Love of a Family

Merry Christmas, everyone! I know it's a few days late, but this is the first chance I am getting to really sit down and write. I hope your Christmases were filled with remembering God's gift to you in His son and lots of joyful memories with your family and friends.


Christmas here was wonderful. Although I greatly missed my family back home, the family I have formed with Ted, Bev, and the children here made my Christmas memories extra special this year. On Christmas Eve, Jennifer, Gabrielle, Andria and I all watched "The Christmas Blessing". My mom had sent it to me in my Christmas package. It was a great surprise because every year my family gets a new Christmas movie to watch. And this year I got to bring the tradition to Taiwan. That night, I went to bed to find my first Christmas gift waiting as a surprise on my pillow. It was from Andria. She had gotten me a rope bracelet, a pearl necklace and earrings, a tank top, and random candies from the Silk Market in China. Such a cool present. :)

Christmas morning came, and I was worried it was going to be just like any other day here. Since Thanksgiving had been pretty bitter sweet, I had prepared myself for not really getting to celebrate and set my mind on service. The morning started off like a normal morning here with feedings and changings, but as one baby finished, Bev let us take them over to the other side where the celebration had been going on since 7:30am. It started with Ted reading the Christmas story out of Luke then moves on to gift unwrapping and stockings. Because Christmas fell on a Saturday, a lot of kids who grew up here, but are now in college/living/working in Taipei or around the island were able to come home and take part in all of the festivities, which made for a full house and extra hands to help hold babies!

Jennifer, Andria, and I were able to stay on the older kids' side all morning! First, all of the kids that are currently at the Home got to open their gift from their sponsors. Since the older kids are not adoptable, they have a sponsor family that writes to them and send them gifts for their birthday and Christmas. Most of the sponsor families live in the States or in Taiwan. Each of the kids opened their gift one by one. Then, we moved onto the big gift exchange, including all of the kids, current and past, the staff, and us volunteers. Again, the gifts were unwrapped one at a time. Both the person giving and the person receiving came to the front of the room. The person giving handed the other their gift and after it was opened, they got their picture taken together. It was a very sweet process.

The week before we had all drawn names out of a hat and were given a 200NT (six U.S. dollars) limit to buy a gift for that person. I drew Pei Yu. She is one of the social workers here and is only a couple of years older than me. On one of my lunch breaks, Andria and I biked into the market, and I bought her a scarf. Unfortunately, she was unable to make it on Christmas day, so I didn't get to see her open it. You Cheng, the little boy who thought he had broken his wrist (I wrote about him in an earlier post), drew my name. He is about eleven years old and his teacher, who speaks English and with whom I am friends, said he was a little unsettled when he drew my name because he had no idea what to get the "old, American, girl." He gave me a grey and red plaid scarf and fuzzy ear muffs. A very good gift! I was hoping one of the little kids would get my name. He was so cute and embarrassed handing it to me! :)

I really enjoyed opening the gifts one at a time because I got to see what everyone received and it made the celebration last longer. As I sat with Wan Ching's, one of the high school girls, arm around me and Baby Peng all warm and cuddly wrapped in her blankets and in my arms and Jya Hwei, one of the junior high girls, also sitting on my lap, watching two of the high schoolers exchange gifts and Ted beaming in the background, my eyes filled with tears as I couldn't think of a better place to spend my Christmas. I love the people here and am blessed enough to feel loved in return.

I hope you all had similar stories of love and joy, for without the love of Jesus, the love of family, and the love of friends, what is there worth having?

Other things that have happened in the past week:
- Andria left yesterday. It was so good to have her here and I was sad to see her go. Just having someone that was "mine" in a sense was so nice. She gave me someone to talk to and we shared lots of fun-filled afternoons and nights exploring the market, walking around the lake, and loving the babies. She is now headed to Australia before she goes on to Bangkok for the third leg in her Global MBA program. She put up a blog post about her time here that you might be interested in reading. She gives good insight on what our days were like over Christmas. The address is http://andriarabus.xanga.com/
- Jennifer's boyfriend and sister arrived last night and will be spending two weeks here.
- We got a new baby girl. Her name is Cheng Jie En. This made me very excited because her Chinese name Jie En is very close to my Chinese name which is Ja En. She was born on Christmas day!
- Baby Peng was taken back by her grandmother today. We really didn't want this to happen because her birth father was very violent towards the birth mother and we don't know how he will act towards Peng. We are trusting that God's hand is sovereign in this, and that His love for Baby Peng will follow and protect her wherever she goes.
- I am now into the Psalms. I loved reading Job. It is filled with so many awesome truths about God.

Prayer requests:
-The weather is getting much colder and as a result a lot of the babies have really awful colds. Pray for their health.
- I really want to be more disciplined with my time and my eating in my remaining two and a half months here.
- Safe travels for Caleb's parents and Meredith, the next volunteer coming. They will both be traveling here in the first week of January.
- God's sovereignty in my life as well as all of the lives of the babies and others here.

Cade and Kwen

So it is almost time for me to go to bed, but I wanted to put up some pictures. I am laying in my top bunk in my little room and outside the window loud fireworks are booming. It kind of sounds like gunfire or bombs going off, but it's just people at the temple trying to ward off demons. This is a sad and familiar sound around here. Here are some pictures of baby Cade, baby Kwen, and our day off last week.

First is Cade.

Relaxing in his crib.

What a sweet smile!

"Jillian, What are you doing? I'm trying to play here!"

The day that he left. 

Next is Kwen.

Kwen when I first got here. Count those arm rolls! :)

Napping, cookies, rattle, and pacifier....what more could you possibly want?

Gummy's priceless face.

King Kwen.

HAPPY!

All grown up and going home! His grandma, dad, mom, Bev, and me.

And lastly, our delicious meal on our day off. Cade's parents took us out to eat at a place called the Potato Bar. It's a western restaurant, but the funny thing is they don't even have potatoes!! They just thought it was a cool English word. :) We had a fun time ordering without any English menu. They had about seven different people trying to help interpret what we wanted- the boss, our waiter, two people who worked at KFC, a random kid from the street, and the boss's son,who is an English teacher in Singapore, was on the phone! Good thing the boss called him because with our first attempt at ordering, they thought we wanted 35 POUNDS of steak!! This is what we actually ate. It was a five course meal. I didn't get a picture of the first course, but it was kind of a fishy lunch meat on top of sprouts with a honey mustard sauce. It was okay and the rest was delicious! And the whole meal for five people only cost around $60!

