When we moved to China in 1997, the Shocks were already old-timers there in Guiyang. They had been there in the early 90's, when people were still uniformly wearing blue Mao suits and under even more intense government scrutiny than when we arrived. They have crazy stories.
While we were in China, they continued teach at the university for the sake of the all-important work-visa, but really they had already transitioned into the orphan-care that was to become their true calling.
You've heard stories, I'm sure, of desperate conditions at Chinese orphanages. The toddlers-strapped-to-potty-chairs-for-hours-on-end type of stories. In the 1990's, the Shocks began to visit the local orphanage to offer what help they could. The help that they could offer was to take the infant orphans into their home. The mortality rate of infants (even ones without physical disabilities, but most of these children suffered from one disability or another) was extremely high--entering the orphanage as an infant was a near-100% chance of being a death-sentence. So the Shocks arranged to take the infants home.
They cared for and held them. And some of them lived and flourished. And some of them passed into eternity ... being held by two Pennsylvanians whose hearts were big enough to embrace death and still go back to the orphanage to ask for more babies. We were and are-still in awe of the amount of heart this family had (they were raising two red-headed kids of their own). They lived across the stairwell from us in the other 2nd-floor apartment, so we were naturally integrated into their lives for three years, and with them we first learned to live in community. I'm sure that many of my life-values have been shaped by three years with the Shocks.
Over time, they recruited caring Chinese families who could serve as foster parents. When the infants had regained health (or had received a needed surgery, etc), they could be fostered by Chinese families rather than being returned to the orphanage institution. That team of foster parents grew into a network, and the apartment they had has been upgraded to a purchased house where they care for 8 babies at a time. They are amazing people.
So it's our privilege this week to care for the Shocks. They have come away from the long-underwear and dreary-days region of China and we have the ability to host them in sunny-days style here. We took them to the old walking-city of Hoi An yesterday, and today is more designated beach-time. It's our hope/prayer that they experience rest here and can re-enter China fully revived on Monday.
The pictures below are from our dinner tonight. Some of us got frogs & noodles, I wrapped fish in rice paper with veggies, and others got duck drumsticks with noodles. But the best food on the table was the stewed fish and noodles. Yummmm.
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