Birthlight in China

Back in the UK

2006-03-26T20:10:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone, we can't believe that we are back, the two weeks went so fast. We have taken a few days to get over the jet lag and deal with a funeral and this week it is back to work for both of us.
This is just a short blog to let you all know that we are back safely and do plan to summerise our feelings about our trip as soon as we get our heads around our amazing time in China.

CCAA visit

2006-03-23T11:15:00.000Z

WOW, this has definately been our most fantastic day!!! Today we visited the CCAA (Chinese Centre of adoption Affairs) and got to see my papers in the matching room, being matched with our baby and got to see Shawns papers in the processing room. What a brilliant piece of the puzzle for our girls. It is was so exciting!!! (we both wanted to jump up and down and scream - but we didnt)We took some photos and it really was an answer to prayer to be able to go in as they no longer allow foreign visitors to have informal visits. So, after our guide asked ever so nicely and explained what we had been doing in China, we were taken on a quick impromptu tour. Definately one of the highlights of our time here.

We also went to see Tianamen square, the Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple.
We went on a Rickshaw ride around some lakes and parks and as always end up with a panting pedal driver complaining bout my weight !!!!Shawn typing now as Juls is on the phone) So its back to the diet when I come home ; )
Tianemen Square was very sad and awe inspiring, to see where so many young intelectuals died and now we all wonder around the square as if what they did counted for nothing.
But on a more jolly note, the toilets never seem to cause a bit of a comotion between Juls and I as we struggle to balance and squat in a gracious centered posture above the toilet hole!!!

Anyway, we are off to Pack now, back home tomorrow at 4pm....

BORN meeting

2006-03-22T10:27:00.000Z

Well, what a day!!! So, exciting. Yesterday we worked with some more of the blind children and we noticed one little boy who was very bouncy - we called him Tigger : ) - Well, tigger kept on bending down and touching his head to the floor and Shawn recognised this as him needing balance work. So, we took him and showed his Ayi how to do some specific balance work excersises with him, which he loved. He responded so beautifully to what we were doing, his Ayi was amazed as she had spent so much time trying to stop him from doing this, whereas actually his brain was telling his to take on this posture because his brain needed this stimulation...so, we did inversions with him (for all you non-Birthlight folk, this means turning the kid upside down in a very specific, controlled way). He stopped doing this after the excersise was done with him.

This morning we had a long drive into the city from Hebei province. We were told that Beijing is the size of Belgium. Beijing works on a series of ring roads and to drive from ring road 3 to 2 took us 45 minutes and it is only a distance of 3 km. We arrived at the OCDF Office and sorted out all the donations that we had brought over as we now had more of an idea of who needed what after working in the 4 different places. After this we went for lunch with Ross and had a rather interesting confusion with the menu. We ordered a variety of vegetables and beef and they brought the whole lot together - but it was fish!! So, this was sent out and then we ordered beef and carrots (to be on the safe side) and they brought....wait for this.... beef and pineapple!! It was so funny and Ross later explained that carrots is Bolo and pineapple is Lobo, ha, ha, it was nice anyway.

We then went off to the BORN (Beijing Orphan Resourse Network) meeting for Shawn to strutt her stuff about Neuro-developemental delays and reflexes and boy was she impressive!! She had the Orphanage heads so interested in what she was saying that they were actually leaning forwards onto the table and taking notes big time. No one said a word while she was speaking and then at the end we were bombarded with questions and it was so amazing as we were able to share what we had seen and learnt while doing our work in the varios foster homes.
Many of the heads of Orphanages wanted us to come back and train their staff, so that was very exciting too!!! One lady has adopted twins and she had some very specific questions to ask Shawn, who then took her out to do a one-to-one on what excersises she could do to help her sons.

We finished off with a bit of shopping at a Pearl market - what a lot of fun that was !!!!
Off to our hotel now we hope to blog again before we come home. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that we can get to visit the CCAA tomorrow, as that is where our papers are being matched with our babies right now.

Then Friday we fly home and this amazing visit to China comes to an end.

