New Gong Lu Pictures!


What a difference the surgery has made in for Gong Lu! She is still healing, but we just love to see the wonderful changes taking place!

Back to the Doctor

Her swelling has greatly reduced but it will take weeks maybe even months to completely go down. Her skin is still bruised and that will take awhile to return to normal color as well. Dr. Buckmiller thinks one more cosmetic surgery and some laser is all that will be needed. The hope is to either bring her back to Children’s (our hope) or for Dr. Buckmiller to treat her when she is over there in October. Gong Lu got her drain out and soldiered through it without a whimper.

This morning she sat on my lap and we looked at the blog on the computer. As we went through the pictures—you could see she was so interested in her old face and the change. As we looked at each picture—before and after—I taught her to say “beautiful girl, beautiful girl”. After awhile every time her picture came up, she’d say beautiful girl. It was a lovely sound as she truly is beautiful from the inside out.



Lisa

Weekend after Surgery


Gong Lu is even perkier today than yesterday. She would so much like to smile but the bandages and swelling get in the way. The swelling is going down more and more each day.


After dinner, Gong Lu opened presents that have been sent by so many caring families. She shared her toys with everyone giving each of us a gift. We all thanked her so much. Later I gathered up her new toys, clothes, dolls and other presents and I slipped the toys of hers that she shared back in with her things. At bedtime, we took everything down to the room she shares with Ms. Xu. A little while later, I went by the room and she and Ms. Xu were sitting happily on the floor playing with all the toys.

On Sunday afternoon, Gong Lu went to an Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the Chinese community. Gong Lu soon got the hang of finding eggs and the treats inside. Everyone was so impressed with her new look even with the stitches and the drain tube.

Gong Lu is Discharged!

Yesterday morning, there was no oversleeping. After the morning before, I woke up at 4 am J. Ms. Xu had asked me to be at the hospital at 7 am. Gong Lu, after sleeping much of the surgery day, had woke up at 1am and 4 am and was “chatty”. I was happy to see she was feeling better.


She had master ed the smiley face pain chart, but was really feeling good. I was amazed at how little pain she was in. In order for her to be discharged, we had to push to fluids. She ate a nice breakfast and was such a good girl. Her face was quite puffy and she had one eye swollen shut when she awoke. After a while of being awake and sitting more upright, the swelling started to go down and she was able to open her eye. All of this was totally normal for the type of surgery she had just been through. She was discharged late morning with an Ark ansas Children’s Hospital t-shirt and a wagon ride to the front door.



Before we left the hospital, I was able to run upstairs and visit with the doctors and medical staff. After spending a week with all of these people in China in September, they seem like old friends. It was so much fun spending time with them again - they are all so kind and caring. I will miss them all!!



What can I say, she is truly beautiful. She was adorable with her old nose. In fact I didn’t even notice her old nose; you see beyond that immediately after spending time with her. I look at the old pictures and even with the swelling there is a remarkable difference in this little girl. But the bigger question is what does she think? If the amount of time that she has spent looking in the mirror is any indication – she is mesmerized by her appearance. We all keep telling her she has a beautiful nose and she keeps staring and staring at herself.



I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon and evening playing and holding her at the foster family’s house. She just wanted to sit and be held. The active, bubbly little girl was gone today - understandably. I loved being able to cuddle with her. She was so cute as we were looking at books, we came across one of the toddler books with a mirror – she kept turning back to that page to just gaze at her face.



While sitting around, I had fun trying to communicating with Ms. Xu. I have a very limited Chinese vocabulary as she does with English. But we both started trying to teach each other our languages – what fun!! She is such a sweet lady and is so good with Gong Lu. It was actually amazing that we were able to understand each other. I really enjoyed my day with them!



There have been some wonderful cards and packages that have arrived for Gong Lu. Yesterday, she received some beautiful cards. Gong Lu loved looking at every one of them. In addition, she received an adora ble pair of Strawberry Shortcake light-up tennis shoes. She loved them and wouldn’t let them out of her sight. Those shoes were right next to her bed as she went to sleep.



I had the pleasure of helping to get Gong Lu ready for bed, getting her comfortable, and then tucking her in. She was very tired and I hope had a good night’s sleep – Ms. Xu needs one too. As I left the room and gave her a kiss and told her I would see her again soon in New York – I am so excited that I get to see her when she is healed. Tears came to my eyes as I looked again at this miracle. Someone will truly be blessed to have this child as their daughter.



