Last summer, a friend of ours went to China to visit her daughters’ orphanages. During this visit, she was able to visit some foster homes. In one of these foster homes, she was struck by one little two year old girl – “the girl in pink”. She just couldn’t keep her mind off of this little girl who “just radiates intelligence and strength”. She knew that this little girl needed help, as she was sure that she wasn’t able to walk. Her eyes watched intently on everything that was going on.
For three months, she searched for this little girl’s name. A friend who lived in this city, tried to find out who this child was. A successful meeting with the orphanage director yielded the child’s name and an agreement that we could help this child. I will not forget the day we learned her name, Yi, and the fact that she was very smart, but that she had cerebral palsy.
We arranged for her to be sent for intensive PT, so that we might be able to improve her body’s strength. Our hope is that some day she will take a step and have her file submitted for adoption. She is currently learning to sit on her own and she can almost do it. She can also stretch her hands and reach and hold things. She also surprised everyone when she said “E” (hungry) and now she can also say “Ayi” (auntie). We are so excited that she has learned so much, but she still has a ways to go. 
This last week, our friend who searched for this child, celebrated her birthday. She did this in two ways. She raised more money to help this child by asking all of her friends and family to donate in honor of her birthday for this child. And she sent a package to this little girl – a pink doll of her very own. The joy on this child’s face was the very best gift of all.
