A New Day

We arrived to New Day Beijing on Tuesday. Sara, a volunteer coordinator for New Day, met us at the main road outside of the village and led us to the community center/foster home that is New Day Beijing. When we turned the last corner, we saw a large group of about 50 volunteers waiting for us at the gate. They had a huge banner welcoming us to New Day. There were balloons hung on the gate, and the crowd started cheering when we were still 100 yards away. My eyes filled with tears. It was such a beautiful way to be welcomed to a very special place.

Donna, the head of volunteer services, showed us to our dorm where we got cleaned up and rested after our 20 kilometer walk that day. Full of energy, I got a quick tour of the campus. New Day Beijing is currently home to 25 foster children and many summer interns from overseas. Very friendly staff members that obviously love their jobs run the establishment. Inside of the gates, creative energy flows. New Day offers many services such as a community preschool and affordable home schooling for Chinese students who want to eventually study overseas. There is also a section dedicated to creating art that will later be mass-produced and sold. The profits of these decorations, magnets, and trinkets help keep the place running. There are hundreds of these beautiful New Day creations hanging all over the walls, giving the place the feeling of home.

Ann and I took the short walk into the village of Qingyundian to find dinner and groceries. When we got back to the New Day compound, I took full advantage of their huge TV, movie collection, and couches. I LOVE watching movies and I’ve missed it so much these past four months.

The next morning I woke up with gratitude in my chest. A few times during this trip I’ve had dreams that we had finally arrived at New Day, only to wake up to disappointment. It was a surreal experience to actually be there. I had a lazy morning of tea and movies, Skyped my mom to make sure she had everything she needed to bring over (i.e. pretty clothes and yummy food for me).

In the afternoon Sarah took us for a tour of the foster home. It is such a beautiful, clean and happy little place. I was so excited to see Chris, one of the kiddos who had been at New Day South before moving North for treatment. Sarah showed us the play and therapy rooms, and took us outside to the yard and playground where the children were sitting in a group doing songs. It’s impossible to describe how beautiful it is to see these children smile and play. I encourage each and every one of you to experience it for yourself someday.

The foster home in Beijing is home to 25 foster children who patiently wait here to find their forever families. The children who wait here are bathed in love from both their Chinese nannies and foreign volunteers whose duties go far beyond simply loving on children. New Day Beijing volunteers take on jobs from cleaning toy rooms to leading educational playtime for the kiddos. The staff here are highly educated and trained to care for children with disabilities and they are always learning, teaching, and evolving. They are constantly rising to the challenge of offering the best care for the kids, no matter what the challenges. It is an impressively organized operation, a busy hive in the offices, but calm and happy upon entering the children’s zone.

I spent two days resting, watching movies, talking to and laughing with other visiting American volunteers, and playing with the foster kids in the afternoons. Ann and I spoke at a volunteer dinner on the second night. Much to my delight, the dinner included mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. My time at New Day filled me up in every way that I’ve been depleted over the past few months. I’m so very thankful for that.

On top of all of this goodness, the most amazing thing is the story of the land that the New Day compound is built upon. The plot has a dismal past. Once used as a place for troubled teens to commit suicide, nobody else wanted this cursed land. The founders purchased the plot and began building their oasis for children. Little did they know, a wise man once used to go to that plot of land to pray. He had a dream that people would come from a far away land to build a place for children. New Day is a dream come true for that wise man and many other people.

Needless to say, it was a lovely place to be. It was hard to leave, but I knew somewhere in my heart that I wasn’t saying goodbye forever. I could have stayed much longer, but we still have a job to finish.

To learn more about New Day, visit HERE