Bethel

Today we arrived at an orphanage for blind kids, where we'll be staying for our last week in China. Bethel, as it's called, is located a couple hours outside of Beijing. While we're here we'll be helping out where needed; getting the farm ready for planting, and looking after and getting to know the kids. My dad will also be doing some physic work with some of the kids while I'll be doing some photo/video stuff for the orphanage.

It's a beautiful compound and we're staying in one of the new houses that will eventually house about 10-12 orphans. As a result, there are mini toilets, mini baths, and mini sinks - all in mirror-less bathrooms, of course, as the kids can't really see. The sinks also have the hot/cold signs on backwards, which almost caused me to scald my hand when using one - but I've never been very good with sinks anyway.

The room I'm staying in has a crib and bunk bed. My lower bunk (I'm afraid the neither the crib or top bunk were designed with 180lb occupants in mind) has a floral pillow; a moon, sun, and stars sky blue blanket; and a bed sheet colourfully decorated with various anime characters. I'm not entirely sure why, though, as all of the kids here have some sort of visual impairment.

Speaking of the kids, there are 50 or so staying here at the moment. Today being the start of a two-day holiday in China, they weren't in class when we got here. Rather, most of them were in the orphanage's large playroom, where we spent a couple hours with them this afternoon.

They range in age from near-infants to late teens and up. I held a grim-faced baby girl for a good 20 minutes before I could coax a smile out of her and talked with Sam - the oldest at 21 years old. One of the other kids joked that I have to call him 'big brother.' There was one boy, about three years old ,who quietly stood by himself, hands behind his back, not really caring about anything for most of the time. He has the makings of an excellent old Chinese man, much to our amusement.

There was one little guy though, also about three years old, who seemed to really latch onto me and just about anyone else who would pick him up and hold him. I've only been here less than a day and already my heart is aching for these precious kids. Leaving them in a week is definitely going to be tough.