I also thought, as I droved back to my hotel room for the last time, about all of the other children that we have been able to touch and what a gift each one of these children is.



Thank you for helping to make this child’s dream come true.

Sincerely,

Karen Maunu

Surgery Day!

I arrived in Little Rock yesterday after lunch and immediately got to go over to the foster parents' home to meet Gong Lu. I have been thinking about her ever since that meeting. I was trying to think about the exact right words to describe her spirit, but then I decided it would be like trying to describe a sunset with only simple words or trying to describe standing on the shore of an ocean. You just have to BE THERE to fully understand the depth of it, and so nothing I could ever write would do justice to this little girl who can capture your heart within minutes.

I quickly learned that she is a master bike rider who does NOT want to follow the helmet safety rules despite everyone's insistence :-), that she can shoot hoops like a pro (she was three for three when she was playing with me), and that the smallest of things bring the hugest of giggles. We had brought her some very small presents, and one of them was a bubble necklace that she immediately wanted to try. When the first burst of bubbles came out of the wand, she clapped her hands with glee and her smile just lit up her face. Within two minutes she was a bubble blowing pro, and then quickly mastered blowing bubbles and then CATCHING them on the wand.

While the Today Show interviewed the extremely kind foster family, I took Gong Lu and the rest of the kids downstairs to the playroom, and for the next hour we had an absolute blast getting to know each other. Earlier in the day, she had announced to everyone that her dreams for the future included getting "this thing" off her nose, finding a family, growing up, getting married, and definitely becoming a doctor who could heal other kids. Well, Lu found a pretend doctor's kit on a shelf and proceeded to show me that she knows every single thing a doctor does. She insisted I lay down on the floor and then she took my blood pressure, checked my heart, and even gave me a shot. After each check, she would say "hao de, hao de", (good, good) like she was very impressed with the results. :-) Next it was the two year old's turn, and she got a long pre-exam explanation all in Chinese, and I assumed Lu was telling her "this won't hurt a bit". Her second patient also got a clean bill of health. We then began playing a rousing game of hide and seek, made all the more funny by the fact that Lu chose the same place to hide each time and was giggling so loudly that she quickly gave away her location. At one point, she accidentally closed her finger in the closet door, and she tried very hard to be brave while a dark blister began forming on her pinky. Without thinking, I kissed her pinky and she gave me a look like she had never seen that done before, but she decided it wasn't so bad, so for the rest of the night, every time I saw her she presented her pinky to me for a "get well" kiss.

The funniest part of the day was when we took a walk on the beautiful golf course behind their house. It was evening and so I didn't think anyone would be out golfing. We walked down to a cool stream and she learned how to throw stones in the water, and then we were coming back on the fairway when someone yelled "FORE!". The ball came flying right in front of all of the kids, and suddenly I saw Lu go running out to grab the ball, and then she took off running down the course! The golfer was yelling "Stop! Stop!" and I was laughing so hard as I took off after her. She did NOT want to give up that nice ball that someone so conveniently had hit her way. She definitely improved their lie! :-)

The foster parents had a wonderful dinner for many of the people who had helped make Lu's visit to the US possible, and all too soon it was time for her to go to bed. She had a very big day coming, and had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m.

The next morning (after the alarms Karen and I set did NOT go off...oops), we hurried to the hospital within minutes of waking up. We got there just as they were taking Lu's blood, and she was so very sad. After it was over, I walked over to the bed to rub her leg and she must have recognized me as the "pinky lady", because she held up her arm where they had drawn the blood for me to kiss. Isn't it amazing how that works with kids? :-)

One of the wonderful things about Lu's surgery was that the anesthesiologists from the cleft mission had found out about Lu being helped by LWB and so they signed up to do her anesthesia. One of the cleft team nurses was there as well. So it was such a happy reunion in the hallway before surgery, and we all got goosebumps thinking how this whole story had unfolded and brought us all together once again. I knew Lu was in the absolute BEST of hands.

