The Zoo Kids

The Zoo Kids
Finally Together

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Meis birthday....so many emotions

As we walked the streets of China on our trip to get Mei and then again to get Eli and Zoe, the majority of the homeless  we saw were those with limb differences.  They had obvious deformities....missing arms, missing legs, obvious orthopedic issues that could have been corrected with good medical care.  It was so tough to walk by them without being overcome with emotion for our Mei...what could have been and what the reality is for countless others like him that don't find families.

I've learned something about the Chinese culture...children born with limb differences are considered a curse to the family....it is an omen that a relative will soon die after the deformed child is born so often, the mother gives birth and the baby is quickly disposed of before the curse is set...so Mei was born to his birth momma while the rest of the family waited to see the new bundle of joy.  It obviously didn't take long for his China momma to realize she couldn't count five fingers and five toes.  And then it happened...did his momma get to choose...or did the family make the decision when and where to leave him without his mommas consent?  They obviously couldn't keep him and chance "the curse".

So Mei was left, at two days old in front of a city building.  Someone left him there in hopes he would be found....the blessing in that is they gave Mei life!  He wasn't aborted or left in a field to die like countless others.  Although his first days in an orphanage were far from ideal...no rocking or cuddles or kisses by momma...God sustained him..

We know that Had he not been adopted, by the age of 5/6(according to his orthopedic doctor), his legs would have no longer been able to support his frame...and he would have had to use a walker or crawl on his belly everywhere he went.  Once he was immobile, his chances to get out of the bed at the orphanage would have diminished.  At 16, orphans age out and depending on the orphanage, they can be turned out to the street.  There is so much corruption..and money unfortunately speaks...that when children like Mei grow up to be adults...they can be taken advantage of and sold as slaves.  At that point they are placed on the street with a bowl in front of them to panhandle for money.  The money goes to the master while the orphan child-now adult lives in horrid conditions..and works for his master day in and out.

Children with limb differences in China cannot attend school...they cannot work..remember, they are a curse....

Not a life I can even begin to imagine for our precious Mei....a blessing in every way and such a ray of sunshine everyday.  So I praise God today, on the eve of his 5th birthday, for his China momma, that she gave him life, for the policemen that found him and for the orphanage that sustained him for his first 2 and 1/2 years....and I pray today for his China mommas heart.  There is no way you can give birth to a child and not wonder about them every year on the day of their birth.  I pray her heart would be comforted and God would give her the peace to know that her baby is ok.  I pray God would reveal himself to her and she would come to know him.

We came home from China this last time saying we were done adopting, that our quiver was full.  I quickly changed that to...if there was ever another Mei, I wouldn't hesitate.  I know too much and have seen too much.  We know that world...the doctors, the prosthetics...and the joy and determination and willpower of a child like Mei...that has to over come every obstacle to just do simple things but perseveres with such joy....our story isn't finished....but as for today, Happy Birthday my sweet Mei!