Brian's Account of Luoyang

Megan wanted me to tell my version of the trip to Luoyang before I forget since it has been 2 days already. The orphanage was very cold in the entryway and the hallways, very much like a meat locker. The classrooms and sleeping quarters were heated and comfortable enoughwith the several layers of clothes the kids were in. When we entered the first classroom we were greeted with a big Nihao! from the kids and many wanted their pictures taken. I videotaped the rooms so the number of actual photos I took were few. I did get footage of Joseph and his nanny saying goodbye and his sleeping quarters, classrooms and the fifth floor intensive care. I hope when he has questions about where he came from we can honestly tell him that we collected everything that was possible. The staff at the orphanage treats the children well and the kids that went back into the orphanage were hunted down by their nannies who gave them hugs and kisses and wished them well. Joseph stayed with the infants, probably because of his limited mobility, and in his sleeping room there were several children ranging from 2 years old to only a few days old with some of them being obvious pre-mature births. a couple kids in this room had pneumonia. Later Megan told me that Joseph was sick when he first was at the orphanage. It is a terrible time of year for these children to be abandoned because if they aren't discovered quickly they could freeze to death. We moved upstairs to the ICU floor which was a more comfortable temperature and very clean compared to normal living standards we have witnessed here with a good atmosphere and saw children with about every conceivable special need out there. There were kids with congenital blindness, renal failure, spinabifida, cerebral palsy, downs syndrome and pneumonia. There was an infant there who was in renal failure. The good thing was that they were in a nurturing atmosphere receiving care from people that seemed to want to be there. My opinion of New Hope is that they are being good stewards of what they have been given. We weren't shown the rest of the orphanage where the older children are. We did get to see some very cute, shy but friendly boys about Isaac's age when we very 1st entered.