The first thing they brought out to us. No, not a shot of whiskey, just some sour plum juice. Gross.

Course #2- Salad

Course #3- Creamy corn soup with pastry shell on top

Course #4- Steak, peppers, baby corn, and broccoli 

Course #5- Dessert, DELICIOUS creme brulee

Andria Rabus is cool.

Andria got here on Friday night! It is so great to have her here. She jumped right into movie night, getting the treat of watching Scarecrow and Mrs. King. :) It worked out perfectly having Kwen's family here because Ted was planning on taking them to see Taroko Gorge on Saturday, so Andria got to go with them , too. I was a little jealous :), but am hoping I will get to go with my family when they come to visit. Then today, I had both 7am and 11pm shifts, so Dre and I haven't gotten a good chance to catch up yet, but tomorrow we are planning on going into town to buy some Christmas presents during the babies nap and hopefully watching an episode of Gray's together tomorrow night, a tradition among the Elson girls!

Tomorrow is also Gabrielle's 20th birthday! Even though we can't do a lot for her birthday, we are hoping to have a little celebration.

Sorry, I have been so bad at keeping up and writing short little entries to keep you all up to date. I really don't like writing the long ones, but can't seem to be disciplined in writing smaller ones.

Highlights from the past couple of days:
-We got a new baby on Friday night. His name is Baby Shr. He looks a lot like Caleb- very Asian looking already. I got to feed him quite a bit today. It's always fun and exciting when a new baby arrives.
- I thought I wouldn't make it through today because I was so tired, but God sustained me.
- Eating jellybeans and catching up a little bit with Andria last night.
- The older boys made dinner tonight- fried chicken legs, fried fish paste rolls, eggs and ham, cabbage, egg drop soup, and oranges. SO GOOD!

Prayer Requests:
- The next three months seem really long. Prayer for an attitude to finish my work here, to have a heart that wants to be here to serve.
- That God would fulfill his purposes for the rest of my trip. That I would have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a willing heart to follow and obey Him and to receive his love.
- Communication between everyone- so important!!
- Rest
- Prayer for all of the babies- that they would be loved, that paperwork goes smoothly and quickly. Specifically for the four who have not been allocated, for Logan's papers, and David's papers/courtdate.
- That my time with Andria would be joy-filled and that God would use this time together to encourage us both and provide what we need for this next leg in our journeys overseas.

Thanks, everyone!  LOVE!

I'll Be Home For Christmas!

Even though that's not true of me, I'm happy to say it is true for two of our little babies! Cade's parents arrived last Friday and Kwen's parents are arriving tonight! Perfect little Christmas presents for their parents. I know both sets of parents feel that way!

Since the last time I wrote, nothing out of the ordinary has happened. The flu has been going around- I've already gotten it twice. Also, Gabrielle switched to doing nights instead of Jennifer for the next month. It's been really fun to have Jennifer up during the days! I'm still loving taking care of the babies every day. I've gotten used to having thirteen to take care of, so now that Cade and Kwen will be flying home soon, it will seem so quiet with only eleven. And Caleb got his first paper yesterday, so he will be going home hopefully the first week of January. It seems so weird that all of the babies I started with when I got here are almost all gone now. After Caleb, Logan will be next to go home. We are still waiting on his papers, but they should be coming soon. Then all that's left of the original nine is David!

So I think I'll use this post to tell a little bit about each baby again because they all change so much and I want you all to know them because I love them.

David- He is now nine months! And is doing great! His head control is 1000 times better than when I first got here. He can play in a walker by himself and is kicking his feet and moving his arms so much more. He loves to do this spitting thing with his mouth and makes the funniest noises! I feel like I have a special bond with him because I have worked so much with him and his head/neck/back strength and control. I've gotten to experience doing impromptu physical therapy with him. It has been great to be able to use some of the knowledge from my internship last summer and from school. He is talking a lot now too, and beginning to hold toys! We are now working with him, trying to get him to sit up, grasp objects, and roll over. He is such a delightful baby!

Cade- Also nine months is going home!!! He will really be missed. In the past month he learned how to crawl-ish and is always full of smiles. He has four teeth on top and two on bottom, which makes his smile that much more cute! Every time I sing "If Your Happy and You Know it" or say, "Ba ba ba ba ba," he breaks out in a huge grin. He is really becoming observant, tilting his head and furrowing his brow at things. :) He also learned how to make a clicking noise with his tongue that he is very proud of! We will miss him!

Kwen- Kwen is so sweet when he's happy and so not sweet when he's not. :) He is the baby that if we ever take for a walk, everyone on the street wants to hold or makes a comment about. He has the most handsome and thick eyebrows you've ever seen on a baby.  He is definitely strong willed and knows what he wants- Now, if only he would let us in on the secret! He is six months and still doesn't have any teeth, but sure is working hard at it. He also likes to talk up a storm and loves his walker. I like to put him over my head like an airplane to get a big grin from him.

Caleb- He is five months now!! I can't believe how big he is. He has had his share of struggles with ear infections and now is starting to teeth, so he has been pretty unhappy the past couple of days. My favorite time with Caleb is feeding him his bottle. About haf way through, he just stops drinking and grins at you. Milk will be running down his chin, but he just wants to stare and giggle at you. It's so sweet!

Logan- He is our little four and a half month old Pong Pong (which means "fat fat"). :) He hasn't quite grown lengthwise yet, but sure is growing out! He has one of the cutest smiles of the bunch. Because he is a little on the big side, he hasn't started to try and roll over yet, but moves a little bit more each day. He really likes the Hop N' Pop bouncy thing we have, and we can always count on him to be our best little eater!

Rylyn- She is also four and a half months and is so advanced for her age. She already has two teeth and  a million facial expressions to go with them! She uses her hands so well to pick up and play with toys. When you are talking to her you feel like you could have a whole conversation with the way she responds to your voice and face with smiles and coos. She is still pretty little and spits up a lot, so we've been putting vitamins in her milk and praying for her to grow. She also has quite a bit of trouble falling and staying asleep, but maybe she just doesn't require as much as the other babies.

Ethan Luke- He is getting so big! He is two months old, but is almost the same size as Rylyn. He has the coolest little mohawk- his hair just grows that way. He is beginning to coo and smile a lot when you talk to him. He also has trouble sleeping at the correct times, always awake during nap time and falling asleep during play time.

