{history: me + china + orphans}

god first led me to china in 1998.  while i committed to serving god for a year following graduation from college, i had no idea how this time in china would significantly impact and shape my life.  

i went to china to primarily serve in a college ministry, but my interest in orphans led me to volunteer at a local orphanage in my free-time.  my teammates and i would relieve the nannies of their responsibilities so they could participate in a weekly bible study.  we'd simple provide the orphans with attention and interaction, meeting their most basic needs.  

my experience with caring for orphans deepened when one of my leaders took in a baby boy who had been abandoned on the steps of a local hospital.  my friends and i took shifts feeding and caring for this baby with a cleft palate.  we fed him with medicine droppers and strengthened his lifeless body to a point where he was strong enough to cry.  (the baby later went to the orphanage and then to a forever family in the US.)  i also had the opportunity to meet up with family friends who came to china to pick up their much anticipated adopted daughter.  witnessing that first meeting, where in essence a child is exchanging their orphan status for a forever family, is hard to capture with words-- a priceless, emotional and unforgettable experience.

i lengthened my one-year commitment to serve in china to two, and before long it was evident that god was cultivating this caucasian, country-girl's heart with a passion for a people group and culture very different from her own.  i came back to the states and resumed my plan to attend graduate school for physical therapy and work in pediatrics, but now had a hope to someday use my education and training to impact chinese orphans and children with special needs.

i obtained my doctorate of physical therapy degree in 2004 and have since been working as a pediatric physical therapist at the university of illinois medical center in chicago.  i have extensive experience working with hospitalized children in general acute and intensive care units, including the neonatal intensive care unit where i help premature and other medically fragile infants obtain feeding and other developmental skills.

i have returned to china 3 times for short-term mission trips, observing and volunteering with different organizations (international china concern, cram worldwide, hope harvest international, nightlight christian adoptions (formerly a helping hand adoption agency), etc.) and their work with orphans and children with disabilities.  from these experiences i've witnessed the ongoing needs that both local and foreign run orphanages and therapy centers have for resources and trained personnel as they work to minimize disparities, optimize outcomes, and provide hope for the children they serve.

my most recent trip to china was in november of 2013 and my experience is well captured by the words of david platt in his book, radical:  “We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces.  It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms.  But once you do, everything changes…”   

whether it’s praying for timothy, a severely malnourished little boy i held in my arms with a need for love, or helping to coordinate gloria's life-giving heart surgery, or wondering what other children simply need someone to advocate for their needs... i feel compelled to do more.

through god's amazing provision, this fall i'll be taking an unpaid leave of absence from my job to return to china for 4 months.  i'll be working alongside two nonprofit organizations who care for orphans and children with disabilities.  i am very excited and grateful for this opportunity, and eager to see what god has planned.  hopefully this blog will serve as a means for people to read about and/or partner with the work we are doing.