A Glimpse into Her World - Angel Home Foster Care Center

OH MY. I'm sitting here shaking my head at how the Lord has revealed Himself and lavished love on us these last 24 hours.  Lottie Powell has been LOVED.  She has been SO TAKEN CARE OF..... and now He has entrusted us to carry on...... what a privilege!  What a blessing!  What love!




On Gotcha Day, we had our guide ask the representatives from the foster care center if it would be possible for us to visit on Thursday.  They were so happy for us to come!  It would seem that taking her back to the place where she's lived since she was three months old would be AWFUL.... why would you want to take a baby who seems to be bonding and attaching well back to the place where she knows and loves the caretakers?  Wouldn't that just add trauma on top of trauma?  You'd think yes.  But everything I'd read about these visits and almost every opinion is to GO.  If you're given the opportunity to visit the orphanage or foster care where your child has spent her life - YOU GO.  Period. 


My two girls have very limited facts about their beginnings.  For every little detail that we do know, there are DOZENS of questions left unanswered.  So, as Mama and Daddy, it's our job to do as much as we possibly can to fill in these gaps.  It's our job to GO and ASK QUESTIONS and LEARN and RESEARCH.  As they grow up, we'll tell them everything we know.  We'll show them all the pictures we have.  And we'll be able to tell them that we did everything we possibly could to get answers.




So, on Thursday, we headed out for the two hour drive to Pingdingshan - Angel Home Foster Care Center.  And spoiler alert:  1) Lottie did great!, 2) They were THRILLED to see us and BEYOND hospitable, and 3) Joe was, and still is, a complete and total emotional wreck.  Bless it.

We loaded up in our van and within a few minutes, both girls were asleep.  They slept the whole two hour drive!  Meanwhile, Mom got another chance to experience the China farmland scene.  Have I mentioned it's field after field after field with folks working with no farm equipment?  I could stare at it forever.  Totally mesmerized.

 We started to get a little nervous when we spotted signs for Pingdingshan City!

 Our driver was using a google map app just like we do!  Ignore the golden statue.  We don't go by that.

 There is also an Angel Home Foster Care Center in Beijing.... this one in Pingdingshan opened up about two years ago, so Lottie was one of the first children to come here.  It's right in the middle of a nice residential area.  The Angel Home of Pingdingshan is for children with severe "mental challenges" as they say here.  Lottie was brought here because her orphanage, Lushou County Orphanage (about 3 hours away) couldn't provide the constant care that her skin needs. So, Angel Home kindly took her in..... and they have provided excellent care for her.  One thing we learned is that orphanages here are funded by the government.  Foster care centers like Angel Home depend on charities or donations to care for the children and provide medical support.  Many children are brought here before a big surgery to get healthy enough to have their operations.  Others are brought here because they need constant or more specialized care.  It would seem like being in that environment day in and day out would be HEAVY and SAD..... BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH JOY IN THIS PLACE.   Y'all.... I can't even describe it.  While Joe was sobbing and I was taking it all in (I don't cry in situations like this..... I'm on a mission and gotta get through this moment.... I cry later when I process things!), they were grinning and THRILLED that we were there.  As soon as we drove up, two of the nannies ran out, whisked Lottie out of my arms, and ran her inside to see the other nannies and children.  I'd already told Joe and Mary that if this happened, it was FINE.  Today is more for HER and THEM than it was for US.  Meanwhile, we were brought inside and given socks and slippers to put on so we didn't bring dirt into the home.  I might use that technique back in Alabama!

Pingdingshan Angel Home - it's the cute little teal building.

shoe racks!  See our shoes parked out front?  And the tubs to the left have clean and dirty socks. Everyone wears booties or slippers around in the home.... I'd noticed this in the videos they had sent, so part of the nanny gift we provided was a pair of pink (soft!) knitted slippers with cute little tassels!

 My new favorite place on the planet earth.