Ethan Matthew- He is our tiny baby! He is also two months but looks like a newborn. He is probably the cutest baby I've ever seen. He almost looks like a porcelain doll with big brown eyes and long eye lashes. He has had a lot of issues with colic and tummy problems. He has had diarrhea for so long now and just isn't growing the way we want him to. I got him to smile three times today! I felt very accomplished!

Brecken and Tristan- The twins are now a month and a half old!  Brecken is still a good deal smaller than his baby brother, but they both are growing so well. Tristan's cheeks are even getting pretty chubby!  They both have smiled and although Show Hwa told me it was because they had gas, I'm not going to believe her! Tristan has been constipated quite a bit, but besides that is doing great. And Brecken is beginning to look less like an alien and growing into his head! They do look quite a bit a like, but no so much that we can't tell them apart thankfully.

Baby Peng- She is now a month old and is so beautiful! She is kind of a little chub, but it's cute on her. She gets dressed in all pink since she is the only little girl besides Rylyn. Right now she has diaper rash pretty badly, so we are praying for that to heal. Besides that, she is a wonderful little baby who doesn't do much yet.

Baby Lin- He just turned a month old a few days ago. He is also a very handsome baby. He has two adorable little dimples. Unfortunately, Gabrielle doesn't think he is quite as cute because he screams pretty much all night long. But when he's not crying (or even when he is), I love to snuggle up with him in my arms! The little babies are great for doing that.

Baby Feng- He's our youngest by a day, turning a month right after Baby Lin. However, we think he is just tricking us into thinking he's a baby because he looks so old. It's like a little ten year olds face on a tiny body. He is so alert and focuses so well on people around him. He's going to be a little heart breaker with his looks as well. :)

So that's the run down on all our babies! Wish you all could see them. Soon there will be pictures of Cade and Kwen.

OTHER EXCITING NEWS: My friend Andria comes to visit on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!! She'll be here for ten days staying through Christmas. It is going to be so great having her here and being able to share this experience with her and hear all about how her past four months have been. Which reminds me, Friday is also my half way point of being here. 3 months down, 3 more to go! And for my Bible reading, I am not quite on mark to finish reading the whole Bible while I am here, but I did just start Esther. It took me forever to get through the Chronicles! I'll have more to say about my readings in the next post.

Good night!

Sunshine, Beautiful Sunshine

Today was a great day! The babies were so good today for Bev and me. Gabrielle was sick and Show Hwa doesn't come in on Sundays. None of them threw a temper tantrum and besides a few not wanting to eat, they were perfect little babies. Plus the sun was shining! Bev even let me go out for a little bike ride this afternoon when things were semi-quiet. Wan Ching, one of the older girls I am really connecting with, also came in and helped during the late afternoon while it was just me while Bev took a nap and went for a walk. It was really fun to hang out with Wan Ching and learn a few more Chinese words. I was really thankful for her help, too!

Since I have been pressed for time and not able to post much, there are lots of pictures and things to get you caught up on.  First, we now have 14 babies- 7 over four months and 7 under two months. The newest little one is Mr. Lin (Gwong Lyeng) at three weeks. Him, En Chr, Mr. Feng, and Miss Peng are all waiting to be allocated.

Thanksgiving was fun having all of the missionaries in town. It was a little bitter sweet not being able to really relax and spend time with people, since taking care of babies is an all day every day kind of job. But I was very thankful for the food and time I did get to spend chatting with friends.

Our delicious food

Caitlyn Edwards, me, and Bethanie Pagel. They are both daughters of missionaries here. They are so sweet!

Me and my girls (Gabrielle-L, Jennifer-R)

Ted carving the Thanksgiving ham

The day after Thanksgiving we celebrated Christmas! We'll celebrate Christmas again on actual Christmas, but not with these wonderful people.

On Thanksgiving, Show Hwa caught the little gecko that lives behind the baby cereal on the counter. Gabrielle and I decided to name it "Bi Hoo" which means gecko is Chinese (we're very creative :) ). IN the pictures, he is in a baby food container. Sadly it died a few days later because the fly we caught for it to eat was too big.

The carrots in Taiwan are HUGE!! To compare, they are next to a sleeve of Ritz crackers.

On our day off this past week, Gabrielle, Jennifer, and I went to the beach! It was so relaxing. The weather here is still pretty nice, shorts and long sleeve or pants and t-shirt type weather, so it wasn't too cold. We didn't go swimming though. Even with it somewhat nice outside, the water was still freezing. It was so great to just lay on a blanket and listen to the ocean waves crash. A cool thing about the beaches here is that they have black sand. It feels the exact same, just a different color than the sand we're used to back home.

Awesome

Jennifer and me

In the distance is Turtle Island

Gross hogs that came out of nowhere and started following us as we waited for our taxi.

At the beach, there were also lots of fishermen, but we didn't get any pictures of them.

And last, but not least is photos of baby Elijah who went home with his parents last week. They arrived safely at home a few days ago. He's precious.

Elijah and me jammin' to some tunes during "nap" time

Such a sweet baby boy with cookie on his face. I love that smile. 

We didn't have any girls that we could put bows on for so long, so since Elijah had the craziest hair, he was our victim. 

He was our little mover.

Jumping on Show Hwa's lap.

Happy family (Elijah- 8 months) + Jennifer

Monday, November 29

Hi everyone,
I am pretty worn out tonight and my patience is waning. One baby stops crying and another begins. After this 15 hour shift, I hopefully will get some much needed rest. A few things from today:

- The mother of the 5 month old and the 5 year old that I wrote about about a month ago decided to give them up again today, so they arrived here thus afternoon. The baby boy is now six months old. He and his sister are both really cute. His name is En Chr and he looks like he is already 8 months old. He is a big boy. He was pretty scared at first, who wouldn't be surrounded by a huge group of people in your face, none of which is your mom. But he gas done well tonight. They both will be up for adoption together.
-There are a lot of health issues affecting everyone here, so please pray that the Lord would provide good health and healing to the kids, babies, and us.
-Elijah left today. It had me, Show Hwa, and both his mom and dad crying. I am going to miss him!!! Also they missed their flight out to Tokyo due o a mix up in what airport they were flying out of, so Ted and them are all spending the night in Taipei and the Lewis's are hoping for a flight out tomorrow to get them to where they need to be. They came from Spain, but now have to fly back to the states to get Elijah's U.S citizenship. After a few days there, they will fly back home to Spain.

