Team JAMES Youth Mission 2011

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AWAKE Reflections

Those of you who have been following the Team AWAKE blog might be worried.  No word from us for such a long time!  We just want to assure you:  we've not been raptured, nor have we fallen off the side of the earth.  We just got distracted.  Sorry about that.

All of the Team AWAKE members have been back stateside for more than a month now. But it's safe to say we all agree on one thing:  Our time at SFCV was life-changing.

We are so glad that what we hoped and believed in our hearts, we've now seen with our eyes:  SFCV is a wonderful, wonderful place.  Not only is the campus beautiful; the kids are truly happy.  It's a wonderful thing to walk around a corner and catch kids running and playing, enjoying themselves.  It's those candid moments that reassure us that SFCV is all that we had hoped it to be--and more.

In one sense, we hate to think about kids leaving Shepherd's Field.  It seems almost like a miracle that all the children, despite the great variety of their disabilities, treat each other with respect.  They recognize one another not according to a handicap or a condition or a different sort of appearance... As far as these kids are concerned, their fellow SFCV residents are--well, kids.  There's something so affirming about the environment that you'd almost hope the children could stay there forever.

But of course, SFCV is working toward an outcome that is precisely the opposite.  Their goal is that these kids be adopted.  They do an admirable job of providing schooling, training, and physical therapy.  But despite their most heroic efforts, the SFCV staff would be the first to tell you:  these kids need to be adopted.  In terms of the kind of resources and attention that would cause a child to truly flourish, there's simply no contest between what's available and possible in Tian Jin and what would be available if a child were adopted and cared for in the States.  The yearning shared by both the Shepherd's Field staff and all the little residents is that each child will connect with a "Forever Family."

Each of the Team AWAKE members made special heart-connections with particular children. Saying goodbye was not easy!  For Elissa and Alan, it was challenging to say good-bye to Noel.  Although Elissa had worked overtime to prepare her (repeatedly pulling out a calendar with dates, smiley-faces, and not-smiley-faces), our farewell was still heavyhearted.  (One bright moment came when Elizabeth--a spunky, spicy, playful little girl--let down her tough front and shared her heart.  Everytime Elissa and Alan reassured Noel with the words "Waw -men ai-ni" ["We love you!"], Elizabeth would jokingly taunt Alan with a laughing "Waw bu ai ni!" ["I don't love you!"].  But as we got ready to go, Elizabeth gave us a serious look and admitted:  "Waw ai ni."  [I do love you, after all.])

The kids at Shepherd's Field are very sneaky.  They have a way of worming their way into your soul so that you can't quite let them go.  All of us left at least a little bit of our hearts in Tian Jin, and we feel the stirrings of the Spirit telling us that our experiences there have only begun to unfold and grow. What's next?  We're really not sure.  But we're excited and eager to find out.