 It was immediately clear that our girl had brought these folks a lot of joy.  They couldn't wait to get their hands on her and began to pass her around and love on her.  You could tell she loved them.....I'm so thankful for that love! Knowing that she's bonded and attached to someone now means that she'll hopefully bond and attach to us, too.  (Which, judging by how sore my arms are.... it's working!)

They were all trying to get their hands on her!

 Mary Powell continues to be a rockstar.  This could have been a bit overwhelming and scary - she couldn't understand a word they were saying to her..... but she was gracious and kind and interested.

They took us into the kitchen where Lottie has learned to be a GREAT eater!  I could just imagine her sitting in that green high chair with that pink bib eating that big bowl of congee! 

We then headed upstairs to see the kids Lottie's age.  These were the friends that she would eat, play, and sleep with!  They showed us which bed was hers (which has already been assigned to another little friend), the room where she played every day, and her bath area.  Because Lottie's skin requires two baths a day, we were most interested in hearing about this routine.  The nannies were so kind and patient to answer our questions and talk us through every step to her bath and lotion and medicines.  SO helpful!  They gave us enough stuff to get us through our time in China and our guide, Celine, found the special cream online and already had some shipped to Guangzhou so we will have enough for several days after we get home. 

 They said this little guy was one of her best buds!  They brought him over to her and LOOK AT THE SMILE ON HIS FACE!  Good gracious.....

I just loved all of the murals painted throughout the home!

Sweet little bath area. Each child has his/her own little wash rag.  And they talked to us about how they clean everything, do laundry, and have a special light machine that they use once a week in every room to get rid of germs.  The place was sparse but I've never seen anything cleaner!

The director of the foster home seemed to be Lottie's favorite.  This precious soul took Lottie 17 hours by train to Shanghai every three months to the special dermatologist that she'd researched herself and found.  Did y'all catch that?  Lottie's medical care happened in SHANGHAI - Mary's home town!  I owe a lot to a bunch of doctors in that place. 

No wonder Lottie hasn't been enjoying her bath!  Our dumb hotel room sink ain't green! 

They'd let her soak here for about 15 minutes then move her to the table for her creams and lotions.

Lottie must have looked out this window A LOT!

This is where some of the kiddies sleep.  Mary was very intrigued by the beds on the floor!

This was Lottie's bed.  She wasn't at all interested in being back in it!

Diaper station!

SWEET, SWEET people.  Truly angels on earth.

This sign is in the sleeping room... it says GOOD LUCK!

Dormitory for the nannies.  They work in shifts and they all stay there in the foster home.

Walls were lovely and you could eat off the floor.

This was the play area for the older kids.  They had a huge range of special needs, but EVERY ONE OF THEM had a smile on their face! JOY EVERYWHERE.

This little feller followed us around from room to room.  Met us when we came in, went to every room with us, and was at the door peeking out when we left.  SOMEBODY bring that baby home.  The little guy on the floor has a family from Hong Kong in process to bring him home!  Hooray for forever families.  Our guide, Celine, said that she's been to lots of orphanages and that, for the most part, the kids are well taken care of.  She even commented that they all seemed so happy in this foster care center..... but she said it's not as good as family.  Right you are, Celine.... these babies need a Mama and a Daddy to love and snuggle and take care of everything. That's one thing I whispered to Lottie during one of our talks this week..... you don't have to worry about anything ever again.  You've got people now..... we'll take care of everything... you just soak in the love.  Relax and soak in the love.  I know these kids feel love, but it's just not the same. They're still alone in this world..... it's just not the same.

LOOK AT THIS LITTLE FELLER. 

I just kept thinking, over and over, you need a Mama.... YOU need a Mama..... and you need a Mama.  Good gracious.......

Lottie's buddy.....

Lottie's playroom and pals!  The little one standing up in the white is waiting for open heart surgery.  She was sent to Angel Home to become strong enough for surgery.  She CUTE.

