I would have to say the day I will remember the most on our wonderful adventure is the day we went to an orphanage just outside of Beijing. This wasn't a regular orphanage because the kids weren't regular orphans. They still had parents, but the parent or parents were in prison, so they really didn't have a home. There were about 136 children in this orphanage which was privately run. We were so impressed with how much care was given the children.
First, our family was given a little tour of the orphanage and told about how it was run.
These are the little houses where they lived according to their age. The insides were pretty simple, but clean and adequate.
Each of the houses has a sponsor. This house where my brother Jerry and my sister Joyce and are are standing in front of has been sponsored by the Rotary Clubs. Jerry is a member of Rotary as well as many members of our family, including my dad who has been a member for over 50 years. The children are taught various crafts which we were privileged to see.
We had been told beforehand that we could bring gifts to the children and have fun activities with them. I was so proud of how everyone got involved!
Our older boys played basketball with some of the Chinese older kids. They had a very lively game!
The little girls shared toys and dolls with their new friends! We brought lots of toys for the kids as well as notebooks, coloring and writing items, paint supplies, and modeling clay.
Our kids watched as the children were organized into teams for some activities.
Kevin cheered on the teams as they played a great game of tug-o-war.
The kids all had fun throwing and catching the ball together.
In addition to just having fun with the kids and giving them gifts, Kent had volunteered beforehand when I was setting up the tour, to do dental work at the orphanage if they needed any help. Did they ever! So many children lined up to have the "Mr. Dentist" see them. Kent was wishing he had a regular dental lab where he could have done so much more like root canals, but in the time available and the barest of circumstances, he was able to help so many young people who were in pain by doing extractions and advising those at the orphanage what else needed to be done. 
George held the flashlight, Doug reclined the chair and held it on his knee, our guide and people from the orphanage were the interpreters, and Natalie was the assistant/care giver. It worked great!
I couldn't believe how the young people would just climb right on the chair, take the shots and have the work done without a single word of protest. There were a few tears, but the kids were so good. Our guide told me that Chinese children are very obedient.
One little girl about four or five years old really touched my heart. For starters, her father had killed her mother. In addition, her hair was falling out, so they had a little cap with fake hair attached on it so that she would look like she had hair. They told us she was losing her eyesight, and when Kent saw her, it was really a life-threatening reason for him to be there. Her cheek was so swollen, and if left unattended, she could die from her air passage getting blocked off.
Alison and Lauren let her know they wanted to be friends and be there for her.
Kent took a look and saw what needed to be done.
The tears started flowing down her little cheeks, but Natalie comforted her.
The work began and ended with much success. The little girl's dental problems would subside once the deadening was gone. There were so many children that I would have taken home--they got to my heart so much, but especially this little girl. 
The oldest young person that Kent worked on was 13 years old. Hers was an especially difficult problem. Kent was surely wishing he had all his tools, but mission was accomplished.While the surgeries were going on, some of our kids started a little craft table outside where they were helping the kids with some modeling clay they brought. They also help them paint pictures, color, etc.
When the afternoon was finished, we all were holding back the tears as we returned to the bus. What a beautiful experience this was. We thought we were helping them with our gifts and time--but in the end, it was all of us who benefited through seeing and feeling the love of a child, even when no words are exchanged.
When the afternoon was finished, we all were holding back the tears as we returned to the bus. What a beautiful experience this was. We thought we were helping them with our gifts and time--but in the end, it was all of us who benefited through seeing and feeling the love of a child, even when no words are exchanged.
in a group of 24 family members which included my sister Joyce and her husband Doug; 
my brother Jerry and his wife Shelly and three children: Jace, Austin, and Alison; 
our son Kevin and daughter-in-law Angie, and four grandchildren: Taylor, Connor, Kade, and Lauren; 
our daugther Alison and son-in-law John, and three grandchildren who travelled with us: Bracken, Parker, and Tyson;
our son Kent and daughter-in-law Natalie;
and two friends, Mary and her daughter Kate (they became like-family very quickly),
I hardly know where to begin. Rather than do a day-to-day calendar for which both Alison and Natalie have done such fantastic jobs , (click on Alison and Natalie's pictures at the side to bring up their blogs), I have decided to list what I considered my favorite memories:
but getting off was another story.
Soon Kent and the girl behind the camel were trying to help him as well. None of the rest of us could help as we were much too busy taking pictures! Kent was completely puzzled as to what to do. Soon with all the laughter from family members, all the spectators completely forgot about climbing the Great Wall to see what all the comotion was about.
Soon a security guard came on the scene thinking there was big-time trouble. I guess I should have been worried, but George seems to always manuver out of difficult situations, and finally. . .
he emerged the victor--a little stretched out here and there, but much wiser about riding a camel in the future! 
My brother, Jerry's, little girl Alison was extremely popular because of her blonde hair and light colored skin. She always gave them a big smile, but sometimes her big brother Jace would just have to pick her up and take her away or we would never get going!
they have a museum of wax figures telling the history of China. As you walk along through time, it is hard not to believe those figures are real people--so real that when the little girls saw a Chinese girl with her hand out, they wanted to give her some real money and see if she would take it. They waited and waited--when she didn't take the money, they finally decided she wasn't real. No real person would pass up real money!
The boys were just as fooled--Austin looked real close to see if this Chinese guy was real!
Funnest Time
It was thrilling to see how so many retired people spent their days. I was so impressed at their desire to keep their bodies physically fit as well as their minds alert. It was a lesson to all of us! 
These wonderfully sweet people had no problem letting us join in any of their activities or using any of their equipment. They seemed to love having us there.
People were sharing their musical talents by singing---
or playing musical instruments.
This over-80 year old man had invented this neck ring game. Everyone loved it! He was so excited that we all liked it so much--
afterwards, he had everyone sign his book that we had played his game.
! 
Fortunately, there was a gondola that some of us took down. George and I can always say we hiked up the great China Wall--we just didn't hike down! That was okay by us! We wanted to see the beautiful scenery on the ride down! (Hah!)
More memories to follow!
