Taking Nothing For Granted...

Today we went to a village that has been in Nanchang China for over 1000 years. Apparently they are used to tourists coming because this particular village was featured in National Geographic a few years back. It was very interesting and very sobering to see how people in the country live here in China. The city life is totally different from the US in so many ways. But, the country life is almost unimaginable unless you see it as we did. According to our guide farmers make about 100$ a year -ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS A YEAR (in US dollars!). These are the types of villages where babies are carried and then taken to larger cities and abandoned. There is one picture...the Chinese writing on the wall...it reads "One Child per family!" and then the smaller sign says "Will be strictly enforced..." Wow! That says it all! I asked our guide what actually happens when these families give birth. If it is a boy...they stop. If it is a girl they might try again and then put the girl up for adoption by "abandoning" her at the orphanage. Or, they would "hide" the second pregnancy and then leave the baby where it could be found and taken care of by an orphanage. They have been given no other choice by the government. It costs about 100,000$ US dollars to keep a second child. Very few in China-city or country can afford that. We were given the "finders add" for Taryn by her orphanage. This is the newspaper add with her picture and general information about her when she was found as a newborn. The sad thing about this is that there are probably 200 more babies and children on the same page with the same types of adds! This was just for her Provence here in Nanchang! These adds come out weekly with new faces and names in every Provence of China! It is overwhelming to see all of the babies that are left! The village was a great way to actually see how Taryn would have lived if she were kept. I can't imagine the living conditions! Chickens coming in and out of open doorways...small gardens being watered by the same water as the sewer flows from...Once again though, the people were very friendly and "interested" in us. The 3 story white building and the "outhouse" building in the pictures are the local school and the bathroom the children use outside (no complaining about school boys!!! It could be a lot worse!) We tried to capture as many pictures as we could! The video is short but essentially is what happens when you are on the streets of China! The people love to see Americans (especially blond ones!) and the babies. They look at it as the baby has found "luck" to go to America and have a family. They KNOW that there is no other option for these babies! I have learned to be gracious as women and men come up and touch, kiss, want to hold Taryn...and talk to me or Steve...mostly me because I am the one with the carrier! They all seem to love babies...and yet, they can't keep them! It is very sad... we tried to capture a few of the faces we saw and the homes they live in. Hope it enlightens those of us who take things for granted! And, praise God, our daughter has been saved from this!