A Very Special Little Girl

Today was a really good day. In fact it made the whole week of waiting worth it. We visited Liddia’s orphanage, preschool, foster mother, and her ‘finding place’. Below is a picture of the place her birth mother left her before she was taken to the orphanage. For reasons we can’t completely explain this whole experience provided something we needed. Today provided a starting point, a place where we can now begin a new life together with an increased understanding of who Xin Xiao Yu (Liddia) really is and where she came from.

It was a very special experience to stand in the spot where she was found, see her interacting with her orphanage friends, and hear her teachers and foster mother talk about her life. It provided so much peace to get a glimpse of her history.

It was an amazing and humbling experience to see and try to understand the history of this child. Rachelle and I talked about what she has already seen, understood, accomplished, and overcome in her short 3 years of life. This is a very wonderful, unique, valiant, courageous, and noble little person! She has overcome so much! She is so resilient, and from what we know of her so far, she has learned to be compassionate and sympathetic to the needs of those around her. Time will only tell what other priceless things she has learned during this time which will help her accomplish her life’s mission.

Liddia’s teachers and foster mother painted quite a picture for us of our little girl. They kept saying things like she is the “superstar of the orphanage”, “everyone knows her”, “she has so many friends”.

We were even told that the teachers hoped she would stay until June because that is when they put on a little performance, and they knew that Liddia would be quite a little star. It seems our Liddia has quite a personality!

We have read that superficial charm is a sign of attachment issues. I am sorry to say in our hyper vigilance, instead of enjoying it, we were worried about how charming she is. But we now believe that she has a natural outgoing personality.

One thing that was very obvious throughout our visits today is that these people really love these little orphans. They are doing the very best they can for these little ones. We were very impressed with the love and devotion displayed everywhere we went. They really care, and really want the best for these little people.

This orphanage in Urumqi is exceptional. I think that “Half The Sky Foundation” as a lot to do with the great things we saw. I know Half the Sky isn’t involved in every orphanage, but we feel so fortunate that they were involved in Liddia’s. We think it made a big difference.

As we visited her “finding spot” we had some thoughts about Liddia’s mother. We truly believe that she loved Liddia very much. It must have been very difficult to give her up. We feel she just didn’t have the resources to take care of Liddia’s spina bifida. Her mother must have felt she was giving Liddia a chance at better health care than she could provide.

She also left Liddia in a busy spot near a government building. She of course wanted Liddia to be found quickly and taken to the government agency so she could be cared for. Perhaps it is still difficult for Liddia’s mother, wondering about her little girl. We hope the Lord will comfort her and give her peace that Liddia will be well cared for and loved very much.

We are very grateful we had a glimpse into the history of our little girl. It was wonderful and provided peace and understanding we may not have received without it.