Karen and I were allowed to gown up and go into the OR to watch the entire surgery. We were so very grateful to be able to have this opportunity to be there, and it was nothing short of miraculous to watch Dr. Buckmiller's incredible skills as she removed the tumor. It took her almost two hours to fully release it, and then several more to sculpt and create a new nose for Gong Lu. Dr. Buckmiller not only has a heart of gold and is a wonderful person and doctor, but she is also an artist, as we watched her meticulous methods to get Lu's nose as close to perfect as possible. After over 5 hours in the OR, we all stood around Lu and many of us were crying at her beautiful new face, that now matched the beauty of her spirit. I know we say it over and over, but every child we can touch IS a complete blessing......and as I stood by the operating table and stared at Lu's new nose, I was filled with such an incredible feeling of happiness and joy that this little girl was given this opportunity. I have no doubt that Gong Lu is destined for great things.

When we went up to her room after recovery, she was sound asleep and looked so peaceful. What a momentous day for such a wonderful little girl. She had waited five years for a new nose, and I am so thankful to every single person who helped make her wish come true.

Amy Eldridge

Surgery Day Advent for Gong Lu

We had a wonderful full day with lots of excitement, play, and busyness. Hopefully, it kept us all from worrying about tomorrow’s operation.

The Today Show filmed Gong Lu most of the day. She made lots of new friends and all had presents or encouraging words for her. She loved playing with bubbles, riding bikes, playing basketball, and playing to the camera.


We had a potluck party this evening as a thank you to some of the people w ho have helped Gong Lu. It was supposed to be a small get together. So many people have helped her that it was big crowd. If we included everyone that has helped Gong Lu from all over the world, we’d have to hold it in Madison Square Garden practically. So many people have advocated for her, prayed for her, assisted in her travel, sent her gifts, and more.



The nurse anesthetist came this evening and played with her for quite awhile. When she goes into surgery tomorrow, she will know him and Dr. Buckmiller so she will feel secure.

Director Xu is understandably nervous about tomorrow’s operation. Her concern is for Gong Lu and her safety. The doctors and nurses have reassured her as best they can. She cares a great deal for Gong Lu and is a wonderful caregiver for her.

The operation will start at 7:30 a.m. and should last about 4 hours. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. for bloodwork and paperwork. She will stay in the hospital one night and come home on Thursday.

I know many people will be thinking of her and praying for her during those crucial hours.

I’ll try to get an update out somehow tomorrow from the hospital. I know everyone will want the latest news.

Lisa

Pre-Op Day for Gong Lu

We had a wonderful morning at Children’s hospital. Dr. Buckmiller did an extensive exam and then said the operation is a go for Wednesday. She said it would be challenging but not life threatening. Dr. Buckmiller will do her best to remove all of the growth and begin reconstructive surgery. She gave a very hopeful prognosis. Gong Lu was a very good patient. Director Xu was appropriately concerned about the safety of the operation and the outcome. Gong Lu asked about if it would be painful. The folks at Children’s did a good job of reassuring them both. The operation will take about four hours and she will only stay in the hospital one night. Gong Lu is in good hands.

The Today Show crew was there to film the comings and goings at Children’s. I have heard that a segment will air about Gong Lu on Wednesday. I don’t know if that is correct but you might want to get ready to tape just in case. Gong Lu is ready to be a TV star and is not at all afraid of the camera.

We went shopping today at the local mall for a little while—literally everything we looked at was Made in China. Ms. Xu brought Jim and I some beautiful hand stitched items from China. I also think she is experiencing sticker shock at prices.


Lisa

Gong Lu and Ms Xu in Little Rock!

Gong Lu and Ms. Xu made it in Little Rock!!! YEAH!!

Their plane landed 30 minutes late, due to a missing flight attendant in Chicago. I do have to mention one very special person in this whole story yesterday and his name is Ron. He is the Deputy Director at the airport in Little Rock. It was because of him that everything went so smoothly in Chicago and also last night in Little Rock. He was another of yesterday’s heroes! Ron, along with the host family, Lisa and Jim, their friend Jamie, and Vivian, a translator, were all waiting for them as they came off the plane. Not only was this group waiting for them, but because so many people from the airport and American Airlines were involved, they ended up with quite a welcoming group waiting for them. Soon after this greeting, they were met by the TV crews from the Today show and Tom, from Arkansas Children’s hospital – what a wonderful welcome them had!!

