Sanity with Steve

Reflections of China

 We just returned from our trip to China to visit the homeland of our daughter.  We were a group of 22 parents and children who enjoyed the sights of China and visited in orphanages and returned to the cities of our daughter’s birth.  Our daughters wowed us all with the maturity and excellence of expressing God’s love to all.  Listen to one of the girls of our group - 16 year old Maelyn as she reflects on her time in the orphanage.  It will speak to us all.  Steve.

 Hey!

I just got back from journalism camp for our school today. It was lots of fun! This great speaker, Bobby Hawthorne, was absolutely hilarious and a wonderful writer/teacher/mentor. He challenged us to write a column, so I wrote one about none other than the beloved Kennedy. He read it and said it was the BEST article he had read from a student at one of the workshops, so I thought I should share it with yall. Enjoy.

 
     Kennedy sings. A lot. His favorite song is "I'm a Little Teapot." Each time we sing it, his tiny 4-year-old eyes light up and his mouth forms a perfect "O" as he belts the tune like it's the last time he ever will.

     It seems like Kennedy has very little reason to sing. He lives in an orphanage just outside of Beijing, sharing his home with 74 other children. He has hydrocephalus, also known as "water on the brain." This causes his head to be larger than normal, a real life bobble head. He can't walk. He is bound to a wheelchair because his little legs are too weak to carry him.

     I spent three days with Kennedy and his friends. In those three days, I never heard Kennedy complain. Not once. I whine like a toddler at least five times in one day alone.

     "I have nothing to wear."

     "I can't believe the amount of homework I have."

     "My parents are so mean!"

     "It's TOO hot!"

     "There's nothing to eat in this house."

     And the list goes on. And on. And on.

     Kennedy wants a family, I'm sure. He longs for parents who can cuddle with him during a terrifying thunderstorm. He probably wants his own room, books and toys too, something that only belongs to him. And I bet Kennedy would love to run around on sturdy legs, chase butterflies, and never have another seizure again.

     The problem is, I don't have problems. The problem is, I think I have problems. But the more I think about Kennedy and the other giggly, mischievous kids at the orphanage, the less I think about my "problems."

I hope you guys really liked it, I know I did. Feel free to show your parents or whoever, I think we're going to put it in Wildcat Tales (our school paper) on the opinion page. Love you guys, have a great rest of the week!

-Maelyn

GREAT WISDOM FROM THE SPIRIT OF A WISE YOUNG MIND.

Blessings  www.chinaorphans.org

Steve Heitkamp