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

New Little Ones!

On Monday, a two year old boy came to the orphanage. His name is Wong En Jie. He is sooooo cute! Until Ted can find an adoptive family for him he will be staying here. We don't get to see him much. He stays on the other side with the Aiye's during the day and sleeps with the older kids as well. We are also getting a 3 month old GIRL!! Ted and Bev will pick her up on their way back from their trip this next week. We are all excited to have a new little one to take care of and are especially excited that it is going to be a girl. We have been a little out-numbered!

Today Jen Jen came down and us girls got to take an extended walk this afternoon. We went and sat down by the lake (Plum Blossom Lake) and enjoyed a pineapple bing, while watching the water show. Then we went to a little coffee shop that is close by and got mixed fruit teas. It was a relaxing afternoon.

Two funny stories from the past few days:
- Us girls trade off going on a walk every night. The two that don't get to go on a walk, get to eat dinner with the older kids. Last night it was Jennifer and my's turn to go on a walk. Before we left she saw a gecko in the front room. They are very common here. There is a little one that lives behind the tea and medicine on the counter and another in the cabinet. They are normally really cute and little. Well, the one Jennifer saw was a lot bigger and she wanted me to see it. So I went in to see it and before I got there it ran behind a bunch of cards on the shelf. I leaned in close to see if I could see it, and at that exact moment it decided to scurry out and run up the shelf. I jumped and screamed! Then later on our walk we ran into Gwo Hwei fishing. He caught two fish while we were there. One was tiny, which he proceeded to throw at us (gross). The other was huge and when i was looking at it's mouth about four inches from it's face, it gulped and flopped. Again I jumped and screamed. Overall, two screams later, I was disappointed in my girliness for the night.


Stephanie,
That is really funny to me that Gwo Hwei thinks I'm funny. He is always laughing at me- when I try to speak Chinese, when I eat, when I am doing nothing. I thought he was just making fun of me, but now that I know it's because I'm hilarious, I'll stop getting mad at him! :) His new job is being a guard at an apartment complex. He works days and nights on a 7 to 7 shift. It is actually at two different buildings, one in LuDong and one in Yilan. I have't understood his schedule yet. He worked two nights in a row and then had a day off and was working during the day today I think. Shr Mama said the job has quite a bit of responsibility. He is not allowed to read or do anything else besides watch the video monitors. He also walks around the building a couple of times a night to make sure everything is normal, as well as checks the water. That is what I have understood it to be anyway. It seems like he is liking it okay. Even though he has been tired from it, it hasn't kept him from fishing! :)

Baby Update

Today, the barber came to the orphanage and Elijah got a hair cut! :) It's his second one already. He looks like a little boy now. He is becoming really active and getting in to EVERYTHING! He's the only "big kid" now that Eugene and Timothy both left. His favorite toys are mirrors to smile at himself, kleenexes, and plastic bags. Obviously the last two not the best things for him to be getting into.

David had gotten some mosquito bites on his arm and leg and had a somewhat allergic reaction to them, but we've been putting medicine on them and they look much better. He is still the sweetest baby we have, hardly crying and almost always has the cutest smile for you.

Cade is still small and behind in his development. Even though he is almost seven months, he looks and acts more like a 4/5 month old. But we are trying to help him learn to sit up by himself and are hoping he will try to start crawling/moving around soon. When we take walks he is everyone's favorite. All the people we pass want to oooh and aaahh over him! And he definitely deserves it!

Kwen is becoming sweeter every day. God is really giving me more love for him. He has finally started to calm down and take his bottles more frequently without putting up a huge fight. He is smiling and giggling and his eyes could capture anyone's heart.

Caleb has moved in to my favorite spot. :) He is so precious. He hasn't been sleeping very well, so nap times aren't the most fun. But sometimes when he is just laying by himself he breaks out in the biggest smiles for no apparent reason. It's so funny. You can also catch him staring at you from across the room.

Logan is getting to be a chunker! He hasn't quite stretched out yet and continues to be our prized eater! He also smiles the most out of the little ones and has the cutest dimple on his left cheek. You'd think he was a grown man by the size of the sounds that come out of him. :)

Miss Ava continues to be the special girl of the group. She just turned two months yesterday and has begun to smile! We increased her feeding amount because she has been really fussy, but it hasn't seemed to help yet.

They are all doing great and appreciate your prayers!

The Home, Day off, and Timothy Pictures

Gwo Hwei's shrimp. He always brings them in to show us. :)

Gwo Hwei with his catch of the night.

 The cribs. The doors slide down on the ones on the left.

We had to put up this sign because people visiting kept walking in
and waking the babies up!!!

 Grace, one of the older girls, wanted to do my hair one night. She said it as beautiful! :)

 SNAIL! They come out when it rains and if you catch them, you can eat them!

Angela and I at the Cultural Center 

At first, I thought this was a huge piece of tofu, but then we realized it was soap!

A big crowd watching a folk show

My pineapple, strawberry, and red bean ice cream with hot jen ju balls (tapioca balls)
on the side. It was interesting.

Me, Jennifer, Gabrielle, and Rebecca

Walking the streets lined with little shops and exhibits.

 Guy making candy outside his shop.

 TIMOTHY LIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, Oct. 9

Today was pretty much a normal day, except an eight person band came and played for the kids. The band consisted of a couple of trumpets, french horns, and a tuba. We took the babies over and joined in on the fun. The kids and babies loved it. It was really cute because they played "Do Re Mi" and had the grade school kids get up in front of everyone and sing. They also played Amazing Grace and Onward Christian Soldiers per request of Ted. Besides the band, today was filled with the usual playing, changing diapers, feeding and reading. Tomorrow, I am hoping to break out the Chinese computer program and actually start learning a little bit during their afternoon nap.