Gong Lu and Ms. Xu were greeted with signs and balloons. Gong Lu LOVED the balloons and had so much fun playing with them. One of my favorite parts of last night’s story was at the end of the night, as they were all getting ready to leave, Gong Lu handed the balloons back to the person who had given them to her. She thanked them very much for letting her play with them. This sweet little girl didn’t realize that these were a present to her. When she learned that she could keep the balloons, she wanted to save a balloon for each of the three host family children. What a kind and giving little girl she is!

In addition, I think that Gong Lu has a calling in TV. She was not at all fazed by the cameras and just went on charming everyone. When asked what she most wanted to do in America, she said “Find a really good place to play!” I am sure that can be arranged!

Gong Lu continued to chat with everyone asking lots of questions – she is a very inquisitive child! She is very curious about her surgery and seems to understand that something big is soon going to happen. As they loaded her into the car to take her home, Gong Lu informed Lisa that she gets carsick J. Luckily, they had a smooth ride and no incidents!

After a bowl of congee, it was off to bed for Gong Lu. They are currently still asleep, but lunch will soon be delivered by a Chinese family. Lisa told me she was going to start making some noise so they can try to adjust to the change in time. After lunch, it will be off to grocery shopping for some goodies at the nearby Chinese grocery store.

Thank you all – every one of you – you have all played a major role in this story. Whether you made a donation, are keeping them in your thoughts and prayers, or have helped in some way to get them here, we couldn’t have done it without you!

THANK YOU!
Karen

Gong Lu in Chicago

There are times that I get so overwhelmed by the generosity of people and today was one of those days.

We have been so worried about Ms. Xu and Gong Lu – on the LONG plane ride, because Gong Lu get’s carsick (how would she handle the plane ride), not speaking the language and having to navigate customs, and because Ms. Xu has never flown on any airplane ever before. She was so nervous about this trip and what would happen – she was worried about the bathrooms on the plane, about customs, and about the food. I can only imagine what this trip, out of the safety of her town, would be like.

We have had some VERY kind souls who have helped to make Ms. Xu’s trip a trip to remember forever. First, it all starts with the travel department at a company named Autodesk. This company has spent hours making reservations for their travel – in addition to pooling their money to buy one of the international tickets. They also arranged for security passes for at least one person to accompany them to their AA gate (but put a request in for the whole group that was greeting them) and tried to get an escort to walk them through customs. Just last night, we found out that the escort wasn’t going to work, because the escort service is meant for small children traveling alone.

When we found out there would possibly be no one to escort them in Chicago, Lisa, the foster mother in Little Rock, started making some phone calls. She has a friend who is in the security department at the Little Rock airport. There are some great connections between the Little Rock airport and the Chicago airport, because this afternoon, Lisa’s friend had confirmed that there would be a bilingual person accompanying them all the way through customs. In addition, because of thunderstorms in Little Rock this evening, Lisa’s friend was continually updating them on the weather conditions, just in case their flight was diverted (which we also started thinking of contingency plans for every city they could possibly land at if they were diverted :).

Back to Chicago, the greeters starting gathering. Earlier this afternoon, a mom, Patricia, of a little girl who was just adopted from Gong Lu’s orphanage last summer, drove from Milwaukee to Chicago (with her 18 month old). This drive is an hour and a half one way. As she left, she knew there was a possibility, because the flight was 2 hours late, that she might only see Ms. Xu and Gong Lu for a few minutes. That didn’t seem to bother her; she just wanted to see them!

Michael, a father of another little girl from Gong Lu’s orphanage arrived at the airport an hour before the flight arrived, just in case it got in early, he wanted to be prepared. The security at the airport allowed him through the first layer of security, not all the way back to the customs area, but right outside. He was able to greet Ms. Xu and Gong Lu as soon as they cleared customs. Michael said it was so cute, because Gong Lu came out holding their escort’s hand. The escort noticed that their bags should have been rechecked and instead of making them do it, took the bags and told them that she would walk them over to American Airlines for them. Michael said they both seemed very relaxed and bright-eyed – remarkable after that long flight and jet-lag.

In the meantime, Michael’s wife, Diane, their two girls, and Patricia and her little girl, went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for a quick dinner. While there were there, they grabbed some take-out (something spicy, because they knew that Ms. Xu loved spicy food) and also took with them someone who agreed to help translate (Michael had arranged this the day before). This second group made it to the airport just in time as Michael, Gong Lu, and Ms. Xu came out of the International terminal.

