Starfish Foster Home

For my high school interim trip, I (Lindsey) went to Xi'An to serve in the Starfish Foster home and learn a lot about Xi'An history & culture. It was a wonderful experience and I would go back in the blink of an eye! I worked with this one boy named Malin, he was the sweetest thing! He and I had a connection from the moment we met! On the first day, Malin walked up to me and asked for me to pick him up, not wanting to say no, I did. From then on we were always together when I was there. We bonded over the next few days and Tuesday afternoon when we were leaving, all the kids were going down for a nap. So Malin and I left the dining hall where we were coloring and went to find his Ayi. She was in his room and told me to put him down on the floor, when I did, he began to cry, so I quickly left so I wouldn't cause a problem. I went to the front of the Orphanage and got on the bus. Three minutes later, Malin came to the door, saw me on the bus and started coming outside. I quickly ran off and took him back to his Ayi. As I was leaving for the second time, I heard footsteps running down the hall, and turned around to see his smiling face with tears in his eyes. It was the hardest thing to leave! On Wednesday, I found out that he is going to be adopted in December which makes me so happy! I had a wonderful trip and really want to go back!

A few things I got from the trip:

-A wonderful experience serving in an Orphanage for a week

-A beautiful new friend

-Knowledge of the history of Xi'An

-Great relationships with my group leaders and members.

-Oh, and immunity to chickenpox ;)