Last Saturday we had one of Ch1na's infamous summer torrents....the kind that come on all of the sudden, complete with streaks of lightening and deafening thunder claps. When it rains here, it really pours. The streets flood, the sky goes dark, and your clothes get soaked running even from one house to another (trust us interns and Sara...we did it!). Yet less than hour after the storm invaded, the rains stopped and real, blue sky broke through the clouds. With all the smog here it is a very rare sight to really see the sky and clouds at all, much less the sun shimmering down. Yet that is exactly what happened. Almost as soon as I dried off my clothes from the rain I was walking outside again basking in the glorious sunshine, taking pictures, and looking up with wonder at the sky like I was seeing it for the very first time. It was breathtaking, it was surprising, and in so many ways, it parallels what goes on in the heart of this place every single day.
As a special-needs orphanage, Shepherd's Field faces many challenging, dark, stormy days. Go*rnment restrictions, financial obligations, and the daily concerns for caring for 75+ kids 365 days a year can seem so overwhelming at times. There are kids with very broken, hurting hearts and tragic stories here. There are worries and stresses and questions and tensions at times among the staff. So many storms come thundering down here, bringing darkness and cloudy uncertainty. Yet with each raindrop that falls there is always the light of G0d's presence to break through and remind us all that it is a new day, and that He is making *all* things new in His time (Rev. 21:5). There are the unexpected donations from unlikely sources to meet financial needs, the little smile from a child who rarely shows emotion, the happy voices and chatters throughout the grounds of kids being loved and cared for, and the news of an upcoming adoption. All little rays of sunshine from G0d that clear away the rain and remind us that He is a good, faithful father to the fatherless. Truly His mercies are new every morning; great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).
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| The Office |
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| This color of sky is miraculous to see! I've only seen it so far after the big rainstorm! |
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| The children's homes |
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| Puddles drying up... |
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| The Vocational Center SFCV is building for the older children |
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| The SFCV grounds |
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| The school where I go to teach my precious students every day! |
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| The dining hall |
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| The office |
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| The side of the Inn. My room is the farthest one to the left on the top floor. |
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| The front of the Inn....my home here <3 |
Last Saturday we had one of Ch1na's infamous summer torrents....the kind that come on all of the sudden, complete with streaks of lightening and deafening thunder claps. When it rains here, it really pours. The streets flood, the sky goes dark, and your clothes get soaked running even from one house to another (trust us interns and Sara...we did it!). Yet less than hour after the storm invaded, the rains stopped and real, blue sky broke through the clouds. With all the smog here it is a very rare sight to really see the sky and clouds at all, much less the sun shimmering down. Yet that is exactly what happened. Almost as soon as I dried off my clothes from the rain I was walking outside again basking in the glorious sunshine, taking pictures, and looking up with wonder at the sky like I was seeing it for the very first time. It was breathtaking, it was surprising, and in so many ways, it parallels what goes on in the heart of this place every single day.
Beautiful photos! I bet you're going to come back a few shades darker from the sun! :)
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