They then traveled over the collect the boarding passes and the security passes at the American Airlines desk. At this point, they thought that only two people (Michael and the translator) would be able to go on. Amazingly, ALL 7 PEOPLE were allowed through security – not only that --- they were escorted to the Admiral’s Club!!! There they took pictures, ate the food the group brought and sat and visited. Patricia had brought an international calling card with her, so Ms. Xu could call home and let everyone know she was safe and sound.

Michael told me that Gong Lu just charmed the socks off of everyone. She has such a fun outgoing personality. How fun for him to be able to see this little girl that he first saw 2 ½ years ago when she was an inquisitive toddler. He told me that he vividly remembers this little girl – she was so curious and bright.

Not long after they had a chance to rest and relax, their flight was called to board. American Airlines personal came and escorted them on the plane first! So as I write, they are probably above Missouri somewhere, soon to land in the new home for a month, Little Rock. At the Little Rock airport, they will be greeted by their new foster family – Lisa and Jim, and friend of theirs through the local FCC – Jamie, and a translator. They have made a sign and have balloons ready to meet them. The also got security passes to meet them at the gate. After this quiet meeting, they will meet the television crew from the Today show who will be there to film their arrival.

Michael and his wife took some pictures at the airport that I will be soon sending out – what a night!

I can’t even begin to think of all the wonderful people that made this flow so smoothly and made this a day to remember for Gong Lu and Ms. Xu. As I thought of each and everyone one of these people I was overwhelmed by SO much kindness.

Every one of these people deserves a HUGE THANK YOU for reaching out and touching this little girl and making a difference in her life!!!

With gratefulness,

Karen

The Story of Gong Lu

The sequence of events for this has been amazing, and shows that love TRULY knows no boundaries between countries.

In September of 2005, Love Without Boundaries sent a cleft mission team to China to operate on 106 orphans and rural children with cleft lip. Dr. Lisa Buckmiller traveled with us on that trip to repair cleft lips and changed SO many lives. Dr. Buckmiller is also one of the world's foremost experts on hemangiomas, and a mom who followed our online blog contacted Dr. Buckmiller to see if she could possibly help Gong Lu, a little girl she had met when she adopted her own daughter from Gong Lu’s orphanage. LWB then made arrangements for the little girl to have an MRI in China, and once Dr. Buckmiller said she was operable, we arranged for her to get a medical visa to come to the US. Arkansas Children's generously agreed to waive all fees for her treatment. Without their kindness, none of this could happen.

To say that this child has been lifted up and surrounded with love is an understatement.

We have the families around the US who have adopted from Gong Lu’s orphanage. They are so excited she is coming and all of them want to see her and the director while she is here. Everyone who has met this child in China came home loving their new baby but remembering this little five year old who greeted them with such kindness in her orphanage in China. They ALL want to see her healed and then hopefully adopted.

We have the Little Rock FCC group (Families with Children from China). They are donating toys, clothing, arranging meals, and organizing donations for the orphanage. A family within this organization with no connection to this orphanage, but with three children from China agreed to open their home to the orphanage director and Ms. Xu. Having their whole life changed for this time. The foster family has been fabulous!

We have the Chinese American community of Little Rock, who are anticipating their arrival and who have agreed to provide Chinese meals and interpreters while they are here so they won't miss the food they are used to and they will be able to communicate at all times. They have even bought the orphanage director a local cell phone and given her a list of phone numbers so she can always call someone at all times.

We have the orphanage director, who was in a car accident recently and who still doesn't feel well, but who agreed to come to the US with Gong Lu for a month because she loves this child and wants her to be healed. This woman writes personal letters to the families who have adopted from her orphanage to keep in touch with them. She has been invited by the families to visit them in their homes around the country but she said she cannot leave to do that until she knows Gong Lu is doing well and only if Gong Lu is comfortable with the foster family and agrees that she can leave. Otherwise she said she must stay by Gong Lu's side.

We have the employees of a company in San Francisco called Autodesk, who have donated frequent flier miles and funds to get Gong Lu to the states. The workers there have Gong Lu's photo on their desks and everyone is counting down until she arrives.

