A trip to the orphanage... and an update on Ming Hua.

Dear Mark,
Our boy loves to be tickled! Before lunch today we had a tickle fest -rolling around on the bed laughing and tickling for several minutes. He is laughing a lot and smiles almost all the time. Quite a change from the serious little face in the video and pictures.  He is a busy guy too and reminds me of an active three year old -very inquisitive. But also he is able to focus and entertain himself with toys. He loves watching the video you made for him and he asked for paper and crayons and drew two pictures for you this morning. He likes taking a bath and thinks it is very funny that I play with him while bathing him in the tub. He actually told the orphanage director that yesterday! You should have seen him when we went back to visit his friends. He marched up to the gates of the orphanage with two big bags of diapers -one in each hand. He wanted to carry them himself. The nannies saw him coming and met him with smiles and laughter. They brought out the children from his special needs class and he gave them all candy and introduced them to his "Mama". They were precious -many wanting to held and hugged. Most looking up at us with wide-eyes...The orphanage itself was actually well-run and clean and colorful inside. Our guide told us that Nanjing SWI is considered one of the best in China. And truly, MingHua was blessed to be there as far as orphanages go. The caretakers seemed to genuinely care for the children. They took us on a tour and let us meet several children and take pics. My heart is already stolen again! And Stephi is a goner for sure! Many times during the visit I had to bite my lip to keep from crying because I did not want to upset MingHua. After all, that was supposed to be his big day. He was very excited and happy to give away the toys and candy we brought and to give the nannies the diapers and soap.  They laughed and said that he was always very generous, giving the other children things and caring for the younger children.
When we left, as we walked out the orphanage gate, I looked back and wanted to cry. A wave of emotion just washed over me! It suddenly hit me that this was the place where our son had spent mostt of his life. But that was only the beginning, because after the orphanage I had asked our guide to take us to White Horse Park where Minghua was found as a two year old. It took some searching, but we finally found the North gate where his papers indicate he was left. It is a wooded park and isolated area. Our guide suggested that the parents dropped him there instead of the South gate because it is less populated and less chance of their being seen. MingHua did not know the history and I did not tell him. But I did get a picture of the two of us there. One day I will show him and explain.  I could not muster a smile in the picture. All I could think of was a frightened two year old who could not find his Mama...and the mother who walked away. Needless to say, it was an emotional day. But i did not cry. It was not a day to cry, but to rejoice....MingHua's American Mama has come to take him home!
I so wish you could be here, Mark. But I will do my best to give you every detail. I can tell you that he will fit right in with the Conard clan. He loves attention, he likes to snuggle, he likes to be tickled. He sings little happy songs all day long. Very good natured. Very tenderhearted. He likes to try new foods -Poppop will be proud. He ate almost a whole personal pan pizza at the Nanjing Pizza Hut yesterday! He especially loves fried rice and noodles. And he has a funny quirk of putting m & m s in his sippy cup with water and drinking it! He says it is his "coffee" "like Mama's"! haha! As a matter of fact, he likes making strange "soup" concoctions -like milk and rice and soy sauce -etc...but he actually DRINKS it! at first I thought he was playing in his food but he always drinks the stuff he makes. He even offers it to Mama sometimes -and like a good Mama i always try it! (ick)
Right now, we have just returned from sightseeing the Sun-Yat Sen Memorial. He was a important figure -head of the nationalist party before Mao took over here. They love him in Nanjing. It was a beautiful place outside the city and on a mountain. It was good to breathe some semi-fresh air again. I wonder what MingHua will think when he come to the US and realizes that the sky is actually BLUE!!!
Tonight I think we will walk down the "walking street" again - and maybe take a dragon boat ride. We have already been on the Chinese rickshaw. It wa fun. Got a lot of funny looks- the foreign lady with the Chinese boy! We were asked by the rickshaw men what we were visiting for. We were able to explain about the adoption. They kept saying Thank You Thank You! for giving this little boy a home!  But I dont need to be thanked. Rather, I am so thankful that God allowed me to come here. Children like MingHua are not valued here, but they are precious in the sight of God. I have attached some pics of the children we met at the orphanage. I have about ten pics in all but i will only send you a couple. I also have information about the special needs of each one. May God move the hearts of His people to value these little ones and give them homes. Pray for them with me, mark. 
I love you and miss you!
Stacey

PS Stephi is playing a game of Memory cards with MingHua. The reason I call him MingHua is because I have not talked to him yet about his english name Josiah. I want Stephi's friend Soey to explain in Guangzhou when we can tell him the bible story about the boy named Josiah who became a king. Also, he THINKS he is 7 years old....so i am not confusing him by telling him differently yet. We will have the pediatrician and dentist check to tell us what age they think he is.

When we arrived at the Orphanage, we took this picture of Ming Hua, he is holding the nappies and things for the children there.