FROM RAGS TO RICHES: A VISIT TO ANSLEY GRACE'S ORPHANAGE

Today I was blessed to be able to visit the orphanage where I THOUGHT Ansley Grace had spent the first 7 1/2 years of her life. Having adopted three previous times, I had already learned to never assume the information we received on our girls was entirely accurate. I will share what I mean by that a little bit later.

The Orphanage.

The orphanage Ansley Grace is from, The Zhengzhou Children's Welfare Institute is the largest orphanage in the Henan province. It houses over 800 children. It consists of the orphanage itself, which is quite large, and then many apartments where children are fostered by couples who are given their lodging and food in return for caring for the children. I had been told that she had spent her last two to three years in the foster unit.

The Zhengzhou CWI is not a beautiful facility, but it is one where they obviously try to do their best to make it pleasant and homey. When we toured the area where Ansley Grace went to school, I was impressed by all the artwork and decorations that were hanging to brighten up the atmosphere. I was able to visit her classroom and meet her sweet teacher. Her teacher told me that Ansley Grace was very quiet, but that she listened very well to what she taught. Her classroom was nothing like what she will be in when we get home, but it was obvious that they did the best with what they had.

Ansley's teacher.

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

I was able to visit the foster home where she lived. The furnishings were very plain, although they did have a nice TV, AND an above the ground TOILET......what I term as a luxury here in China, even though it was not a very nice facility. I got to meet Ansley Grace's foster dad. He was very gracious and friendly, and let me look through their apartment. He showed me the bedroom where Ansley Grace slept while she was with them. 

Ansley's Foster Dad

The room consisted of her bed, with maybe six inches on each side of it to spare. I thanked him for giving her a good home, because it is obvious she has been loved and cared for in her past. I didn't get to meet her foster mother. She was not feeling well and had gone to the doctor. At the present, there are four other foster children living in the home, all of which are boys. In fact, I don't know that she has ever had any foster siblings other than boys. There were a couple of pictures on the wall of the foster parents with all the foster children. She was the lone girl. The entire apartment was about the size of our living room/dining room/ kitchen/den area at home.

Ansley's Bedroom

Foster siblings

Foster Siblings

I was able to talk to the orphanage director and ask him a lot of questions. Actually, our guide, Tina, translated everything I was asking him and all of his answers. I found out that Ansley Grace had NOT been at the orphanage the entire first 7 1/2 years of her life. She was sent to a hospital in May 2011 and she lived there until December 2013. It was believed that she had cerebral palsy, and she was sent there for therapy and treatment. After spending four days with her, I truly believe their diagnosis was correct. She appears to walk fine, but her muscle tone is weak. She falls pretty easily, and she doesn't have the best balance. It's nothing we are at all worried about, because with CP, it is what it is. We know she only has room for improvement, so we will do what we can to see she gets the therapy she needs. I don't have all the information about the hospital yet, but Tina called there today, and they are supposed to send me information about her stay there. Please pray that we will get LOTS of info, and maybe some pictures of her while she was there, too. I truly feel like this has been a door opened for us to learn more about her background. The director WAS able to give me a picture of her that was taken when she was first brought to the orphanage. It is presently the only picture I have of her before she was 7 years old. What a treasure it is to me!!!!

The only picture of Ansley before age 7. 

I found out that Ansley Grace was not made paper ready to adopt until 2015. I don't know which would have been worse to know.....that she had been paper ready for a long time and had just never been chosen, or her case. I'm thinking the first would have been worse. Still, spending her first seven years in an institution is more than any child should have to endure. I told the orphanage director that I felt like they were doing an awesome job at the orphanage making it a good place for the children to be. His response was that no matter how hard they tried to make it the best it could be, it could never compete with the children being adopted and being able to live with their forever families. I know that is true, and it made me sad when I thought about the children I saw there today......many with special needs that are pretty severe, and who will probably never be adopted. I told him that I didn't exactly understand at first why Ansley Grace didn't want to go back to visit, but then after visiting the apartment, I understood much better. Even though she was loved there, it's almost as if she has gone from a life with just the bare necessities to living with a family in a 5-star hotel. The director said that for many of the younger children, adoption is much more difficult because they become so attached to their ayis and nannies, but with older children, they see foster siblings leave and never come back, so they desire that chance, too. Ansley Grace had apparently seen many foster brothers be adopted during her time in the family. This visit really touched my heart. It was closure for me.....the ending of my daughter's life as an orphan, and the beginning of all kinds of opportunities for her in her life. 

After we left the orphanage, we went to the place where Ansley Grace was abandoned. We were able to visit Molly Kate's finding place when we adopted her, but we were not able to visit Callie Beth's and Eiley Joy's because they were both located quite a distance from where we were. It's one of those things I can't explain, and you would never understand unless you experienced it yourself. It is the place, though, where someone in her family left her and never came back. She was estimated to be a year old when she was found. Her finding add said she had on a white shirt and flowered pants, but there are no other details given. She was left in front of the gates at the Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute for the Elderly. It was located down what at home would be an alley, but in this village was a road made out of dirt only. As we were driving through the village before we reached the SWI, I asked Tina if it was an area with a lot of poverty. She said, not really. It LOOKED that way to me......it was SO dirty and dilapidated. There were vendors selling off the street, which was dirt and mud......no pavement, but it really was disgusting. 

View from the drive to the Finding Place.

The Finding Place gate.

This is where our sweet girl was left. Let me tell you, it is an emotional thing. We take it SO, SO for granted how good we have it in the United States. The worst place in Marshall County would look like a place of royalty compared to what this looked like to me today. And just the thought of a 1 year old child......actually, we are pretty sure she wasn't that old......left alone????? You can see for yourself in the pictures what I am talking about. 

Seeing the institute for the elderly that she was left in front of was rather daunting, too. It was HUGE, and it think about that many people with no families to care for them was heartbreaking. The government pays for their care, though. They are not required to pay anything, not that they would have the money to pay anyway. Not only are there millions of orphaned children in China, there are also millions of elderly people who might be termed orphans to in that they have no families.

When I got back to the room, I looked at the face of our sweet Ansley Grace. I saw reflecting in her smile and in her giggles what, having her very own mama and daddy and sisters has done for her. We really haven't done anything extraordinary.....we have just been ourselves around her, and it's amazing just how much she has already blossomed in these four days. Adoption is SO wonderful.....it truly is a gift from God. How blessed we are to have chosen for this great calling.......