Clothes drying rack!  On sunny days, they pull it outside onto the patio to air dry.  It was raining while we were there, so it's indoors.

Lottie in her foster care center bed.  One last time......

Mary jumped right in and played!  She got nervous a couple of times and grabbed my hand, but for the most part, she took it all in and did great.  I'd told her to save all her questions for the drive back to the hotel, and she did have a few thoughts..... she asked what the word "abandoned" means.... so Joe gently told her.  She then connected that with her story and asked if she had to be abandoned because of her broken heart.  We told her most likely, yes.  She's been telling lots of folks - the guides, other adoptive families we've met - about how her heart was broken but now it's fixed.  She also has decided that Lottie had to be abandoned so we could come get her and take care of her skin.  Simple words - powerful stories.

Now this guy was a hoot!  His legs don't work, so he crawls (FAST) using his arms and elbows.  But to get from room to room, they put him on this little scooter.  He moves the handles back and forth and that thing FLIES down the halls.  Everybody just kinda moves out of his way when they hear him coming.  He also followed us from room to room on that scooter! Look at his precious face!

The view from Lottie's bedroom.

The next part of the visit is where Joe just lost it.  NONE of this was easy.  Realizing where our girl has been and that these children will be there long after we are gone is HARD.  They are all so precious and so deserving of a family.  And these people who care for them are so hard-working and full of compassion.... it really is so very emotional to take it all in.

We were taken to the school room where some of the older kids were working with a teacher.  They were learning some of the basic Chinese characters and working on some math.

Lottie had been taken to a different room to visit, so she wasn't with us when we got in the room.  As we walked in, they all started waving and saying, in English, HELLO, HELLO!  Welcome!

They were all so sweet!  They'd been using chalk to practice writing their letters on their desks, so Mary and I began talking with them about their work.

See our little friend up front?  Our little shadow!

This little guy, Xiang Yi, seemed to be the ring leader of the bunch.  The rest of the boys stayed at their seats, but he was up and high-fiving us as soon as we walked in......

When Lottie came in the door behind us, Xiang Yi ran over to her yelling (he was LOUD to be such a skinny fella), "Xiang Xiang!  You're here!  I've missed you!  Where have you been???" He then became SO VERY emotional at having missed her so and started crying and rubbing her legs.  The director explained to us that Xiang Yi ADORES Lottie.  Because they share a name (Xiang), he believes that he's her older brother and is always loving on her!  Everyone was trying to calm him down, speaking to him in rapid Chinese and loving on him..... our guide told us they were trying to explain to him that her family had come to take her home.  We quickly pulled out Joe's phone and, through ALL OF OUR TEARS, showed him pictures of Jack and Max - telling him that Xiang Xiang will have older brothers at home to play with and protect her!  He looked very intently at those pictures and kinda calmed down.  Then, Lord have mercy, he looked at us and very seriously said something in Chinese.  Our guide translated and said, "He say PLEASE, PLEASE take good care of her."  I tell you what, people.  Joe Powell was DONE FOR in that moment.  Now, I'm tender-hearted, too, but in moments like this, I kinda plow forward.  Gotta stay in the moment and keep your wits about cha.  NOT JOE.  He was a wreck.  I kept whispering to him to PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, MAN.... but poor thing was struggling.  It was HARD, y'all.  HARD.  And PRECIOUS.  We will NEVER forget this precious boy.

Joe is ugly crying here.

Look at him looking at his "sister"...... OH MY WORD.  If they would have let us, I think we would be coming home with two kids. 

Xiang Xiang and Xiang Yi

We asked if we could take his picture with her and he turned right around and smiled.  Still sniffling, but smiling.....

Then he wanted to hold her.... Uh.... she didn't really go for that.....

Mary stepped in like the rockstar she is and said hello.  And please note her slippers that they'd picked out for her to wear through the home.  Purple bunnies.  So cute. (not sure why this part is underlined.  can't get it to quit.)