Good night

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! So much to be thankful for- babies, friends, parents, foreign countries, pumpkin pie. :)

Yesterday, I was feeling a bit homesick, missing friends and family around the holidays. Talking to people from back home and knowing everyone is getting to be together made me wish I could be there, too. While it is still bitter sweet being away during the holidays, I am surrounded by just as much love here. Part of the missionary families who are celebrating Thanksgiving at the Home with us arrived today. A lot of the people who came are missionaries I met the first time I came to Taiwan- the Pagels and the Edwards. Tomorrow Angela Jones, a friend from Truman who also came to Taiwan with me the first time, Jennifer Reynolds and Peter Bennett, two of the other missionaries are coming down as well. It has been so good seeing familiar faces and catching up with them. The Pagels and the Edwards both have daughters that are about 14 who like to help us with the babies. Tomorrow we will have a whole American Thanksgiving meal for lunch- turkey, pie, cranberries, sweet potatoes! Having them all here and eating great food helps ease the homesickness!

Here are some things I forgot to write in the last post:
-The twins were allocated and are now named Brecken Maddox and Tristan Lennox. They are doing well and have both grown so much. Tristan is still bigger, but they both are looking much more healthy and much cuter!
-We got a new baby GIRL today!!! Her name is Peng Shr Tong and she is two weeks old.
-Jennifer made a video of her first 3 months here and although it is not my video, she said I could post the link for you all to view it. It is of her experience and has lots of pictures of the babies and what we do while we serve. Here is the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgKbEnRcqw0
-Ted has the older kids memorize a Bible verse every week. They say it every night before the eat dinner. Jennifer and I have been trying to learn them as well, in Chinese! So far I know Psalm 144:3 and 135:5!

So thankful for all of you who are praying for me, the babies, and the Home. Thank you, God, that I have parents who have loved and cared for me my whole life (Thanks, Mom and Dad!). Thank you, God, that I have people who I can call friend and brother. Thank you that I get to be here loving these children. Thank you that you are good and want us to know you. Thank you that you provide and care for us. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for giving me this wonderful experience. Thank you that you are in control.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Babies, Babies, and more Babies!

Sorry I haven't been able to post in awhile. We are busier and finding time to sit down and type is getting harder.

This week's theme has been adjusting to change. With Rebecca leaving at the end of last week, we knew we would have a little bit more work among all of us, especially with caring for the twins who eat more often than the other babies. Then we got two more babies- Mr. G (now allocated as Ethan Luke Ebbling) and Mr. Feng.

Ethan Luke came last Monday and is a month and a half old. He has a very special and sad story. His is a Vietnamese baby. His mother got pregnant before she met a man from Taiwan while he was on a business trip to Vietnam. They got married quickly, so she could move back to Taiwan with him. After the baby was born, they did DNA testing to see if the baby was the husband's or not. Because it was not, the man's parents are making the couple give him up. Both the mother and her husband love this baby and did not want to give him up for adoption, but knew that was their only option to appease his family. Now after they gave the baby up, the parents of the husband are making the husband send his wife back to Vietnam. Such a sad story. Ethan Luke is so cute with a head full of hair that naturally goes into s little mohawk. He is still getting used to us and hasn't quite warmed up. He did finally coo and smile a little in the past few days.

We got Mr. Feng on Wednesday when he was just four days old. He was already bigger than the twins. :) Now Feng is a little over a week old and is adjusting really well. He is a pretty content baby who loves to eat. He almost doesn't look Asian. He has the biggest brown eyes and does not yet seem to have the flat nose the is characteristic of Chinese people. Probably one of the cutest babies I ever seen, although I could be a little bit partial.

Then on Friday a little one and a half year old girl,  Liou Jr Chien, came. Before Ted got back from picking her up, we weren't sure whether or not she would be on our side or with the Aiye's on the older kids side. Ted arrived and right away we knew our answer. She was terrified of all of us white people, speaking sounds that were foreign to her. Since she is already a year and a half, she has been doing much better adjusting to being away from her mother by being surrounded by familiar looking faces and familiar language. The older kids have done really well with her. Even Ying Ju, the youngest older girl (5), has taken to comforting her and playing really well with her.

So last week was crazy. It seemed like God was just going to keep sending babies to us and we didn't know when it would stop. Every other day there was a call that another baby was going to be picked up. I love getting new babies and getting to know and care for them, but last week wore me out. Since we have twelve babies now with five under two months, either Gabrielle or I stay up to help Jennifer with the 11:00pm feeding. Whoever stays up gets to sleep in until 8:00am in the morning, while the other takes the earlier morning shift at 7:00am. We are on a weekly rotation, so this is my week to get up early. I actually like being the one who gets up early because even though it's hard getting up some days, I can go to bed by 9:00pm if I chose to. Being on the 11:00pm shift last week was so hard. I could tell I was crabbier during the days and could hardly ever find a little bit of alone time.

During the days, it feels like we are constantly feeding. I am not getting to play with the older babies as much as I used to be able to, which is sad but understandable with less help and more babies. We had a record day of feedings last week since I'd been here- 106 feedings in one day!! That's almost 90 diaper changes as well! I wouldn't change it for the world!

Last week we took the babies Christmas pictures. After their bath on Monday, we dressed them in red, green, and white outfits and took their pictures to send to their adoptive parents. We even had a Santa Claus hat for them to wear. They were all pretty adorable!

Food adventures for the week was trying fried squid. It was actually delicious, a little chewy. The second new food was an ice cream treat we bought at the vendor by the lake. I don't actually know what it was called, but it was a crepe-like shell filled with peanut candy shavings and three scoops of ice cream. I got mine with pineapple, chocolate, and milk flavored ice cream. Surprisingly, pineapple was my favorite with the peanut candy- Never thought those two flavors meshed well together!

I don't think I ever remember to write about the bread truck. If I have sorry for repeating myself. There is a local bakery that donates their extra pastries and breads to the orphanage. The bread truck comes late at night and is always a treat! It doesn't come on a set schedule. It's just random, so it's extra special and exciting on nights when it does come. Their breads are SO good! I like them so much, I am having trouble fitting into my jeans! :) The bread seems sweeter than bread back home. The ones I like best are filled with a type of coconut shaving.