2006-03-21T03:59:00.000Z

Hi, hooray, here are some more photos - cant work out how to move themm for fear of upsetting the computer.
Photo 1 is Julia showing the two girls with Spina Bifida how to do some foot and leg excersizes and how to warm up their toes.
Photo 2 is the baby bath episode
Photo 3 is the Ayi with babies in the Tiger in the Tree hold - hooray - that was quite a victory for us.
Photo 4 - Shawn doing "If you're happy and you know it" with a little girl with poor vision

Bethel China

2006-03-20T13:18:00.000Z

Shawn and I had both been feeling a little apprehensive about coming to Bethel house as it is a house for blind children and neither of us have had any experience with blind children before. So, how could we help these kids we wondered? We certainly dont have any specific expertise in this area that we could pass on, but Shawn knew that working on the balance mechanism would be a good place to start.

So, we were taken on a tour of the three houses they have here housing blind kids taken from various Orphanages ranging in age from 8 months to 20 years old. A wonderful couple from France, in their late 20's, began this as a foster care program just two years ago. They started with three kids and they now have 3 houses and over 30 kids in their care and a waiting list of children. What they have achieved in such a short time is awe-inspiring stuff!! Shawn and I were both blown away with how well run these houses are. The carers are trained to a very high standard, the houses are all spotless and kids are well looked after. The girls all look so pretty with their hair done in pigtails and pretty clips.

They have a schedule for all the different age children that include teaching, music, learning Braile, pottery, light therapy, arts and crafts and they have specialists coming in to help the kids with all sorts of things. Their aim for these kids is to learn how to become independant and they hope to teach them skills for employment such as piano tuning, computers, etc. They have formed a choir and they go and sing to raise money. This couple are both very musical and the children benefit from this immensly.

Shawn and I was so in awe and so touched by the vision of this fantastic Godly couple, it has been a great day. They set out to reach kids who nobody else thought to reach out to and they are now the only foster home in the whole of China for blind children. Some orphanages are so desperate to pass on some of their kids that they lie and send ones who are not blind but delayed in other areas, so there were some kids there who were not blind. One little boy was so cute and looks like a little old man - just like yoda, and Shawn and I both fell in love with him straight away. He is adorable and we will post a photo of him as soon as we can.

So, they got all the Ayi's (carers) together from all the houses and we showed them an excersise routine andthe children responded beautifully, except for a few who were just too delayed to cope with all the movement, so we had to slow the movements right down for them and do one to ones with these kids and their Ayis. It was a busy, long, fulfilling, uplifting, humbling, amazing day and we are both so glad that we came here. At the end of today we were given a little performance by the choir and it was goose bump stuff!!! Boy can those kids belt out a good tune and even thought they cant see, their facial expressions were so beautiful, you just wanted to reach out and touch them. It was like heaven on earth and they were the angels.

How many parralell worlds are there like this one going on each day that we are not even aware of? There are some beautiful people in the world doing amazing work with very little recognition. We feel priviledged to be a part of it in just a small, small way.
Check out their website www.bethelchina.org

More from us tomorrow, cant believe we will be home on friday... miss you all....

Sunday and Church in China

2006-03-19T10:38:00.000Z

Hi, we have had some feedback from some people to say that they are struggling to post comment on the blog. Feel free to send any encouragements - because that is of course what you all want to send : ) to my yahoo e-mail address as we are checking it often.

This morning was church in China, something we never thought we would experience and it was great. It is amazing how much more global thinking the church is here. Maybe it is because this is an International church so they cater to so many differnt cultures, but it was a great experience anyway.

We had an amazing day yesterday as we were taken to visit the children at two foster care homes - what a humbling, heart warming experience. Here is a childless couple, and they are given 5 special needs children to look after, love and raise whilst all their needs are met by China Care. A brilliant system and such an act of love from the parents. The first home we went into was just mind blowing, the dad took the kids out every morning for a run and some PE and the hard work he put into the kids just shone through. The kids all looked healthy and happy and boy were they fit - one little boy could do some fantastic push-ups. Shawn showed the parents how to do some balance excersizes for the kids, and the parents were so keen, the dad was taking notes, while the mum was on the floor joining in so that she was 100% sure how they needed to be done.

Then we took the mum into the room to chat to her about one girl about 11 years old, who had a form of mental delay. As the mum explained this girls story to us, she sobbed. This poor child had been through so much - found at a dumpsite, obviously hugely traumatised and most likely physically abused, she was making slow progress, even though she was now safely within a loving family. Mum told us she would often take her food and go and eat alone somewhere and that she couldnt dress herself, and she wouldnt speak. The foster mother felt responsible as if she was giving the girl poor care and we had to encourage her and tell her she was doing an amazing job. We showed the mum some gentle touch therapy, but otherwise we felt that Mum was doing everything she could and more for this child. The mum showed us how she had even embroided a cross onto the front of all the little girls clothes to help her know what was the front.

