Today, I am missing China. I'm remembering all the unfamiliar smells, the sounds of the traffic, the beckoning of the street vendors as they tried to sell you an array of different things. I remember how the streets were covered in trash, how people were digging through dumpsters, how many would beg on the sidewalks for money. Not a day goes by where I don't think about China.
The most precious memories I have of my short time in that country, are the memories that were made when I was able to visit a foster home there. It was only six short months ago that I was there, but it feels as if it has been a life time. But, those two or three hours that we spent in that room with those precious and special children are some of the very best hours of my life.
I remember staring into those children's eyes, looking at their sweet faces, hugging their small bodies. I remember sitting on the floor of that foster home, silently praying that God would bring them the perfect families, in His perfect time. When the time for us to leave came, I did not want to go. I didn't want to leave. As we closed the door of the foster home, I cried. I cried because I wanted to bring every single one of those children home. I cried because every single child should know what it's like to be loved by a family. I cried because it broke my heart to know that while they were being taken care of so well, they still needed a real home, with a mommy and daddy. My heart hurt for them.
Every day since then, I think about those children. I have pictures of them up on my bedroom walls, so that I will never forget. I pray that the Lord will bring them to the perfect families someday soon. My heart absolutely swells with a longing to go back to China, and such a love for the children there, that I could burst. Yesterday, as I was in the car, my mom told me on the phone that two, possibly even three of those precious children have families! I cannot even tell you how thrilled I was, my heart was so incredibly happy and so thankful! To know that these children will be a part of a family and know what it is like to be loved makes me overjoyed. How great is our God.