We have Chinese adoptive families from all of ever the US sending donations, packages and cards to Gong Lu and the foster family. We even had a 12 year old girl adopted from Gong Lu’s province that raised almost $1000 from her birthday party.

The excitement and JOY surrounding the University of Arkansas' invitation for this child to get medical treatment is palpable. The day Gong Lu was granted a medical visa in China to come to the US, our facilitator in China

took them out to celebrate. Before leaving to travel to the US, the local officials in Gong Lu’s town threw her a party and hung a huge banner outside the Social Welfare Institute wishing her well.

This is truly a story of the Chinese adoptive community rallying around one special little girl who watched baby after baby leave before her. And now it is HER TURN to have a chance at being healed and then adopted. We are so thankful to everyone who is making this possible.

I tell people all the time that I will never believe the world is "going downhill" as many say. Every day of my life I get to see the kindness of others. I get to see people rally around children who need surgery and raise the needed funds. I get to see doctors and nurses and volunteers sign up to pay their own way to China to heal kids (we are all volunteers and no one gets paid or get travel expenses). This world is filled with the kindest people ever....and Gong Lu's story is the perfect example to me of people realizing that love is colorblind and that ALL children deserve a chance.

A Beautiful Child wants a Family!

There is a beautiful two year old girl waiting for a family of her own on an adoption list. Her orphanage loves her so much and says she is extremely smart.

This little girl has a nevus on her face and scalp. Immediately after seeing her pictures, we wanted to do everything we could to help her – there was something about her face that called to us. A sweet innocent child, lovingly being held by an auntie. After sending her picture and file to many doctors, they all said the same thing, she was very treatable, but would require multiple surgeries. Just to verify everything was alright, we had an MRI done – everything was fine.

During her evaluation in Shanghai, our facilitators met and were so taken by this little girl. She loved to play and was very outgoing. In no time she was busily playing with her new friends. They commented on what a happy, fun child she was! The only time she wasn’t happy was when they went to leave – she wanted her new friends to stay and play some more! Our facilitator said, “She's a lovely and energetic baby. Hope she'll find a family soon.” We do too!

For more information on this child, please contact Karen@lovewithoutboundaries.com.

Mama's Wish Education Program Visit

April 28th

Today we went to visit the final university in the Xining area, where one student is studying physics. The university is very modern and new, and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. Shawo was so happy that we came to see him at his school. He thought that since he was the only student there, we wouldn’t make time to come to see him. He couldn’t wait to show us one of his classrooms. We were able to visit with some of his classmates as they waited for their professor to arrive, and the students were happy to practice their English speaking skills with us.

Shawo told us that he would like to show us his dorm room, but he thought it was too messy to show to us. Sounds like a perfectly normal college student, doesn’t it?

Instead, he ran to his room and back, and presented me with an award that he had won at the end of the first semester. Shawo’s scores were outstanding. In fact, his scores were the second highest in the entire physics department. Because of this, the university awarded him a “scholarship” or reward money of 300 rmb. He was so proud to have earned this award, and his Mama’s Wish teacher beamed with pride as he showed the award certificate to us.

As we were walking to dinner, I saw several children who were, of course, absolutely adorable. I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of them and attempting to play ball with one little boy.

He did NOT want to play ball with me, though, and refused to give up his toy. At least he allowed me to take his picture. :o) We then took Shawo to dinner, and asked him to order his favorite dish in honor of his achievement. Dinner, once again, was fantastic and we finished off every dish. Shawo then came with us to meet the other college students so that I could present them with the very best gift of all – letters and photos from their sponsors. They were SO eager to hear from their sponsors, and they devoured the letters. The room was very noisy as each one read their letter out loud. My heart was so full, and Nicole and I looked at each other with the biggest smiles. Each student was reading the letter from the sponsor without help, and none of the letters had been translated. I could not believe how well they were all reading. Many sponsors will recall their letters, and the extensive vocabulary that some used, and I know they will marvel at the thought that their student could read the letter from them without it being translated.

A few students had trouble with a word or phrase, but instead of asking Nicole to translate they turned to one of their friends, who helped them figure out the meaning.

