(Find daily updates below)
23 Days in China—
1-2) Travel
3-4) Shanghai: tour of the city, travel
5-6) Xuzhou: 2 days of training w/ local employees
7-10) Lianyungang: 2 days of training & Speech therapy with elementary children, attend Children’s Day program on 3rd day
11-16) Nanjing: therapy in various clinics
17-19) Changzhou: more therapy, lecture in clinic
20-22) Qinhuangdao & Beijing– forced tourism
23) Fly home
[May 23-June 14]
My undergrad university, California Baptist University, has recently poured into the global health engagement department that is linked to the college of Allied Health (which houses PT, OT, Speech Therapy, etc)— it is led by a previous full-time missionary Dr. Salley, who opened up his own private practice after college and pursued his medical profession until he had his life radically revamped, provoked by earthly health issues and God’s divine plan, which moved his family to Africa until he was brought to Cal Bap just a few years ago.
Each week in the semester preceding these ‘global health engagement’ trips, the various teams meet for a three hour lecture, discussion, & team activity, accompanied with various assignments pertaining to one’s assigned country (This year we are sending two teams to China, one to East Africa, and another to the Philippines).
My team consists of 10 undergrad and soon-to-be graduate students studying speech and hearing sciences and two practicing SLP’s who also teach at Cal Bap (they happen to be the two professors I am closest to and wrote all my letters of rec for grad school— I love them both so much; Namhee lived in South Korea for most of her life and taught the majority of my major courses, while Appie taught in Colorado, led my senior internship course, and has a daughter who is a missionary in Washington DC. Each of them have great stories.)
Appie (Professor Appenzeller, but I love to secretly call her Appie) is our main lead, she loves China with all of her heart and says that whenever she steps off the plane and touches its solid ground she feels at home— “this can only be the Lord” she says.
She has organized our trip according to her connections and relationships in the Shanghai area, no organization or missionary board is sending us, just the good Lord and all of those that have sponsored us; she has asked that we have our cities learned, supplies packed, and hearts prepped for whatever comes our way.
Her long time friends are missionaries in Shanghai and spoke to our class a few months ago when they were in town; we could potentially be spending a few days in the underground church camps with them, but who knows.
Last year her team was not able to go directly into the orphanages she wanted to visit (some came into the clinics)- it was something to do with the government official that was overseeing the group at the time. But we will keep our fingers crossed!
So, what is our agenda? What are we doing?
—>Primarily training those who work with special needs children regarding assessments and therapy— helping employees who work in the clinics but have no background in child life, development studies, physical, occupational, or speech therapy and showing them how to love children, encourage them, and make therapy engaging and useful.
We will also be presenting a few lectures (I have been assigned cerebral palsy) and jump in on some dinners with teachers, board members, and families.
Our literal formula in the clinic will be one child + three workers + two students.
(There is one student on our team who is PT and she is my partner which is helpful because of our presentation on CP).
But our overarching approach will rest on requests, asking for God’s direct hand in everything we do and the ability to convey the value of every person as a child of the king, cherished and loved by him.
I don’t speak mandarin, I’m not in the least bit Chinese, and I’ve never been to Asia. Whatever work is done will surely be the Lord’s doing— I ask that you join me in prayer for my team, leaders, the families we come in contact with, the children we get to hold, and all that this unique opportunity has to offer.
May I cling to the spirit and all that God is saying.
I love kids so much. I love my profession. I love the God I serve.
& I love you too, thank you for all the support and encouragement.
My team will have blog updates throughout our trip— feel free to check in for some cute photos of our kiddos!
Blogs.calbaptist.edu/ALLIEDHEALTH
Otherwise, stay tuned 😉
Updates:
Day 3: Nî Hâo from Shanghai! Our China team was fortunate enough to have smooth travels, make all our connections, and enjoy a day in the city full of food, laughter, and bonding— of course, we still encountered some traveling hiccups. For instance, I almost became an amputee as I tried to squeeze into a closing subway door, but was lucky enough to have my roommate Flor save my arm and eventually get us to our team five stops down.