The last thing to share in this entry is that Elijah's parents are here!!! Praise God for his papers being ready in time! Of course I teared up when they saw him for the first time. I love that part! This meeting was especially special for me because Elijah and I have really bonded over the time I've been here. I love him so much and His parents seem great. Their little family is a little world of culture. They are from the States, but are missionaries in Spain working with African immigrants, and now parents to a little Taiwanese baby! So cool.

I am blessed. God cares.

The babies

So as not to be confusing, I am going to write down the babies that we have currently because i have written a lot about getting new babies and expecting new babies, but some that we have been expecting are not coming anymore. So here is the current list in order by oldest to youngest:

-David (8 months)
-Elijah (8 months)
-Cade (8 months)
-Kwen (5 months)
-Caleb (4 months)
-Logan (3 1/2 months)
-Rylyn (3 1/2 months)
-Ethan (1 month)
-You Ren (2 weeks)
-You Ai (2 weeks)

Prayer Requests:
- That communication would continue to be open and good between everyone in the house
- Please pray for energy, love, patience, and a common goal for all of the workers
-We have a government inspection on the 22nd of November. Please pray for everything to go smoothly, for Ted and Bev not to be overwhelmed.
-Good health for al of the babies, especially the new twins
- I am starting to realize I need to be thinking a little bit about what I am going to do when I return in March to the States- grad school, find a job? Please pray for guidance from God and for God to use this process of deciding the next step to show me the reality of his relationship with me.

Day Off Adventures

Today was the most exciting day off we've had so far. We started by going to the Childhood Steak House restaurant for lunch. One of the older boys, Eli (Wei Jye), works as a waiter there. He speaks pretty good English and is always jumping at the chance to practice, so when we walked in he got a huge grin on his face. We know how to say the word for chicken, pork, and fish, but didn't even have to use them becuase he came over and asked, "Steak, fish, or chick?" :) David, Rebecca's brother, got the steak and all of us girls ordered the chicken. We had no idea what else he would bring out. But it was pretty nice to just say chicken and then be greeted with a whole four course meal. First we had the "salad", which was more like a wrap with carrots, cabbage, tofu, cilantro, cucumbers, peanut powder, and some sort of meat. Next, was the main meat course, also served with a sunny side up egg, green leafy vegetable and noodles. Third, was a corn soup with a flaky crust over the top of it kind of like a chicken pot pie. The pastry part of it I really liked, but I wasn't too fond of the actual soup. Last, they brought us a type of cold pudding in milk and maybe an orange-ish flavor. Everything was very good. Another plus of eating at a restaurant in Taiwan is that they bring you tea for free!

After lunch, we set off to find the movie theater. We knew it was "near" where we ate, and had gotten verbal directions from Bev, but putting words to places in real life wasn't quite as easy as we'd thought it's be. After stopping at a vendor and then a 7-Eleven and then another 7-Eleven, getting directions at each one, we ended up on the complete opposite side of town. Apparently, three movie theaters were listed on our tickets and each place was taking us to a different one. A worker at the second 7-Eleven was nice enough to call a cab for us to take us where we needed to go. We were home free.....

Or so we thought. The taxi driver was very nice and dropped us off at the theater. We got out and looked around and all of us had an inkling that this might not be the right place. It was a movie theater, but a very shady looking one. A stand out front of a building was set up and three movie posters were hung behind it. The movie we were going to see was not among them. The rest of the building almost looked like a storage unit. All the men at the stand had disgustingly red mouths and a mouth full of rotten teeth from chewing beetle-nut, a type of nut filled with something that gives you a buzz. I asked them where a telephone was a one of them lead us to it. We called the Home to speak to get Show Hwa to speak to someone there to figure out where we needed to be. Turns out the place wasn't a sketchy as it looked and it was one of the movie theaters listed on our ticket (three in all), but not the one we wanted to go to. So we hopped into another taxi....

The second taxi took us right where we needed to be, to the movie theater back very close to the restaurant.  We realized that when we were walking to find the theater in the first place, we had just turned one street to early, and if we would have listened to the first vendor we stopped at for directions we probably would have found our way. I personally didn't mind getting lost. It was a gorgeous day outside (sunshine with no humidity), definitely gave us some adventure, and we made it to our destination just as the movie was beginning!

The movie we saw was Unstoppable and was a really exciting thriller. I'd recommend it, but beware you might not want to ride on a train ever again.


Other highlights of the day:
-Successfully asking "Where is the bathroom?" and "Telephone?" in Chinese
-Getting bings in the market after the movie. This time I tried a milk shaved ice with strawberry sauce. Rebecca got a strawberry shaved ice with mulberries, David a strawberry with chocolate sauce, and Jennifer and Gabrielle mango shaved ice. Next time I want to try a peanut shaved ice with chocolate sauce! And maybe then I'll be brave enough to try a taro root shaved ice...we"ll have to see about that one. I wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good and rare occasion to get a bing.
-Getting to hug Caleb when I got back to the Home

Twins!

Ted and Bev went to Tainan yesterday (which is on the southwestern side of the island) to pick up our new, seven day old, IDENTICAL twin boys! You (pronounced "yo") Ren was born first and is 4 lbs. 6 oz., and You Ai (pronounced "eye"), pulled out second is 5 lbs. Their names, given by Ted and Bev, both mean "to have love". I was the first to feed and change You Ai when he got here. I couldn't believe how tiny he was! They make Mr. Jang, who is now almost a month old, look big, which he really isn't.

The five month old and five year old siblings who were supposed to come today, did not. Their mother decided to give them up, then decided to take them back, then give them up again all within the span of a few days. They did not come today, so we are assuming she is deciding to keep them again. The mother seems very unstable. I can't imagine giving up your little girl after raising her for five years! Please be praying that God would make sure that the best thing for the children will be done.

We also are not receiving the  two month old baby boy. His mother is going to jail and has decided to take him with her. In Taiwan the women are allowed to care for the baby in jail until the child is one year old. I don't really know how that works, but my opinion is that a jail is not the best place to raise a baby. I don't know why the mother is in jail or for how long her sentence is. But continue to pray for this baby, as well, that the doors for him to come here would still be open.

