Maria's Big House of Hope Part 2/2.

... Maria's Big House of Hope continued.

An Average Day at Maria’s.

Maria’s Big House of Hope is a beautiful place filled with beautiful children. God is certainly at work in that house, and that is very evident from the moment you walk in.

Our average day at Maria’s included waking up sometime between 4-7:30 a.m. local time (depending on how our bodies were adjusting to jet lag), getting ready for the day, eating breakfast, and having team devotionals at 8 a.m. in the staff kitchen. After that we’d have playtime with the kiddos, help with projects around MBHOH, work in the preschool, or whatever until it was time for lunch.

Lunch was at noon everyday and it was prepared by the cooks at Maria’s. The food was always delicious. I felt like royalty having such yummy food at every meal. After eating lunch and cleaning-up, when the kiddos would be having some rest time, we’d have our team lessons. These would be lead by the two summer interns, Sarah and Emma, and/or Mr. Renich (who is one of the full-time staff members, along with his wife and two sons. They all do so much at Maria’s, as long as it doesn’t involve the medical side of things). One side-note: Mr. Renich is pretty much in the top 15 of my “Favorite People of All-Time” list. He’s an amazing person with an awesome story. I had many conversations with him and I always valued hearing his wisdom and feedback about whatever topic we were discussing.

Okay, I’ll try to stay on task now… After our team lesson time, we’d have a few more hours to play with the kiddos until supper at 6:30 p.m. Our dinners were as tasty as our lunches, and everyone was always ready to eat come suppertime! Following dinner, we would clean up the dishes and have team debrief and worship. Then it would be free time/bed-time!

Changing the status-quo.

Now seems like a good time to talk about the variations in this daily schedule during the week.

On Sunday, we arrived at Maria’s Big House of Hope in the middle of the afternoon, and after getting settled, we had about 1 hour to spend with the kids before it was dinner, debrief, and then bed-time.

We stayed at MBHOH all day on Monday to help us get adjusted to what it was like and continue working towards overcoming jet lag. Our work project for Monday was applying a fresh coat of stain to the table, chairs, and jungle gym on the roof which was very fun!

Tuesday was the day that we went to the Old City in Luoyang to shop for a bit in the late morning, and then we went out for lunch to the Duck Restaurant. This was the time and place where I ate one of the craziest things I’ve ever eaten in my life. But, of course, I will by no means share what that was online. I only tell that story in person. I even made my own mama wait until I saw her in person!

Wednesday was pool day! There were a bunch of kiddie pools, buckets, toys, water guns, sunscreen, swim diapers, adorable kiddos, and of course, water! We all had so much fun splashing around and getting some fresh air. The little champ I played with did not want anything to do with the water, so we just sat and snuggled. I was more than alright with that plan. J Whenever I’d bring him near the pools, he’d grab on to me with a grip so tight that there was no way I could let him go. It was a special experience to sit there with him… I really treasured those moments and that he was willing to share that time with me. Later that afternoon we went to a grocery store to buy some fun foods and snacks, and then we had Chinese Barbecue for supper. There were some really yummy (and spicy) chicken wings, potatoes, noodles, bread, and edamame beans.

Thursday was our last day at Maria’s before heading back to Beijing, so we stayed there all day again to play with the kiddos. Unfortunately, I had what I believed to be a really bad fever in the middle of the night on Wednesday, so I visited with one of the nurses on Thursday morning about it. I was (and still am) 99% positive that it was just exhaustion-related, not an actual illness. Nevertheless, she suggested that I rest for about an hour and not play with the kids that day. I was so upset at this news since it was our last day there.

There were a handful of projects to be completed on Thursday around Maria’s, one of which was helping make the pictures of feet, hand, and wheelchair prints for the diaper donation drive ( http://showhope.org/restore-hope/care-centers/diapers-for-orphans/ ). I really enjoyed watching the kiddos have a blast making the pictures. :)

That afternoon we split up into pairs and went on a prayer walk through Maria’s. My friend, Kenzie, and I stood on the roof in prayer for quite some time. There is a particularly amazing story about the land that Maria’s is on and prayer, but I’m just going to let you ask me that yourself. ;)

After the prayer walk, we had a birthday party for any of the kids who had June birthdays! It was a fun time with the staff and kiddos. Around 5 p.m. I decided to go back to the nurse to see if there was any way that I could go spend the last hour with them. She agreed, so I went to one of the rooms that I had never been to before. This room was my very favorite. I was so bummed that I had only found this room in the last hour that I could play with them. This, however, forced me to be all-present, and to really make the most of my time with them since I was not likely to be able to come back and play with them anymore. It was so hard to leave them that evening, but I did not have a choice. But even more than being upset that I had to leave them, though, was the overjoyed feeling I had that I at least got to have that hour with them. Some was definitely better than none in that instance.

On Thursday evening we had a cookout on the roof with all of the long-term staff there with us. We ate traditional American food: grilled chicken, potatoes, watermelon, Pringles chips, chocolate chip cookies, and grilled veggies… yum. Afterwards we had one fabulous evening of playing tag on the jungle-gym, jumping on the trampoline, racing down slides, admiring the stars, staring out as far as the eye can see at the skyline of Luoyang, singing some worship songs, and having one of our last team devotionals.

Overall, we were all just completely, wholeheartedly, and entirely present. Perhaps because we truly began to realize that our time together was swiftly coming to a close, and we all would have done anything to make time freeze for a while. I think that that is just what time did for those few hours on the rooftop, though. It froze. For those few hours, we were Real. Genuine. Open. Honest. Alive. I will forever remember lying on the trampoline with Kenzie (more about that fantastic human being later) looking up at the stars and feeling more present and content with life and where I was than ever before. “Just Be” is what I kept telling myself. Just Be Real. Just Be Totally and Completely Alive and Present. Don’t think about the other stuff in life that you can do nothing about right now… Just Be Here… mind, body, and spirit. The simple joys in life was what I found meaning in, and what I continue to hold on to when I think about this trip: running, squealing, swinging, holding, crying, jumping, breathing, swimming, laughing, living, splashing, loving, being. It’s the simple and real things in life that mattered the most.

Friday morning was the day that we all dreaded coming: leaving Maria’s Big House of Hope. We took some pictures, gave lots of hugs, shed a few tears, said our goodbyes to the long-term staff and kiddos, and then got in a van to go to the train station. …

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Well, this has been one massive (two-part) blog post. Congratulations to you since you made it to the end! Excited to continue sharing this journey with you.

Your Sister in Christ,

Audrey