It has already become evident that this team was hand-picked and God will be accomplishing His plans through our open and raised hands.
I don’t speak mandarin, I’m not in the least bit Chinese, and I’ve never been to Asia. Whatever work is done will surely be the Lord’s doing— I ask that you continue to join us in prayer for our team, leaders, the families we come in contact with, the children we get to hold, and all that this adventure has to offer.
Day 5: Xuzhou Social Child Welfare Institute welcomed us with open arms and a room full of nearly 100 faculty and family members! After a morning of lectures we were thrown into a sensory integration rainbow sensation where I immediately fell onto the floor (literally) and rolled around with a 3 year old receiving therapy for a language delay. I must admit, the pretend crashing was far easier than the hour of vocabulary building and color matching that attempted to follow. Workers and watchers surrounded the children, unfamiliar sounds swirled around, videos rolled, and did I mention my kid said only one word over the entire session? But don’t be fooled, in just our first training day we were invited back for next year and saw tears of hope from a mother who was told her son could never recover. My work doesn’t always reflect the fullness of God’s.
Day 6: I woke up exhausted today. Three days of travel, the fifteen hour time change, a brutal first therapy— my body felt it. So, I asked my mom for prayer. She said: “Riley, I will pray for supernatural strength & knowledge of things you didn’t know you had. And yes, the people you come in contact with experience the love of Jesus, that’s the most important thing. Don’t doubt yourself & don’t doubt what God is up to.” I forgot I was tired during my six hour block of training.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ!”
Today was encouraging.
Day 7: I am packed and leaving Xuzhou for Lianyungang! We will do two FULL days of training (at least 6 hours) and then a “child day” event that the facility holds. Not sure what that will consist of yet.
We ended our time in Xuzhou yesterday, with a formal dinner with the president of the facility who is also a government official. It is customary to have the host sit his two most important guests to his left and right and the second host across from him. He honored our professors by having them sit by him and serving them Chinese specialities from the round table.
Who knows where this friendship will lead but goodness it was a beautiful thing to witness and a delicious thing to be a part of!
I am looking forward to what this next city has in store for us.
Day 8: Liangyungang welcomed us with a big school performance where the kids danced, played drums & sang for us! It was so, so cute! We have just finished our first day of lecture and training here. It is smaller than our previous facility and is actually linked to a primary school rather than being its own private institution. The therapists here care extra about their kids. It was so encouraging to see, as it is in any field at any location. And some of them speak English which is a big game changer! Life is good, God is good, and our team overall is healthy!
We ended up getting invited to a dinner with the head honchos of angels home (they also make prosthetics, employ disabled adults, etc) where we received some unbelievable feedback on our work so far— the principle said that their wechat was blowing up with high spirits and new perspectives on how to both play with and respect their students. They said they felt what we brought in their hearts. However they label it, the spirit is among them! We also had a young boy who was only using a few words to communicate like mama, water, and want but went home this afternoon and said, “I am so happy.”
Day 9: This has by far been the most taxing day; up until now travels have left me stress-free and ready for another set of kids. Today I was hit by a Chinese culture bomb in the form of my two students who were non-verbal and dealing with difficult family dynamics. My heart felt so broken and my time here felt so insignificant and my abilities not enough to fix what was going on underneath all the layers. Goodness, I am so thankful that this earth is temporary and that at the end of the day I am just called to love on as many people as possible, because the rest of it gets messy and frustrating and at times discouraging.
We ended our day by walking through a fair in the city, grabbing some mango milk tea, and a boy from angels telling us, “My wish has come true. Because I met you.”
Off to Nanjing tomorrow! Apparently they are eagerly awaiting our arrival. Word spreads quickly here!! Praise Jesus for this opportunity to be used to share his goodness.
