Scripture of the Day

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40: 30-31

Monday, November 19, 2007

First Night


We could tell that baby Elizabeth was frightened. When we were in the conference room, she was the first in the group to cry. You could sense that she knew that something was not right. She kept on looking around. You tell that she has a very keen awareness of her surroundings.

At the orphanage, her nick name is "Duo Duo". So, we started calling her by this name.

When we got back to the room, she kept on crying. We tried to pacify her. We held her and touched. We walked around the room. We played some soft music. But, nothing really seemed to work. We remembered in our training that it would take some time to bond. We had to be patient.

At first, when Simon held her, she cried even more. At the orphanage, we figured that she had very little contact with men given that most of the caretakers are women. The deeper voice may have frightened her.

While Simon went out to get some groceries, Duo Duo seemed to have calmed down. She played with some of the toys that we brought. She smiled, and she even ate some Cheerios.

After bathing her, the doctor came by our room to check her out. Everything was normal with the exception that she had some congestion from a mild cold. He told us to give her some Tylenol and that she would be fine.

At about 8:30 p.m. Duo Duo fell asleep peacefully. We thank the Lord for giving us this very precious gift.

1 comment:

Mary said...

Hi Simon, Helen, and Duo Duo,

Your daily journal is such a delight to follow. Thank you for sharing. I am praying for all of you for smooth and rapid adjustment, good health, and great patience with each other. God is so good! Mary and Bob