Although those babies will not be coming to the home, we got news today that a baby girl was born today and will be here on Thursday or Friday. We knew we were getting her, but didn't expect her to be born so soon. Her mother got pregnant while her husband was away for an extended sailing trip. She did not tell him she was pregnant when he returned. Instead she told him she had a tumor! I don't know about you husbands out there, but I'm pretty sure you would not fall for that one, especially if you already had three children by her. He soon found out the truth about the bump on her stomach, and responded opposite of what we all thought. He was so gracious and agreed to sign the papers even though it is not his child.

More exciting news is that Mr. Jang and Ju Ju (who we actually just call mei mei ("little sister")) have been allocated. Mr. Jang is now Ethan Michael Behrens and Mei Mei is Rylyn Mackenzie Darley. Their process of being adopted is under way! 

Tomorrow we get the day off and are going to go see a movie. It's our last day off with Rebecca before she leaves. :(

Before I go, a HUGE thank you to my parents, Matt and Melody Mahder, and Leah Bergsten. It was like Christmas today!! I got two packages with lots of goodies and a letter! Now, I am supplied with candy, beautiful pictures of the fall leaves and landscapes of Kirksville, actual pressed leaves, fig newton's, and ingredients to make oatmeal cookies and a pecan pie!!! :)

Thursday, Nov. 3

Right now the babies are taking their afternoon nap and I am eating my lunch of rice, pumpkin, bamboo, and an orange. I realize I haven't been talking recently about the culture/food differences of my every day life, so I'll try and remember to add in those things. I am also taking a nice little break from downstairs, while Gabrielle is down there,  and listening to music in my room. Gabrielle and I are also going to take a bike ride into town this afternoon, so she can get some money out. It'll be a fun little outing.

Rebecca's brother is visiting this week and then they are both leaving to travel the country for another week before flying back to Canada. It will be really sad to see her go. We are all going to miss her. With her gone Gabrielle, Show Hwa, and I will have our work cut out for us, as we are getting newborn twin boys, a 2 month old boy, and a five month old boy on Monday!

I got a treat last night. Jennifer went out to eat with her Chinese teacher and they brought us back DONUTS!!!! Their donut place is called Mister Donut and they taste pretty much like a Dunkin' Donuts in America with a few different flavors. I was so excited and have really been trying to exercise my self-discipline and not eat them all. :)

Good news- The little boy, You Chyang, who cracked his wrist is completely healed. After his first x-ray, the doctor said it would take 3 months to heal, but he went back again and they couldn't find the crack again. They already took the cast off and now they said he only has to wait 10 days before playing ball again. I asked him at dinner last night if it still hurt and he said no. Praise God for healing!

Also, a missionary family from Taichung came and visited the orphanage yesterday. They have a fifteen year old boy who has Down Syndrome. The mom was so excited to meet our David!! When she picked David up he made his wonderful happy screech and she said she knew that beautiful sound. She helped us understand a little bit more about Down's and is going to send us some therapy exercises for him! This has been something I have been praying for. Praise God!

BAD NEWS- I might have a boil on my leg. I have been watching the spot for about three days now and it is continuing to get worse. Bev and Anna don't think it really looks like a boil, but it is raised, red, hard, and has a head on it. It also is very painful to touch. Please be praying for it to go away!

Happy Halloween!

So we don't celebrate Halloween here, but i'm sure a lot of you guys did back home. It's normally one of my favorite things to hand candy out to all the little trick-or-treaters and see their cute costumes. I did have the pleasure of seeing one adorable little ladybug here. Ava's parents dressed her up for a few pictures this morning before they left. It was a black and red polka dotted sleeper with a hood that had ears on it. She looked so cute!

Also, now that Ava is in Taipei with her parents and will be flying home to the states tomorrow, you get the privilege of seeing pictures of her! Here she is:

The happy family meeting for the first time!

This was taken about 2 1/2 weeks after I got here.

Me holding Ava my second day here.

Ava ready to go home to the States with her parents!

Now with Ava gone, we have eight babies again. Caleb has a really bad ear infection, so please be praying for the pain to go away and for it to heal. Jennifer has been having some difficult times at nights because Mr. Jang and Lin have their days and nights mixed up. They are both angels during the day, but have been staying up a lot of the night with Jennifer. Please pray for us as their caretakers to have wisdom and patience with all of the babies and to know when to let them cry and when not to.

Please continue to pray for David and his development! I found myself getting frustrated with him because it is hard to see improvement when you are with him everyday. I want so badly for him to be able to kick his legs and hold his own head up, but I forget that he wants that, too, but can't do anything about it. After all he is just a baby! In the past few days, I found myself getting aggravated at Kwen, too, for not being able to hold onto his toys. I was frustrated with myself for getting frustrated at the babies, so I skyped my mom and asked her advice. I wanted to know if she ever got frustrated with Tyler and me when she was trying to teach us something and we just weren't getting it. Helping me not feel like the meanest person in the world, she said all mothers go through that, and that I have to remember that they are only babies and can't help spitting up, or crying a lot, or not being able to do things. Wow, what a concept, right? :) I feel like that should've been common sense. But, I guess it's my perfectionism in me or my selfishness that comes out in wanting the babies to do what I think they should be able to do or what I want them to do that needs to die. Who knew loving even the cutest babies could be so hard sometimes! It has been a good lesson this week to learn that loving them means to want good for them whether or not that means convenience or happiness for me. I must love them where they are at and have patience with them, understanding that they are only babies. 

Here are some other tidbits of my life:

- I got to play a game of basketball with the older kids last weekend. It was all the girls and Jong Hau (Bob) verse all the boys.

-Elijah stood up by himself for the first time! (He's almost 8 months)

- Kwen lost his hair, so he looks bald and like he is a little marine with a crew cute. Even cuter than before!

-Logan has been talking a lot and is nothing but smiles if you talk to him.

-I learned how to suction out the snot from Ju Ju's nose. I weirdly enjoy doing it.

- Mr. Jang got his first bath today!

-One of the older boys, who is eleven,  cracked a bone in his wrist and had to get a soft cast put on.

- Both Pei Lewyn and Gwo Hwei said my perm was beautiful :)

-Finished reading through Ruth and am on to 1 Samuel. Learned from Judges that it's not okay do have everyone just do as he sees fit. We must look to God.

-Got to talk to Lindsey and Matt Bartlett on skype!!

Love to everyone! Ai.

Hello Curly Hair!

So I don't feel like typing much tonight, so I'll be brief.