Nicole only helped translate portions of two letters from sponsors. The students did the rest all on their own. After reading her letter, one of the students asked if she could send a message to her sponsor by having us videotape her. Soon every student lined up to take a turn at speaking into the camera and giving their sponsor a quick message. Some spoke in English and some spoke in Chinese, both of which are amazing since their native language is Tibetan. I know the sponsors will all be so proud of their students, just as I am.

No one wanted the evening to end, and we talked until almost 11:00 before saying goodbye. I am going to miss them so much, and it was such an honor for me to be able to come to Qinghai to visit them at their schools.

Tomorrow is an early morning for us, as we will travel a long distance to visit two of the high schools in the Mama’s Wish program. We will be visiting 53 students tomorrow, so I know it will be another long day of learning about them and filling out reports for sponsors. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than what I am doing right now. Each day has been amazing, and I know that tomorrow will be amazing as well.

Mama's Wish Education Program Visit

April 27th

7:00 a.m.

It snowed last night in Xining. I was grateful for our heavy down comforters, because there is no heat in the hotel and my nose was quite chilly when I woke up this morning. I took my shower, with no shower curtain, and by the time I finished the bathroom looked like our bathroom at home after the kids all take a shower together. :o)

Mr. Cuo, one of the Mama’s Wish teachers, picked us up and drove us to a university located 2.5 hours from here, where five students are attending the Teachers College. It was a bright, beautiful, sunny day, and the snow on the mountains in the distance was dazzling.

About half-way through the trip we saw that someone had had a minor wreck in their car. Thankfully, the man wasn’t injured, and we picked him up and took him to the next village where he could call for help. The man was Uyghur, and spoke only the local dialect. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him, but none of us could understand each other so we just smiled and nodded at one another as the kilometers passed.

When we arrived at the University the five students were waiting for us at the gate. They had been standing out in the cold for over an hour waiting for us to get there because they were so excited to have visitors. Once again, they greeted us with the hadas, and then we went inside to meet with their professors. One professor is teaching three students who are studying to teach science, and the other professor is teaching the three students who are studying to teach literature. They were both very kind and humble men who thanked us for giving these students an opportunity that they otherwise would not have. They reported that the students all study very hard, and they have hopes that two students in particular will be able to go on and study at higher levels in the future because they are very gifted students, whose scores are at the same level as the best students in the larger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, who have had the opportunity to have been educated in expensive, private high schools.

From here, we decided to take a break and go to lunch. Lunch was so much fun. The students talked about their experience at college, and they were very serious when they discussed their studies. After lunch, I gave them their sponsor letters and Nicole translated for them. More than one student began to cry when Nicole read the letters. I videotaped the students sending a message to their sponsors, and one of the girls began crying when Nicole asked her why she wanted to become a teacher. She tried to compose herself for several minutes and I told her she did not have to do this, but she insisted that she wanted to continue. We learned that her father, a teacher, had been killed in a car accident one year ago and she wanted more than anything to be able to continue teaching the children that he once taught. It was so sad – in her village the tradition is that when a husband dies, the wife cannot wash her hair or leave the home for one year. So in the months after her father died, they had absolutely no income and no way to earn money. Although she knew that she had passed the national exam and had been accepted to college, she also knew that there was no way that she could go. It was during this time that the Mama’s Wish teachers visited her home and told her not to give up. They insisted that she continue her studies and they promised to do everything they could to help find a sponsor for her. Now she is the number one student in her department at school, and she still cannot believe how her life has changed. By the time she finished, Nicole and I were both crying.

Each of these students has a story that would make you cry. Each one is so very special, and such an inspiration. I wish someone would make a documentary about these young men and women, and show it in all of the high schools in America. There is so much that we can learn from them, about the value of education, the value of hard work, determination, and sheer will to never give up on your dream no matter what obstacles are thrown in your path.

We returned to the college with the students and they proudly showed us their school library. They were all amazed when they first arrived at school to see so many books. I was again moved by this, because this small teachers’ college has about the same number of books in its library as I have in my personal library at home – but to these kids, it was a wonderful blessing to have so many books at their disposal.

We were able to visit one of the English classes, where the teacher was teaching that one pair of shoes has an “s” at the end, and two pairs of shoes has an “s” at the end. He also taught that there are grand-mothers, grand-fathers, and people living in a grand lifestyle. :o)

Another student wanted to show us her classroom, which was empty at the time. Nicole suggested that I teach them an English word, so I taught them the meaning of Love Without Boundaries. I got to play teacher, at the front of the class with my five students, and they learned how the foundation got its name and what its name means.

