Taiwan

I wrote this and didn't get it posted on Wednesday. I'm going to post it now, so that I can post  at bout the rest of the week without it getting too long.

It is Wednesday morning here in Taiwan. We spent Monday and yesterday in one orphanage and we will be going to the next orphanage tomorrow and Friday, but we have the day off today. We are planning to do some sightseeing and get caught up on work that falls behind when we are gone all day. I want to back up all of the photos and videos I've taken so far and answer a few emails.



But first I want to tell you a little about our first 2 days here. The trip here was pretty uneventful. I had a last-minute panic at home when I almost didn't get my prescriptions re-filled in time, but that worked out OK thanks to a 24 hour Walgreens close to the Newark airport. I've learned how to actually sleep on flights, so that makes the long flight so much more bearable. We arrived at the hotel about 8:30 Sunday night and needed to be ready to leave for the orphanage by 8:30 Monday morning.

We have a really nice team this time, it always varies a bit, and it always works just fine, but it is always good to get into it and have everything working smoothly.



I decided to bring my little photo printer this time and print photos for the kids. I used to do this in China, but it had been a while since I brought it. And I am so glad I did! Some of my favorite moments so far have been printing photos and watching their little faces as they see their pictures printing.

The other thing I have absolutely loved is the little makeup kit and the "create your own headband" kit we brought. It is so fun to let the little girls choose their makeup and fingernail polish colors and help them apply it, help them decorate a headband, then take a picture and print it.



Yesterday one sweet boy, who wants a family very badly, came into the room and got so excited to see me. He gave me a huge hug and my heart just broke. He really wants to be chosen. He will be 10 soon, the same age as my sweet little Eliana and he doesn't understand why other children have been chosen by families and he has not. I don't understand it either. We will certainly do our best to see him in a family!



Last night the orphanage directors and some of the staff took us to a wonderful Hibachi restaurant. I had steak, rice, cabbage, soup, and several different side dishes. Then they brought out dessert, which was this pancake filled with a purple sweet potato filling. It was different, but pretty good. They gave us gifts of pineapple cakes and some other kind of cookie/cake thing (hey kids, I'm bringing home pineapple cake!). They are always very gracious and welcoming to our team.

So we are going to head out in about 30 minutes. I'll post more later as time permits.

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