Say goodbye to my straight hair and hello to the new do! We had a day off today and the four of us girls, along with Febbie (daughter of one of the Aiye's, also teaches the kids at the orphanage. She's a little older than me, and studied at Mizzou last year) went and got perms! I know, you are probably thinking we are crazy and maybe we are, since we had no idea had to tell them what we wanted done, and after an hour and a half of washing, cutting, and curling, we found out they just thought we wanted our hair curled with a curling iron. A little phone call to help us get the right word for "perm", miscommunication gone. They had to re-wash our hair and start over, but were surprisingly nice about it. In the end all four of us have happy heads of curly hair! Not bad for spending FIVE hours in the hair salon!

When we got back to the Home, I was surprised at how much I missed all of the babies! This was the first time that I noticed how much I missed them. I came in and had to give Elijah a HUGE hug and tell them all how much I love them!

Here are pictures!

Down with bangs pulled back

Half up

Back shots

New Babies!!

Welcome Jang Jao Hsuan and Lin Liang Ju!!!

Mr. Jang, as we will call him until he is allocated and given an English name, is 13 days old and only weighs about seven pounds. He is so tiny and makes our little 3 month old babies look huge! He is a mountain baby, so he is beautiful and dark. Bev thinks he looks like a little girl, but I think it's only because he has eyelashes any girl would be jealous of. So far, he has been pretty fussy, but you can't blame him. He's coping to this new, weird world. I love holding him and feeding him. I don't think I've ever taken care of such a tiny baby before. The first time I picked him up, it felt like I was lifting a sheet of paper.

Miss Lin, or Ju Ju as I call her, is 3 months old today! She is adorable and quickly making her way into my heart. When you look at her she doesn't look extremely little because she has a bigger head, but when you pick her up, her body is like nothing. She came from Ray of Hope, a pregnancy counseling center in Tai'nan. Her mother was not married and realized she could not take care of her by herself. She is such a happy baby and already smiling at all of us!

Also, the Earhart's arrived on Monday morning. It was such a touching experience seeing them see Ava for their first time. They are going to be such great parents! They will be here for a week.

It was perfect timing that right when Ava was going home, we got another little girl, so that we still at least have one.

Well, one of them is stinky, so that's all I can write for now! :)

Saturday, Oct. 23

With Ted and Bev back it feels like evryone is home again. It's nice to have a mother/father figure back in the house. There has been some sad news recently. En Jie, the little two year old boy that was here was taken back by his mother and grandmother last night. The grandmother was the one who really wanted to take him back. It's sad because we don't know how good of care they will give him. En Jie was so sad and was crying in Ted's arm becasue he didn't want to leave.

Mixed with the sad goodbyes was a lot of fun for the kids last night. Since it had been raining straight for the past two days and the kids were feeling like they had been locked up inside forever, Ted had Jennifer, Gabrielle and I sing a song for them during devotions. We sang "Singing in the Rain". Not the traditional version though. It was one with actions that the kids could do with us. Ted's goal was to get rid of the pent up energy the kids had. It worked and they loved it. Even the oldest boys were laughing...maybe at us, since we looked pretty silly...but they were laughing nonetheless! After we finished, they sang "Father Abraham" and a couple more action songs in Chinese. It was so fun to watch them.

Here are some prayer requests for the babies:
-For David's development- stronger neck muscles to keep his head up and stronger leg muscles so that he can kick his legs. Since I have never been around a baby with Down's Syndrome, I don't know how far behind he is in his development exactly. Because he cannot keep his head up or does not have any strength in his back or legs, it is hard for him to do anythign besides lay down. We have been working with him and are seeing some improvement, but we would really like for him to be able to go in a walker or sit in a Bumbo seat all by himself.
-Kwen, Elijah, and Caleb are not taking their bottles very well. Pray for us to have pateince and love, for us to figure out a solution, and for them to continue getting the nutrients they need.
- Safe travels for Ava's parents who are coming on Monday.
- For the people all across the island who are still trapped or missing becasue of all the rain.

Prasies:
-The sun is shining today!!
- I went for a run this morning
- I am loving reading Deuteronomy. Check out Chapters 10 and 11 (especially 10:16-22 and 11:13-15, 26-28). What a loving God that he would set up all His commands because he wants our good. He wants us to live long and enjoy our days in safety. Something that is good to remember!

Typhoon Megi

Typhoon Megi has been said by the newspapers to be one of the worst typhoons in the past twenty years. It is not directly hitting Taiwan, but has stayed more to the west, causing much damage to the Philippines and working it's way up to China.We are just getting the outskirts of it shown through all of the rain we are having. It has not stopped raining literally the entire day today. According to the Central Weather Bureau Lo-Tung got almost 21 inches of rain just today. Which was nothing compared to the 36 inches Su'ao township got! The rain is predicted to continue for another seven days.

We are completely fine (just a little bit wet), and there is no need to worry. Streets have started to flood, and the kids got out of the schools early today because of the potential hazard caused by all of the rain. We have one boy who is still stuck at school. His school is in Su'ao, so they are keeping the kids there overnight because it is too dangerous to let them try and come home. The whole island's train system has also been shut down temporarily.

It is definitely the most rain I have ever seen. It is not like it is raining so hard you can't see. It's just a steady fall. Show Hwa let us girls walk down to the lake to see how much the water had risen. It was crazy. The water was completely covering the dock where we normally would sit and watch the water show. The streets around the lake and some of the ones around the orphanage were also completely covered with water. We saw two fisherman taking advantage of the extra water. They had rain coats and boots on and were just standing on the road catching the fish by their feet in a net. :)

Anna also took us girls to see the river. She said you normally would be lucky to see any water in it at all. But today is was gushing with muddy water. Show Hwa had to leave early today to make sure she could get back to her house. So while we were with Anna, Gwo Hwei had to watch all seven babies. It was quite a funny site! We were only gone for maybe fifteen minutes and when we got back he said he was sooooo tired.

I'll keep you updated on everything as I can. The internet goes in and out f\during this weather. We are very thankful that everyone is fine here and that Ted and Bev made it back from China!

Rain, rain, go away

Hello month of October, hello rain! It has been raining almost every day here since the beginning of the month. We got a morning full of sunshine today, but it didn't last too long. I have actually been liking the rain, and have taken both a walk and a bike ride while it's been pouring. Both were refreshing!

