I have been so thankful this last month or so. Many of the little hardships and struggles from the past few years have been PURPOSEFUL…and I’ve been blessed to be given the chance to actually see these hardships and struggles bear fruit. Even being able to go to Mexico (last month) and now China has been a mini-miracle. I have learned so much on these two trips (more than I could have imagined) and I now know there was a purpose to everything…that something greater than myself was at work – someone was walking before me, laying the ground work, planning my every step and every encounter.

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I miss the kids. I felt at home when I was with the children in Mexico, but even more so here in China. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s the thought/feeling of protecting them, being their big brother…knowing at one time in their lives, they had no one that loved them, that cared for them, that told them they were amazingly precious. I thank the big Man upstairs almost daily that he has revealed to me my calling…and that it’s just up to me to have enough faith to walk this journey that [right now] seems so scary, so lonely, and so…uphill.

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My first time to Yu-Lin orphanage (last year), I didn’t appreciate the staff. The director of the orphanage seemed so distant at times. Did he really care about these kids? Did he take on this job just because he’s lazy and can’t find a job anywhere else (my cousin, the founder of the campus, is related to him and hired him)?

At dinner a couple of days ago, a group of ~10 people were just sitting around the table talking about the children…and he sat there, as usual, very quiet. We were talking about the background stories of many of these kids and my cousin asked the director to talk about two specific kids and their stories. As he spoke about the two kids, you could just tell he was holding back tears. It was one of the most REAL emotions I have ever experienced from someone. You could tell his heart ached. You could tell that even though he, himself, was too poor to go to school and get an education…he wanted so badly to do as much as he could with the knowledge he has to help these kids. You could just tell that he cared.

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Here is my letter to the kids and assistant director of the Yu-Lin orphanage:

親愛的弟弟妹妹們，還有Holly好老師：

謝謝你們歡迎我去你們的孤兒院。我很開心第二次看你們。我也很開心當你們的41名家人。你們是非藏好的小孩子。你們的Holly姐姐也是第一棒的老師。你們記的好好用功讀書，好好互相幫忙，好好聽Holly姐姐的話，每一天進步。老師們都是為你們好。我人是在美國可是我的心永遠在跟你們一起。如果你們需要幫忙的地方，請跟我聯絡。Holly姐姐有我的email。如果你們email我的話我一定徊信。希望很快看見你們！！！

Daniel大哥哥

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Some of the kids sharing a meal.

Newest and youngest addition to the orphanage (2.5 years old).

Looking up,
Daniel