The next house also had a set of parents looking after 5 kids. The dad seemed to have some form of dissability as he walked with crutches. Two little girls had spina bifida and the mum was concerned about their feet and their calves as their muscles were begining to atrophy because they wore callipers all day. When we questioned them why all day, Mum said that the dr had told them not to take them off, so they didnt - not even to bath and clean the feet. As a result the feet were like prunes from being so sweaty, very smelly and full of calluses from being confined in the callipers all day. So, we got the socks off and sat the girls on the floor and showed them how to massage their feet and get the blood flowing, as their feet were so cold. We suggested to Mum to give the feet a good soak in a bath at least every day and to use an oil or lotion while massaging the feet. We also showed the girls how to flex their feet and roll their ankles and then we thought it would be a good idea for them to do the hip sequence that we do with the babies on each other. They thought this was a great idea and had a fun time peddaling each othes legs,etc. Shawn then suggested that the girls had some time rolling on the floor, with extended arms, while not wearing their callipers, and this was when we saw them come alive. They both had amazing mobility considering that they had no leg movement at all. Dad then said that this would become part of their morning excersises and he would even join in!!!

We then went on to a hotel in downtown Beijing, close to BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship), ready to go to church with a member of staff from OCDF who attends there. How exciting to go to Church in China.
We bravely headed off on our own to go and find some shops and ended up in a really local little shopping area, such a cultural experience!! We bought a few gifts and keep sakes and bumped into a young Chinese girl who was reading Bible stories - when we told her we were Christians too she gave us an extra discount and quickly made two new friends!!

Breakfast was the best we have had so far, a tailor made omlett table, beautiful array of Chinese foods and funny filled dumpling things which Shawn happily tried, while I observed from a safe distance while happily munching on my watermelon!!

Had a great day today with Ross as our guide, our wish was his command.

We are now at a place called Bethel House, a house for blind children and we start work tomorrow at 9am, so we will blog again soon.

)

baby bath time

2006-03-18T01:19:00.000Z

Hi all, we skipped a day yesterday as we had a really long day and we were shattered by the time we got to the computer. Our morning began with a mini film crew and a translator joining us as we visited the three homes that China care run, to go through the excersise session with the carers. The carers work on a shift basis, and China Care wanted to make sure that all the carers on the different shifts got to see the excersises that we were teaching. Each house has a house mother and she works a 12 hour shift, so repeating what we had shown her yesterday was important. The carers were a little more reserved with the camera around and a slightly more formal approach to the teaching, but what we found in each house was that after Shawn and I had gone through a session once, slowly but surely the carers would come and sit close by one of us and start copying what they had seen, hoping that we would show them again and acknowledge what they had learnt. This is an amazing culture and it is incredible to watch them and wonder what they think about all we are showing them. The language difference is also quite a barier, and you end up relying so much on body language. We had a fantastic translator called Ci Ci who is so bubbly and enthusiastic that it rubbs off on the carers and they started asking us questions and in the end we had them all lined up holding their babies int he Tiger in the Tree hold - a real Kodak moment!!

In the second house we went to we noticed that one little baby girl, about 3 weeks old, was indredibly tight fisted, so much so that I could not open her hands to do any hand massage. The carers seem to think that the little babies are not able to join in with the baby excersises as they are too small, so the babies spend most of their time swaddled and held. We tried to explain that they would also benefit from these excersises, done in a gentle, slow manner. We showed them using her as a demo and she was very stiff, poor little thing. Gretchen, a member of staff here, suggested that we show the carers how to bath her, as she seemed to have an unknown skin condition and they were only dry bathing her. Her hands, from being closed all the time, and never cleaned, smelled rancid, the skin was peeling off and she cried when we opened her hands. Shawn was very excited to see reflexes in action. All the studying she had done about reflexes and here they could be seen clearly. This baby had a very strong Palmer Grasp reflex and we took a little walk around some sleeping babies where Shawn could show me this reflex in all its different phases depending on the age of the baby and how much of the reflex the baby had retained or worked through already. FACINATING STUFF!! Shawn felt that this little baby possible had some indication of mild CP, so they will just need to keep an eye on her developement.

So, a baby bath was found and we put some baby oil in it to help soften her skin and showed the carers how to use the water as a therapy almost, allowing her to float while supporting her head and washing her ever so softly, without hurting her skin. We had 4 carers watching us and their only concern was about getting her ears wet, which we reassured would be ok as babies are born from water and going back into water would notharm her, but benefit her greatly.

