Wednesday, August 26

Wednesday morning was spent with the babies upstairs. Music was the intention, but the babies declared it was time to eat. Bessie and I helped to feed the children and then spent about 15 minutes singing songs, encouraging movement, and playing with puppets. Hannah, a New Day employee, asked if we could do some music for the four babies in the critical care unit. These children are very medically fragile and cannot interact with babies or nannies outside of their room. I didn't even enter their space, but sat on the floor in the hallway playing the guitar and singing with them. It was then time for music with the preschool classroom! We sang a number of songs and implemented various activities that the children and adults loved. We sang hello, played the egg shakers, sang "Slippery Fish," played with the parachutes, played the drum, and gave each child the opportunity to strum the guitar. What a great bunch they were! (Photos can be seen here- https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.460616017293789.107873.127821320573262&type=3) You might have to like their page before viewing is possible. After lunch, we held a training identical to the one on Tuesday, but for the second rotation of nannies. One nanny was very receptive and excited about what we were sharing. She had her notebook ready, and I could tell she was going to use some of the ideas we were sharing, which is part of our mission! Our next stop was the "backyard school," where the four elementary children were being educated. We spent an hour doing music with them, focusing on increasing their English vocabulary. These children were semi-proficient in English, which allowed us to do so much more than we had anticipated when we first arrived in China. Following this was an hour with the Toddlers outside on the blacktop. We sang songs like "Wheels on the bus" and played imitation games with egg shakers and rhythm sticks. The preschoolers that live at the New Day facility joined us, and soon, we had a great participating crowd! I think it's safe to says that neither Bessie nor I anticipated being used to our maximum potential, but we are so incredibly excited that we were. There was a sense of accomplishment and joy by the end of the work day. We then participated in a church service by leading worship (like I said, maximum potential, right?). Dinner followed with discussion and processing the day. Being part of a team that was serving in various capacities was such a neat opportunity for me. I really enjoyed listening to others as they shared what they did that day and how it had impacted them.