Visit to Bao'an Social Welfare Institute (SWI)

As I'm sure you can imagine, we are physically and emotionally exhausted from our long trip to Aaron's former orphanage. We left at 8 am and returned at 7:30 pm. Aaron gets very carsick, which certainly made the long trip even more unpleasant for him while in the car!

Even though it was a long day, I do not have not a single regret about going. We would not have missed this opportunity. For Aaron, it gave him a sense of closure. For us, it was a chance to thank the people who have cared for him for three years, while he was waiting for a family of his own. It was our chance to ask questions about his life at the SWI; his likes, dislikes, personality, etc. It was our chance to see where he lived. Even when we come back to China in the future, there is no guarantee we would be able to go back to his SWI, and so we know this is in all likelihood our only chance to visit and we did not want to miss it.

This orphanage currently has 380 children. We met the director, and many staff members. We saw several groups of beautiful children ages 2-4 walking from lunch to their sleeping rooms for naps. We saw the activity room (Aaron immediately ran over to the art center, as he loves to draw), the medical section, playground, and went upstairs to see his sleeping room. There were about 40 beds set up against each other. All the 3 year olds were in their beds getting ready for naps. The staff showed us Aaron's bed. We wanted a photo of Aaron by his bed. He started crying ...it was quite clear he did not want to stay in that room. He told them he wanted to go with his Mommy and Daddy.

Oh, my initial thoughts (I'll share more about our visit in the days to come…)

I wish China allowed you to adopt two children at once...

I wish every person undergoing fertility treatments could have the opportunity to walk through an orphanage in China. I wish they could see the hundreds of healthy babies lying in their cribs, waiting, just waiting for a family, and toddlers walking around, needing families. And, more than anything, I wish the process to adopt a baby or child from China moved more quickly. For I know for many, the prospect of waiting several years for a child born in China, after several years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, just seems too long... I know adoption is not for everyone, but looking at those hundreds of beautiful children today, I don't know how anyone could see what we saw and walk away without taking one child (a child already here on this earth who so desperately needs a home and family) home to be their own – to give them a family – to be a mom/dad to that child who needs one – and deserves one.

For me, I leave not only with some knowledge of Aaron's early life, but with the knowledge deep inside that we will return to China in the future to adopt another child in need of a family, and the with the determination to do so...