Shawn and I both realised together that this was as close as we would come to bathing such a small Chinese baby, as we will only get our girls when they are much older and so it was quite an emotional thing, undressing, dressing and bathing her.

We were then taken kite shopping to a kite market. WOW what a colourful experience, so many beautiful different kites. They were so keen to sell them to us, that they would happily give us a flying demonstration on any kite we pointed too. We cant say much more about this as it is a secret, ha, ha. Shawn saw her first lady breast feeding a toddler while we were there. Oh and pregnant women are a rare sight, we have only seen one so far.

Well, babies are a calling...... till next time.....
(PS no photos this time, the lead has gone walk abouts.)

2006-03-16T13:38:00.000Z

Hi, LOOK how clever we are!!! Photos!!! Whoohoo. One is of Shawn with a group of carers and babies after showing them the tiger in the tree hold. It was so cross cultural, as they had never held the babies facing away from them, so it really went against the grain. We optimised the position with some pysio, by cupping their hands and patting along the lungs to loosen mucus as the cleft palate babies are more prone to chesty coughs from inhaling the milk as they drink.
Then this little girl just came back from hospital today after having her cleft lip repaired. They have done an amazing job and the operation has been funded by China Care using the generous donations people give.

This morning we were accompanied by a translator as we went to visit the three apartments with babies in. Each one has around 6-7 babies in them ranging from only a few months to around 4 years old. But, the care giver ratio is very good, almost one to one.

Although the carers were receptive to what we were showing them, they were a bit unsure and hesitant, especially with the really tiny babies. Those carers (Ayi) in charge of the really little ones prefered to stand and watch with the babies swaddled in blankets.

The first group were amazing, all 6 babies were on the floor with us and we went through the sequence with all the Ayi's (carers) joining in. After we were done, the house mother asked us loads of questions and was amazed that we actually had these excersises for them to do. ********** Ok, so maybe I am not SO CLEVER!!!! I have just tried to move the photos around so that I can type around them and make them look pretty, but the computer keeps crashing and wont let me and I have had to recover this as a lost post 4 times now!!! Urgghh!!! So, to avoid any further rise in temperature, I am going to just type like this and then send it, so please fit written text around the pictures yourself. A bit like a DIY puzzle, but more fun of course!!! Anyway, we are off to bed, more tomorrow........

2006-03-16T06:04:00.000Z

Hey, look how clever we are!!! We figured out, with a little bit of help of course, how to post a photo!! Here we are at the great wall.
It was a freezing cold day, but lovely and sunny and as you can see, very dry. But, what an awesome sight it is!!
You hear about it, you read about it, but to be there standing on it is quite something else.

Ok, back to the babies...... after a rather restless nights sleep, we went to see some babies this morning and with the help of an interpretor we went through a session of baby excersises.
Again the carers seemed very keen to learn and seemed to enjoy what we were showing them.
Most of the babies here are post or pre-op, so we have seen alot of cleft lip and palate, club foot, heart defects, hydrocephalys and spina bifida and cerebral palsy. China Care, the charity we are with now, are very aware of how these excersises can help these babies with their developement by stimulating their brains.

We have been asked to go back this afternoon to show the different carers who work on a shift basis how to do them. There are three apartments with babies, one is a special care unit with very poorly babies - where we went last night.

Phew wee!!!! I just hit a button and lost the post and I nearly cried!! Then a lady in the office here found it and now I can keep going.... yahoo!! These computers have chinese writing and it is so hard to know what is what.
I was trying to add a photo of a baby and it all just dissapeared.
So, we are going to say goodbye for now, will send more photos tomorrow.....

2006-03-15T12:10:00.000Z

This morning was an amazing experience. Our dream came true, the need was there, and we were taken back to Ping An Medical Foster Home to record a video/dvd of a baby yoga session to be used to train carers on how to do the excersises. As we sat in Beijing's notorious traffic jam, Shawn and I worked out an introduction to the DVD, as well as a session plan.

We arrived there to find an area all set up with mats and blankets in a lovely sunny room and Therisa all ready with her video camera. Our guide, Tony took one look at all the babies and cleared off!! All the carers and non crying babies were summoned to the mat and the session began. We had a lovely time and we watched the finished product at the end on their TV and it looked fantastic. (Thank you Francoise, all credit was given to you and Birthlight at the end of the video) The carers felt like movie stars and so did we. We are hoping that the DVD will be distributed to all the heads of orphanages at the BORN (Beijing Orphan Resourse Network)presentation on the 23rd.

