Saturday February 16 at the Shepherd's Field

Our driver picked us up just before 10am at the Jinglun Hotel in Beijing and took us the 40 or so miles out to Langfang. The Philip Hayden Foundation has run the Langfang Children's Village there for a number of years. This is where Nathan was cared for from the age of about 6 months until we adopted him in August 2005. When we adopted Nate, the village was spread out into several homes in the Langfang area. Now, they have acquired a nice piece of land and have created the Shepherd's Field and consolidated all the children's homes there. There are several buildings completed on the campus, with several more to be finished this year. The two homes that are done, the House of Peace and the House of Blessing are wonderful, with large living (play) areas on the lower level and several bedrooms upstairs. The children are cared for by ayi's (nannies) at a 1:3 ayi to child ratio, which is fantastic. The ayi's really love those children! All of the kids here are special needs, and the foundation arranges medical care for them. They also operate a preschool and are planning a vocational center for older orphan girls and boys that will prepare them to be able to contribute to society as adults. All in all, it is a wonderful ministry and we're proud to be associated with it.

Upon arriving at the village, we checked into their Inn of Eight Happinesses and then toured the village. The children were napping at the time, so after seeing the facilities, we went out to lunch with Leah, the village's guest relations coordinator. We enjoyed an excellent chinese lunch at a local restaurant. Mary really liked the glazed apples! Upon our return, we got ready to visit the children. There are two children currently at the village whose adopted-parents-to-be we've been in contact with. We planned to get pics of these little ones to send via e-mail back to their parents. What a great time we had.



Children at the House of Blessing


Balloon fun at the House of Blessing





This little one really took to John-- laughing thru a tickle here!


Candy bars will always bring a crowd!










At 6pm Tim Baker took us and another volunteer, Kathy, out to dinner. We did dumplings for a variety change - veggie dumplings and meat dumplings with a pickled cucumber/zuchini appetizer. Very good! Afterward we went to get an hour long foot massage at a local place - they start by soaking your feet in warm tea, then do some cranio-facial massage, a bit of the neck and then on to the feet. The four us were all in the same room and chatted while we rec'd our massages - the fee was nice, too - only RMB 40 ($5.50 each)! We wanted to go farther into Langfang for a 2hr massage, but it had gotten late and we opted for the shorter one. What a great day in Langfang!

Mary and John