A few weeks ago the high school at Tianjin International School held a service day. Each grade went to a different place to serve, and the ninth grade went to an orphanage about two hours away. At the orphanage there were 5 houses where the children lived, I went to the house where some of the babies stayed. My friend Brianna and I were the only ones who went upstairs to play with the little babies. My favorite was a little boy who had a cleft pallet, I played with him the whole time and then he fell asleep in my arms! After all of the babies fell asleep Bria and I went down stairs to join the rest of our group to play with some of the other kids. Every single child at the orphanage had some kind of disability for example many of them couldn’t walk and others couldn’t see or hear. It was really sad to see that these children would never live a normal life, but I know that God will take care of them and always keep them cradled in his arms. I had so much fun playing with those kids and I’ll always have a place for them in my heart.

I have just finished abook entitled, “Gladys Aylward”  that I borrowed from the library.    Since I live here in China it was a very encourageing book to read!   This book was about a young lady who gave EVERYTHING she had to be a missionary.  After a horrifing train ride through Russia, Gladys found that the lady she was going to meet wasn’t even expecting her!  She went through war, told bible stories, settled a prison riot, and even hiked over mountains for the people of China!  This book encouraged me to be a light in the darkness just like Gladys was.

On March 20th the Elementary school had a Crazy Hair Day.  Most of the kids in elementary had a weird hat or crazy hair.  Some had a lot of hair clips others had hair sticking up but they were all funny.  My friend brought hair gel so at recess we got people that didn’t have wacky hair put hair gel on to make it crazy. We had a great day!

My dad decided that we should get a membership at a pool a while ago.  We go at least once a week to go play and do some laps.  I think Megan has the most fun. She does all sorts of things in the baby pool.  She jumps, turns, and goes under.  I think she is like a little fish.  She never wants to leave when it’s time to go.  I like to play around with her.   She even likes to jump to me when I’m standing in the deep water.

Today was the annual Middle School Service Day!!!  The middle school was split into 5 groups.  Each group went to a different place to give service.  There was the Tianjin Orphanage, a preschool, the Elderly Home, a different orphanage, and a adult facility.  I went to the Tianjin Orphanage.  At the orphanage our group was divided into 5 classes; the 3-4 year olds,the 5-7 year olds, the 6-8 year olds, the 9-10 year olds, and the disabled group.  I was part of the disabled class.  I had a lot of fun!!!  All of them were constantly repeating “Jie Jie!”  Which in Chinese means older sister.  Here if you call a slightly older girl or boy, “Older sister” or “Older brother”  it is respectful.  If you call  a woman, whether you know her or not, “Aunt” it is also respectful. All the kids wanted to play with me!  They they loved to color, and every time they made a mark they would show me and smile.  There was a little boy that I think was partially deaf.  I liked to play with him,  we played with the toy cars and drew pictures.   There was also a little girl who, when I was coloring, would take my colored pencil out of my hand then give me a different one.   While I was there I was thinking, we are going to go home and back to our normal lives; like going to school, e-mail, sleep overs, etc.  But these children stay in the same building 24-7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)!!!!  From this day on I want to remember to be thankful of just how much God has blessed me.This is the colored pencil stealer!

This is the whole group that went to the orphanage.

This is another boy in the class, he was 14.

In February of 2009 for a school project I had to do a Science Fair. Also I had a partner her name was Boyie. My project was Does Music Affect the Way Plants Grow. I think the science fair was good to learn about science but personally I didn’t love it.  I think next time I will do a project that only takes one day or less.

Recently I read a book called “A Little Princess”.   I will give you a quick summary.   A rich little girl, Sarah, moved from India to attend a boarding school while her father had the return.  When Sarah was suddenly thrown into poverty and forced to work as a servant at the school, it was her creative imagination that kept her going.   “A Little Princess” was one of the sweetest books I’ve ever read!  I learned a lot from the book;  like the power of hope.  Daily Sarah would pretend she was a princess while finishing her duties.  She was respectful and held her tongue just as a princess would.  The book was very cute and I would recommend it highly!

This Christmas my parents and grandparents bought us a Wii! Our dad also bought us a lot of games one of them was Ramen Raving Rabbids. This game is about very dumb rabbits that try to take over the world or do other wierd things. Some of these things are baking chickens by eating hot peppers, plunging a rabbid from a toilet, or having a rock band! Me, my friends, and siblings very much enjoyed this game it was fun and hilarious! Now when our friends come to play Wii Ramen Raving Rabbids is their favorite.