We went out with our guide after that for a lovely lunch, although it later seemed to not agree with Shawn's tummy and the hundreds of pills we brought along have come in handy.
We were then taken to a park where Shawn had a go at water on the pavement caligraphy and we joined an old man doing some Tai Chi. Shawn also joined a group of OAP's doing some after lunch excersises, much to their amazement!!!

Tony, our guide, dragged his feet to take us to a lovely market in Beijing, where we found some lovely gifts and goodies. We had a great time as Shawn put into practice her new found negotiating skills.

Shawn had a kip in the car on the way to China care, an hours drive from the City centre, but still classed as Beijing. We were told today that Beijing is the size of Belgium!! We were taken out for supper with the director, Brent and his family. Shawn did not eat anything, just in case, and I ate untill I was stuffed!! For 15 people it only came to about 15 pounds!!

We have met some of the special care babies, and I will tell you more about the babies tomorrow as it is late now and we really have to get off to bed as we have a busy day tomorrow.

drafty error

2006-03-14T14:04:00.000Z

Well, after just posting this last blog, Shawn and I have seen that for the last two days we only saved our blogs in the drafts!!! The whole computer was in Chinese other than what I was typing and I couldnt read what button to push. So, SORRY, sorry!!

2006-03-14T13:18:00.000Z

Wow, wow, wow!!! What an amazing day we have had. Birthlight in action indeed!
This morning we went to a privately funded care home called Amazing Hands where twelve children live while they await adoption after receiving some form of surgery. They are between the ages of 8 months and 6 years and they all looked happy and healthy and well cared for.
Some of the surgeries the children have had are: cleft lip and palate, growths and spinal problems as well as heart defects repaired. There was a good carer to child ratio and when we arrived the carers were playing games with the children in a lovely sunny courtyard. Shawn was ushered into a livingroom and brought specific children who needed assessing and excersizes for various developemental delays. Four children were brought in from Foster homes as well as from a neighbouring care facility called Blue Sky. It was obvious that the carers cared deeply for the children as they were very keen and receptive to learning how to help them.

The children Shawn worked with were very small for their age, with poor muscle tone and head control, floppyness and or stiffness and in need of vestibular stimulation. So, she intruduced some easy hip and arm sequences for gross motor control as well as twists and rolls for stretching and cross paterning. She explained the importance of balance work and tummy time and did a demonstration on the floor of how babies go from their tummies to crawling to walking. She also showed them the brush technique to stimulate facial receptors as she had very immature swollowing and chewing patterns and no speach for her age. When Shawn asked the house mother to get her a brush she brought a caligraphy brush and it was too hard. Through sigh language Shawn got her to understand that she needed a soft brush and a make upo brush was brought out with much giggling. After a few minutes of this she began to articulate soud and coo and she was awarded with a round of applause in amazement.

While all this was going on, I played outside with some of the other children. I showed a little girl how to climb up my legs while I hold her hands, until she hangs upside down and then I flip her over. Well, within minutes I had kids hanging on my legs wanting me to do it with them and I soon didnt have enough hands to do all the kids at once and they did not want to take turns.

After lunch we went to Ping An Medical Foster Home. This is a small care facility with a maximum of only 6 babies at any one time. The lady who runs it was so pleased to have us there and knew exactly what she wanted to ask us about each baby. She wanted some excersizes that her carers could do with the babies on a daily basis and in came Birthlight baby yoga. Shawn got all the carers on the floor with her (there are 6 carers, one to each baby) and using a really tiny little 6 month old she took them through a Baby yoga sequence. She also showed them some holds, ie Tiger in the tree, which was a big success with one or two of the babies who were very grizzly when we got there, as well as some basic baby masage techniques.
After doing only one sequence, the carers were amazed by the responses the children were giving, especially in the area of alertness and head control.

Therisa, the lady who runs this home was very keen for us to stay and tutor her carers in the basic exersize routines. She was desperate for us to come back for her to video us showing the carers how to do them. This idea was warmly welcomed by OCDF who then agreed to change our itenary to accomodate this need. With much excitement it has been planned for us to go tomorrow to record our first Chinese Baby Yoga DVD. This DVD will then be distributed to other non-profit orphan care providers. We will also be able to use this DVD when we give our presentation to the 20 heads of orphanages at the BORN meeting we are going to on the 23rd.