Since the last time I wrote, Cade and Elijah had their courtdates. Everything went smoothly. We might be waiting on a paper for Cade still. Unfortunately though, neither one of their parents stopped by to see them, so they won't have a picture of themselves with their birth parents. I was really hoping their parents would come, so I could see what they look like. I always like seeing if a child resembles his mother or father at all.

Also on the baby front-

Kwen had been so fussy at every feeding time. He would yell and scream and throw a huge tantrum, and then the minute you put the bottle in his mouth he would fall asleep!! Then he would wake up screaming ten minutes later because he was hungry, and the cycle would continue. After trying lots of things- tummy medicine, lactose free formula, feeding at different times- we finally found an answer. We changed the nipple on his bottle and he has taken the last nine or so feedings without a problem.

Cade and Caleb both have colds right now. Cade's is pretty bad right now. It wakes him up in the middle of his nap because he can't breathe very well. When you go to get him out of his bed he looks so pitiful and adorable with snot and tears all over his face. It's such a sad site and breaks your heart, but also makes you smile because you know he's okay and looks so darn cute all the time.

David and Elijah had been really constipated, which made for some not so happy babies! But after some prunes added to their milk (which we like to call chocolate milk, so the babies are happy about taking it) and a little help from Show Hwa (don't ask), they both have been pooping every day! Not to mention have smiles on their faces again. Oh the things you get excited about when you are taking care of babies all day long! :)

Logan and Ava are both getting bigger bottles now and finishing them off better than the big babies. Now hopefully, Logan will start to grow up instead of out!

Ava was gone today at her physical with Anna, and it seemed so weird only having six babies. It was so quiet. It's nice because you can really focus on the babies individually, but it sometimes makes for long afternoons. We have resorted to playing sing-a-long songs or hymns in the afternoon to make the time pass before the 4:30 feeding.

Favorite moments of the past week:
- Getting Caleb to giggle by moving his arms like he was waving at everybody. Such an easy baby to please!
- Rocking Cade in the big rocking chair before devotions and having him just gaze at me for five straight minutes with his beautiful big brown eyes.
- Riding into town with Jennifer to get bing sauce. We thought we could beat the rain, but it ended up pouring on us. We were the crazy Americans riding our bikes and getting drenched!
- Finding the chocolate spread that I had last time I was in Taiwan. I put it on my toast. It's so good!
- Learning how to say "It's a pleasure to know you," in Chinese and impressing my table at dinner.

That's what I'll leave you with. It really is a pleasure to know you! Renshi ni, wo hen gaoxing!

One Month Down!

Yesterday was my one month of being here! I cannot believe it has been that long already. It feels like time is flying by. I am happy that I still have five more months to go!

So for the past four days the downstairs has been swarming with fruit flies. We thought it might be because of some fruit that was on the counter, so we threw that along with some other questionable items into the fridge. Still, the fruit flies multiplied. Then, we decided to set traps. Elson girls, you will appreciate this! We set three different traps- one with cider vinegar, one with fruit juice, and one with a rotten banana. Within about an hour the traps were already doing their job. Yet, somehow, the fruit flies numbers still seemed to be getting larger by the minute. And then, we found the culprit. Show Hwa was cleaning in the back room and was like, "Girls, I think I found the problem!" A rotten pumpkin! Now that the pumpkin is gone, the numbers have been slowly going down.

Besides the fruit flies, the last few days have been filled with some adventure of their own. On Thursday, I got to help Anna take Kwen and Ava to the doctor's for shots. We had to drive a short drive to town and through the market streets to get to the doctor's office. It made me realize how much I miss the streets of Taiwan- the stands, the scooters, the smell. I can't quite put my finger on what the smell is that I like so much. Maybe it smells like fried things, or just the streets of Taiwan. Anyway, I like it. The doctor's appointment went very smoothly. It is set up quite different than an American doctor's office. The waiting room is the same, but then in the back there was one main room where the doctor's desk and computer was. We just went right in and sat down at a chair next to him and while he was working, he just did a quick check. Then after the height, weight, and head size measurements, they each got one shot in their leg. They both only let out one little cry and that was it. Ava astonished the nurses with being just as long as Kwen is. With Kwen being a little over four months and Ava being a little over two months, they both were 59 cm long! After the doctor's, we went with Anna to drop off and pick up the mail.  We had a little bit of a melt down in the car waiting for her to come back, but then they both fell asleep in my arms on the car ride home.

Yesterday, all of us girls plus Anna took Kwen, Ava, Cade, and Elijah to get their passport pictures taken. It was another fun trip. Each of the babies got to change into one of their own new outfits. Most of the clothes we have are donated clothes that all the babies share, but their parents do send them care packages with stuffed animals, blankets, and their very own clothes, too! Then we were on our way to the photo place. All of them did a great job. It only took less than five minutes for each. Then on the way home we picked up Sz Hua (Sue Wa or Daisy is her English name) and Lu Li (Lilly, Show Hwa's daughter) from school.

Also Kwen had his courtdate this past Wednesday. Basically, the courtdate is when the baby's biological parents go to court and sign the papers saying that they are giving up all of their rights. Then, Ted and Bev encourage them to come back to the orphanage, so that we can get a picture of them with the baby, so that the baby has at least one photo of their birth parents when they are older. Kwen looked exactly like his mom! She was very sweet. She cried almost the whole time she was here. She held him and played with him. His mom is pretty young and her parents came with her to see Kwen. Her dad even kised Kwen, which is very rare. Normally, fathers disown their daughters for getting pregnant and want nothing to do with the baby, but the whole family was very nice and loving towards Kwen. Cade and Elijah both have courtdates this upcoming Wednesday, so it will be interesting to if their birthparents come and how they interact with their baby.

Ava's AIT appointment is set, so her parents are coming on the 25th to pick her up. She is lucky to be going home so soon!!!

Besides baby news, I finished Leviticus and am on to Numbers! Bev said Ted would be willing to sit down and talk to me about any questions/doubts I have while reading. When he gets back I am excited to take him up on that.

Prayer requests:
- fruit flies to all be gone!
-understanding or just to be okay with all of the laws of the Old Testament, God's punishment, and why rules are so important
- for my heart to be grateful to God and not feel entitled to happiness or feel like I deserve easiness
- for help loving when it is not convenient
- eyes to see God as my creator and the creator of all these babies and nature