was severely burned from an accident, that also resulted in him becoming blind. He was very patient teaching Donna how to count in chinese. He was an excellent thumb wrestler. We as a family are forever changed by this experience with these children. Each personality was so unique and their zeal for life is absolutely inspiring. This afternoon we will travel back to Beijing to meet up with our adoption group. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.