This evening we had dinner with Jane Liedke (Director of Our Chinese Daughters Foundation) and her daughter Emily, and we chatted about the possiblity of being UK representitives for the charity. Shawn and I are both very excited by this possiblity.

We have had amazing day and now we are off to bed!!

Great Wall Experience

2006-03-13T01:13:00.000Z

We woke up to a beautiful clear winters day. After an early breakfast, we headed for the Summer Palace. Increadable grouds, lovely Chinese architechture, fantastic frozen lake and of course - souveniers!! On the bus, we were introduced to the rest of the tour group, made up of people who have come over to adopt their babies, and some who were bringing their girls back to see China. Shawn was asked to give a short talk about Baby Yoga on the bus, as we weaved through Beijing traffic, an experience not to be missed!! Then it was upwards and onwards to the Great Wall of China!! It is an awesome sight. This time of the year, everything is very dry and the hills were so brown but still the sight takes ones breath away.
We were told to climb the wall, but not conquer it, and we wish now we had had more time to explore. We could see for miles as the cold winters day made the air crystal clear, and visibility was superb. We sampled some fantastic Chinese food for lunch and supper. (and Julia's friends and family will be delighted to hear that she tried and enjoyed EVRYTHING!!)
We found some delightful curio stalls and sharpened our bargening skills. Shawn was duped once and boy then did we see those Brazillian bargening skills come to the fore! After that things in China became quite resonably priced.
We only had two days put aside out of our two weeks here to enjoy the sites and it has been lovely doing this right at the start of our trip. Today we are off to do a Hutong tour ( more about that later) and then we are going to go and visit the forbidden City and then we are off to a special needs young adults project. We hope there will be a computer at our next hotel so that we can keep you regularly updated. Thanks for your encouraging comments!!

First day in Beijing

2006-03-11T13:12:00.000Z

We received so many amazing generous donations that our suitcases were buldging and Shawn and I went to the airport with the expectation that we would have to pay an excess or unpack a few baby shampoos!! Our flight was fully booked and the check in lady was not amused when we arrived wanting to check in 4 very overweight bags. We explained our mission, hoping that that would elicit some compassion in her heart, but she kept telling us there were rules to follow... Silent prayers followed and the next thing we knew she was telling us to keep on adding our cases to the scales and off they went, down the travelator!! Wow, a miracle indeed as we were more than 30kg overweight!!
We had on our long haul flight, a deportee and it made for an interesting flight to say the least! The man was not pleased to be going back and there was lots of shouting, biting, screaming, pleading. He had 4 guards and he had to be pinned down and restrained a few times. We slept very little on the flight.
We arrived to a beautiful, bustling snowy Beijing and are happily installed in our hotel. After being taken on a mini-guided tour of the surrounding area by our own guide, we came back to the hotel and experienced a Chinese massage - a lot of pummeling and a great cultural experience of course! We also enjoyed a swim in the hotel pool, but being the only Westerners in the water we caused quite a stir and attracted an awful lot of attention, so we retreated to the Turkish bath.
We then both crashed out for a couple of hours sleep and headed to the main street to find food.
As always China is a mass of experiences and a cultural delight and we cant wait to see what the next two weeks have in store for us!!

Pre-trip posting

2006-03-06T14:56:00.000Z

Dear All, this is our first post - a little practice before we go to China on Friday!
Our fundraiser on Saturday - Gormet Pudding Evening, went very well. Thank you to everybody who supported us. We have received some wonderful donations of things to take with us to the Orphanage and some generous money donations too, please keep them coming. Our bags are nearly packed, although we do have some last minute complications to overcome before we leave. Shawn's father-in-law has had a heart attack and is in hospital, Shawn herself has sprained her ankle and Julia has got tonsilitis!!
Things can only get better, hey? Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome to the Birthlight in China Blog!

2006-03-02T23:56:00.000Z

Welcome to all Birthlight members and friends who are interested in this special trip to China by two Birthlight members. Julia de Lucchi and Shawn Tomlinson are leaving on March 10 to spend some time in China working with babies there. When they get a chance they will write to us about their experience via this blog (web log). A blog also enables you to make comments (encouraging ones of course!) on what they write after each of their entries in the blog (click on the "comments" link at the end of the blog entry that they write). They will make entries as and when they can to let you know how things are going. So, get blogging Birthlight!