When it was finally time to go, we had a difficult time saying goodbye. I know that it will be a long time before I can see them again, and I know that so much will change in their lives in that time.

3:30 p.m.

The Trip Home

Less than ten minutes after we left the students, the beautiful blue sky began to turn gray and before long it began snowing – a horizontal snow, pushed by the high winds. I knew this would be a fun trip home. We had hoped to have time to go to Qinghai Lake on the way home, because it is only 15 km out of the way from the road we were traveling. By the time we got to the lake, though, the wind was so high and the snow was falling so hard that we decided we shouldn’t get out of the car, but instead turn around and head back to Qinghai. So, we were able to see the huge lake from the car but didn’t really get to enjoy it much.

Yakkity Yak:

Our next excitement is that we were very nearly run off the road by a yak. The visibility was not very good when the snow was falling so heavily, and a yak decided to cross the road at the very moment our car was approaching him. Yaks look big when they’re four inches from your car window! :o)

And speaking of yaks… is a yak really just a cow with long hair? Nicole insisted that it was after she called a yak “beef.” I said that “beef” is cow, and she said that a yak is just a cow with long hair. This all happened after I learned that the delicious meal that I ate yesterday – the one with beef dishes that I wish I had the recipe for – was yak meat. Hmmm…I would’ve never tried it if she had told me it was yak, but since she called it beef I ate it, and I loved it. Now she’s trying to get me to taste Yak jerky, but I’m not so sure. It probably tastes delicious, but I’m not sure if I really want to eat a yak.

Approaching Xining:

We stopped at the medical university, where we have five students attending Tibetan Medicine School there. We saw their cafeteria, and now I know why all of the students have gained weight. Every day they have over 100 menu choices, and the food looked and smelled delicious. The cafeteria worker saw us there and wondered why we were in his cafeteria, so came over to talk to us. Nicole explained who we were and what we were doing here and he thanked us for helping these students have a chance at attending university.

We then went to the teachers’ dormitory to visit one of the professors, but he wasn’t in so another professor invited us into his room and served hot water to us. He said that although he is not the teacher of these students, he does see them quite often and the thing that he notices about these five is that they study longer hours than most other students, AND that they particularly study English very hard, which is rare in the Tibetan medical college. He is quite impressed with each student, and knows that they will do well in the future.

We asked each student what their ultimate goal was. One wants to continue to study Tibetan medicine and get her master’s degree. Another wants to do the same thing, but study western medicine and Tibetan medicine at the master’s level. The third student would also love to attend graduate school, and use the chemistry in western medicine along with traditional Tibetan medicine in order to improve his treatment of patients. And one girl, who began to cry, said that she has three wishes: One is to attend graduate school in western and Tibetan medicine; two is to be able to study medicine overseas, so that she can learn as much as possible about western medicine; and three is to return to her home village to open a clinic for poor people, and treat those who cannot afford to travel long distances. She cried as she explained that this semester she learned that the disease that had killed her mother was completely curable, but they did not have the money to send her to a doctor and so she died. She is very sad that her mother’s death could have been prevented, and she could have been cured of her illness. She does not want any other child to lose a parent to a disease which can be cured, and she wants to make sure that children in her home village do not have to go through what she has had to go through.

Once again, Nicole and I were in tears.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love and admire these students? Have I mentioned how much wisdom they have to offer the world?

At the end of another long but wonderful day, we said goodbye to the students and returned to our hotel. Nicole’s husband and his mother are joining us tomorrow, and will be accompanying us to TongRen to visit the high school students, and then to Yushu to visit the WenLe Orphan School and the Karnang Village School.

Tomorrow we will meet with the college students one last time, to go over some paperwork for the reports that I will be doing. Two students are majoring in English and Tibetan, and their English is so good that they are going to help translate the sponsor letters for the high school students. In return, to pay for their services, we are going to buy them an electronic device that will help them with English pronunciation. They are very excited to do this, and we are happy to find a way for them to feel like they are earning this, rather than us giving them something out of charity.

Once all of this is done, it will be time to say goodbye to the students and to Xining, because we leave for TongRen tomorrow morning.