China. What an incredible experience, one that was beyond my wildest dreams. Each day was a day of surrendering my own energy, strength, schedule, and love in order to be filled up completely with the fullness of Christ. I quickly learned that I alone had nothing to offer to these orphans that would last, but rather an outpour of Christ's love that He has for us that I am able to give. I was sent to pray without ceasing, to stand in the gap for these little lives that had no control over their past circumstances. 
After a week of ropes training and team building, a group of nine ORU students and I boarded a plane and headed to Beijing, China on May 13th. The fourteen hour flight seemed endless, however, we were ready for an adventure. We finally arrived on Tuesday the 15th around 12AM and headed out to New Day’s campus, where we would be living and working for the next month. New Day has three different aspects: a foster home, an english learning center, and a factory. The foster home houses about twenty-five orphans who have a medical need. When a child is found, he or she is then taken to a local orphanage by the police. These orphanages contact New Day when they are unable to attend to the orphan’s needs. New Day helps to get the child the surgery that he or she needs. Many of the children have a heart condition, Spina Bifida, clubbed limbs, cleft lip/ palate, deformed ears, Albinism or Down Syndrome. The english learning center is a school for students ages fifteen and up to improve their english before they head off to study abroad, usually in the United States. The factory creates inspirational products and gifts that are often found in Christian bookstores. Years ago, God began to instill in me a heart for orphans. The moment I stepped foot in the foster home and saw these children, they instantly captured my heart. Each child at New Day had been rescued from abandonment in a local park, beside the railroad tracks, in a hotel, etc. When I held these precious children I couldn’t help but think who could abandon this little life?
This trip has confirmed my passion to be an advocate for the orphaned. Now that I have held these children in my own arms I cannot help but partner with the heart of Christ and continue to pursue the calling He has on my life. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).