 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
My name is Jina Mei. My Chinese name is Ji Mei Dong. It means "fortunate, beautiful plum blossom, born in the winter". I was born on January 19th, 1999 in tiny peasant village called Wenlou, outside of a small town called Huazhou, in the GuangDong Province of China. There are miles of rice patties and farms along with farm animals like water buffalo and ducks and chickens there. It is beautiful there, and the air was cold the night I was born. The people in Wenlou are very poor, and my mother couldn't keep me. So when I was just two days old, I went to live in an orphanage in Huazhou. For four months I watched as other babies were taken from their cribs and dressed in pretty clothes and taken away by the nannies. I heard them talking to the babies about going to meet their new parents. I wondered when my parents would come for me. I heard the nannies talking about how soon our pictures would go far away to our new parents. Then they would come for us soon afterward. I wondered if my parents would like my picture. I could hardly wait! Many, many days went by and I watched as more babies came into our home. There were about 70 of us altogether. The new babies cried at first, but soon they learned to lay quietly, and drink their formula down fast. When we cried, the nannies would throw a towel into our cribs for us to play with. (I still like to have a towel to hold on to when I go to sleep.) Other girls left our home suddenly. The nannies always seemed so excited to bundle up the girls and take them away. It must be wonderful to go to a new home with a mommy and a daddy. One afternoon a nanny came to my crib and said "Ji Mei Dong, here is a present for you from your mother and father. OOOOH it looks like you have a sister and two brothers too. Lucky, lucky baby." She gave me a key chain with pictures in it. I didn't know what to do. As she held it in front of me I could see that there were pictures of some people. And there was a picture of a little baby china girl. "That's you Ji Mei Dong." said my nanny. I tried and tried to pick up that key ring and see the different pictures on it. But it was very hard. I didn't have things to pick up before, except my soft towel. I wondered what a sister and brother were. Those were words I had never heard before. The weather got very, very hot and the nannies kept on bundling us up. Oh how I wished I could get some of that stuff off of me so I could reach down and pick up that key ring better! One day as the nanny propped my bottle for me, she said "very soon, Ji Mei Dong, it is almost your turn. Your parents will be coming to get you." I was so excited I tried to kick my feet. I could hardly sleep. I wondered what had taken them so long. Finally, one afternoon the nannies woke my three friends and I up from our naps and quickly started to sponge bathe us - and dress us in clean clothes. "Your parents are coming!!" they told us. "Now be good girls, and don't cry. You will be very, very happy in your new homes." Suddenly, I got a little scared. Will my new parents know how to care for me? Will they have enough food to feed me? Will they like me? And the nannies... they were always so busy and didn't have time to play, but I loved them anyway. I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave them. Before I knew it we were being whisked away to a bus. The nannies seemed very anxious. They talked quickly and quietly to each other, wondering if our parents would be nice people, and if they would know how to take care of us babies. They made a list of formulas and feeding schedules, just in case. We went for a very long bus ride. The nannies said our parents were coming on a train to meet us. We stopped at a big beautiful hotel and the nannies sat us on their laps on couches in the lobby. I looked around and waited. And waited. Suddenly, a big bus pulled up by the revolving front door. People started coming off the bus, and I saw a lady come into the lobby. Others were behind her. She was all dressed in pink just like I was! I shyly watched as she looked our way and started to run over. So did the other ladies. The lady in pink didn't see me at first, she looked into Ji Mei Xia's eyes, then my friend Ji Mei Hua's eyes, then into Ji Mei Zhen's eyes..... I watched anxiously...... she stepped up and studied my eyes. Her eyes sparkled with tears. "Ji Mei Dong?" she asked. "Yes!! Yes!!" said nanny and quickly I was in her arms being kissed all over... my cheeks were wet with her tears. She was telling me over and over how beautiful I was. I didn't quite understand what was going on... but it felt good. So many hugs and kisses. No one's ever done this before.. This must be my mother. I looked around for my daddy. My mommy told me he was waiting at "home" with the other children for me. Boy did that sound good. "home." "other children." Then I met my Nana. She was really happy to see me too. Soon my mommy took me to a private room and undressed me and counted my fingers and toes. She kissed every one. Then she gave me a bath, which I did not like at all. But each time I cried, she quickly picked me up and held me close. She kept whispering in my ear "it's all over, Jina Mei - now you're safe - now you have a home". I didn't understand what she meant, but I liked the sound of her soft voice in my ear. It kind of tickled. For days we hid out in a hotel room in between appointments. I didn't like crowded elevators or bus rides or people looking at me. My momma would turn me away and try to protect me. I felt safe with her, but still afraid in crowds. Sometimes on bus rides I heard the other babies cry and I worried that I was going back to my crib in the orphanage. Then we went on a long journey. Momma said we were going "home". So much time went by that I couldn't remember if it was time to sleep or eat or play. Finally, she bundled me up and tearfully whispered to me "we made it, Jina, we are home!! let's go see daddy!" I couldn't keep my eyes open for one more minute. So as I napped, my mommy carried me off the airplane and into the airport where many people were waiting to get a peek at me. My daddy held me right away and my 2 brothers and sister were there. When I woke up I was scared, and upset. I really just wanted to sleep and not have all the fuss. Now I am settled into my new home. I like it a lot. Everyone feeds me lots of good food. Sarah talks to me in a very sweet voice. Hans likes to get on the floor by me and just laugh. I don't know what is so funny, but I laugh back at him cause I think he is silly. Alex taught me to wave bye bye, and my new daddy is so gentle... I like it when he talks to me. I love to play in the bathtub, and I'm crawling everywhere. When mommy took me outside and showed me the garden and all the animals, and the bamboo growing over in the field... the cold wind hit my face.... and I remembered... all the good things in the little village of Wenlou were here too. And something even better. LOVE. Now I have a family of my own. So many people came up to my mommy in China and said I was a "lucky" baby. Momma says "no- she is CHOSEN". CHOSEN specially by God to be adopted into this family. And CHOSEN specially by God to be adopted into His family just like my new momma and daddy and brothers and sisters have been. I like being CHOSEN. with love, Jina Mei Larsen PS: I heard that you all have been praying for me. Thank you. and thanks for all the hugs and kisses and gifts too.
Adopt A Child | Why Us? | Our Families | How to Help 1510 Newtown Pike; Suite 152; Lexington, KY 40511 map © Copyright 2002-2003 A Helping Hand Adoption Agency. All rights reserved. Site design by Loracs Creations, Inc. Disclaimer: This page contains images of children not available for adoption. | ||||