"Dzai jian" (Good bye)

Little Blessings

The internet continues to be somewhat finicky here, so I started a post on Thursday morning, but am just now finishing it...

 It is a quiet Thursday morning. I am on early morning duty today, so I've been sitting outside the babies' room since 6:30am. Caleb got up at about 7:15am for a bottle, but now everyone is silently sleeping. AMAZING!

I have been a little bit under the weather for the past few days. A flu bug seems to be going around. Although I didn't feel too great, it actually allowed me to sleep for almost an entire day and have some alone time reading (I'm to the middle of Exodus!) and talking to some friends via skype, which was much needed and greatly appreciated!

Angela Jones and her friend Melissa came to visit me on Sunday. They both work at Bethany, a Chrisitan boarding school in Taiwan, Angela teaching special education at the Taipei campus and Melissa working as a dorm assisstant (kind of like a residential/student advisor) at the Taichung campus. It was really great to spend four days with them, and just to have a familiar face and someone to talk to.

Timothy's parent's flight got in really late Tuesday night, and they left this (Friday) morning. He did really well adjusting to them. Full of smiles as usual for the most part. He did have a huge boil form right before his parents got here, and it was really hurting him and had to be drained a couple of painful times. We wish him and his family the best, but were very sad to see him go.

We are down to seven babies. Please be praying that if there are babies in Taiwan that need us, God would provide the means of getting them to the Home. It seems a little backwards to be praying for more babies to come to the orphanage since we would hope that their biological parents would love and provide a caring home for them, but we know that is not always the case. Ted and Bev have so many wonderful families waiting to love and call a baby their own!

Jen Jen and Renee came down from Taipei and gave us a day off on Wednesday! Us four girls, along with the Colorado group, Angela, and Melissa went to the National Center for Traditional Arts in Yilan County, which is the same county we live in. It was about a twenty minute car ride away. The center is filled with cute little shops and exhibits showcasing Taiwanese culture and history and a food court all set alongside a beautiful lake surrounded by little pathways, making for a peaceful walking area. Everyone enjoyed the day of shopping.

Ted, Bev and Anna came back from their retreat and the Colorado group also left this morning, making things settle back down into the normal routine. But not for long as they plan to leave for China on the 14th for a week.

Extra blessings from this week:
- I now know all the babies by their cries. Don't even have to look to know who is upset, but of course we still do!
- Great food this week. (But I am starting to really miss American food!)
- Celebrating Kendra's (girl from Colorado) birthday with cake and icecream
- Taking Caleb's nap with him. I fell asleep with him on my chest on thecouch! :)
- Having a late girls' night talk with Gabrielle, Jennifer, and Rebecca
- Kwen and Cade's courtdates are coming soon!
- Tonight is Scarecrow and Mrs.King night with Anna and Bev

I will post more pictures of everything soon.

Love,
Jillian

Eight Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed

Hi everyone,

I haven't opened my computer in the last few days, so there is a lot that has happened. On Tuesday evening a group of three fathers and their three daughters came to do a short term mission trip. They will be staying and helping around the Home until next Friday when they fly back to Colorado. One of the girls wants to be a missionary in mainland China and her family knew of the Skiles, so they decided to take a short trip to test the waters. She is a really brave girl. She is seventeen and was diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) awhile ago. Her medication is helping a lot, but she hadn't been strong enough to do any travelling until now. She has always wanted to do a mission trip and with the permission of her doctor and her dad's help she is here. It is clear how much she loves the babies. The other girls and their dads are friends of theirs through church. The girls have been helping in the nursery a little bit, while Bev has been giving the dads chores to do around the house.

On Thursday, Eugene went home with his parents!!! They flew back to San Diego and we got a call saying everything went smoothly and that Eugene was an angel on the trip. :) It was a really neat process to see. When the Ryan's left they were so appreciative of Ted and Bev and the whole place. Definitely cool to be part of the process!

Mr. Eugene

With Eugene home, we only have eight little ones to take care of. And soon we will be down to seven. Timothy's parents are coming this next Tuesday! I will miss Timothy a lot. He has been one of the most fun to hug, kiss, and play with. Everything you do makes him giggle. Once he goes home I will be able to put my favorite picture I have of him up.

The next week is going to be a little crazy. Ted, Bev, and Anna are all leaving for a conference, Angela Jones (a friend from Truman who is teaching special education in Taipei) and her friend are coming to visit me this Sunday, Timothy parent's arrive on Tuesday, the Colorado gang will be here until Friday, and then Ted and Bev leave for China the week after. It always seems like people are coming and going here, which makes the weeks go by so fast, but can also be a little overwhelming with twelve adults and eight babies in one room!!

Here are some prayer requests:
- My back and neck have really been bothering me since I've been here. Because I sit most of the day rocking babies, I am really tight and sore.
- Connection with the other volunteers. I'm still feeling a bit isolated, which is partly my fault.
- I am trying to read through the whole Bible while I am here. Pray that God would bless that and change me through it.
- Pray against anything that is not a servant's heart and attitude for us as volunteers. Pray against gossip and complaining and arrogance. Pray that love would rule.
- For God to make real to me the joy and reality of Him and His Son, and that my heart would want to rejoice in His name.

AND A BIG THANK YOU TO CLAIRE AND LYNDE FOR MY FIRST TWO LETTERS!!! :) THANKS, GIRLS!

Wo ay ni! (I love you)