Mom and Mary snapped a picture with Xiang Yi and the teacher. I told her that I was a teacher, too!  This was Xiang Yi BEFORE Lottie came in the room and things got rough.  This was what Mary looked like when things made her a little nervous.  Ha.

A friend at school!

Before we got ready to leave, we were able to visit in the office for a little bit.  They showed us the entire file that they had on Lottie and I was able to take pictures of every page.  It's all written in Chinese, but I told Joe if there's a speck of information on our girl that I don't have, I'm not leaving without it.  There were even a few pictures that I'd never seen before! 

Every child in the home has a blue folder like this one with all of their medical records and other information.  All of this is used when their files are officially prepared and they are "paperwork ready" for adoption.  Not sure how many of these kiddies have files prepared, but if anyone's interested, I surely can find out! 

Mary helped me look through Lottie's file.  Joe was blowing his nose and trying to gain his composure. 

We were able to pass out some of our gifts to the nannies that were there that day.  The others who work other shifts would get theirs later.  We were also so thankful to be able to provide the money for them to buy an air condition for the upstairs bedroom.  After being matched with Lottie, we'd had our agency get in touch with the foster home to see if there was anything we could donate.  They answered back AN AIR CONDITIONER.  I hear ya, folks.  It was HOT in there.  We'd brought the monetary gift with us so they could purchase the air conditioner that they wanted.... and Joe was all set to make that presentation to them and thank them for all they'd done for our girl..... but, when it came time, HE WAS STILL A MESS.  Poor boy just couldn't even talk.... so, again, in the sweet way that I do things, I preciously and gently told him to GET YOURSELF TOGETHER and I presented our gift with a hug and a smile and a SINCERE thank you for all that they'd done for our family.

Joe - GET OUT OF THE WAY AND JUST LET ME DO IT.  GOOD GRIEF.  Please know that we have now laughed at Joe's crying spells for a good 24 hours now.  There will be MANY hours of enjoyment from his meltdown today.  This is how we deal with stressful or super-emotional things - we laugh.  Well, Joe cries.... but we laugh, too.

Hello, little Lottie!  We'd never seen this picture!  This was the first day she came to the foster home!

And here were notes about her medical appointments.  They have notes on all the kids posted on this big bulletin board.  They hadn't taken hers down yet.  Precious.

Headed back down stairs.  Lottie's down below.  She'd been making visits, too. She's got A LOT of people loving on her.

And then it was time to say goodbye.

How do you tell such kind people how much they mean to you?  Thank you seems SO inadequate.  Their generosity and compassion and love is worth far more than a few gifts and an air conditioner..... so how do you express your gratitude?  I have no idea. 

I don't know if these people are huggers or not, but Joe grabbed this poor man as we were leaving and gave him the biggest bear hug.  I guess that's how you express your gratitude.  Good job, Dad.  You sweet.  BUT QUIT CRYING.

She stood on those steps until we drove away.  She was squalling, too.

Lottie's first family and her forever family. 

I prayed all the way back to the hotel that Jesus would COME DOWN on that place.  I'm praying that EVERY SINGLE SOUL in that sweet little blue house comes to know Jesus as their Savior.... cause now, in addition to a birth mother that I need to see in Heaven one day, there's a whole lot of other "Mamas" that mean the world to me now.... Oh, Lord, make Yourself known to all who live here.....

Joe's still squalling.  I think I'm telling him to GET IN THE CAR.

I will never forget this place.  NEVER.  And they've not heard the last from us..... we exchanged emails and We Chats and have PROMISED that we will send pictures of Lottie as she grows.  Joe and I are also committed to supporting this precious place.  I've already got a couple of things in mind, so you may be hearing more about it in the future! 

Angel Home Foster Care Center of Pingdingshan City - welcome to the Powell Village.

You will ALWAYS be a part of us.