Day 10: “Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another–practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.”
EPHESIANS 5:1-2 AMP
Nearly halfway through the trip with 10 days of training ahead of us— May we be imitators of him. Jesus went from city to city, loving on his people, speaking, sharing, and consoling. And surely he got tired! I think we are doing what Jesus did, right? 😉 Accompanied with the human wear and tear.
Today we are taking in the famous monkey mountain of Liangyungang and then traveling to Nanjing for four packed days of therapy!
At the Huaguo mountain we made wishes, got ambushed by monkeys, and left with full bellies for our long bus ride. We are now in Nanjing and will be working in two facilities, presenting and doing a half day of therapy the first day followed by a full day with the same therapists the next and then restart the same sequence at the other site.
Day 11: The team was feeling the wear of travel and back to back therapy today (and some of the emotional baggage)— thankfully we had a day off and were in our rooms before 9 pm for the first time since we started this trip. My verse of the day was Exodus 14:14. The chapter is about God leading Moses and the Israelites out of persecution and away from pharaoh. This is just as applicable to my team as it was then— as if God is saying, “Don’t be afraid! I know you’re tired and you don’t speak the language but be confident because my salvation will prevail! I, your father, will accomplish what I need to accomplish. I will fight for you! Just show up, love on these kiddos and let me do the rest.” This is my anthem for today! & I’m excited for what God wants to accomplish here in Nanjing!!
Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.”
EXODUS 14:13-14
We just finished our first day at the facility here in Nanjing and these therapists were so easy to work alongside! They were familiar with the material and concepts we discussed and implemented them quickly, showing great understanding. It has been interesting to see the variations between each city; our first stop was well funded, the second was full of heart, and this one had more experienced therapists. It’s rare for our therapists to have an educational background relative to our field of study (psychology, child life, child development, speech, special needs, etc) and this proved to be a great help. One thing I have noticed here though is these parents have been a little more rigid overall and stuck on certain concerns, looking for reasons why their kid is hyper or doesn’t like to do “meaningful” things. Before parents have typically rejoiced with new tips on how to assist their child. Then again, the populations we were working with before were far more severe. I felt like the crowd here thought that because their child was diagnosed with something or was struggling with something, everything was then out of the ordinary and needed to be worked on. This was an interesting topic to try and tackle and I felt as though it left some parents unsatisfied— then I learned that this is “stars’ future” (aka future star but the English translation says it the reverse on the wall), it’s a private school where the therapists are paid double and the parents expect Harvard focus for a three and a half year old in preschool. Still, we made some strides today with imaginary play and encouraging some parents that their child is just learning slower but doesn’t have a disorder! And one of our interpreters approached me and asked if I was a Christian, because he was too. I wasn’t able to say bye to him but he shared about how his whole family were believers and we were able to take a photo together. Feeling encouraged!
Day 12: I can’t believe God chose me; I am so, so little, but in the most beautiful way! Truly in the image of a father holding his newborn daughter. I am awe-struck with the revelation of my tiny self and the intense power of my God! Obviously I’ve known of his greatness, but just because you know ‘of it’ doesn’t stop it from hitting you with a new spin or strength that you didn’t taste before. We are all so small yet he still cares for us, listens to us, watches over us, provides for us, and uses us! He loves us SO much! All praise be to God! Today, in China, and every day!
“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none; Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them Myself; I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them. “I will open rivers on the barren heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a reed-pool of water And the dry land springs of water. “I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress, So that they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, That the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
ISAIAH 41:17-20 AMP
“For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”
PHILIPPIANS 2:13 AMP
I had four sessions today and every one of them was a misdiagnosis; the first was super rare (childhood apraxia of speech) and the other three were language delays that were labeled as high functioning autism. Any child that I’ve met with a diagnosis has been told they’re autistic; I haven’t met a child who has heard anything else from the doctors, if they paid them a visit. It was strange to share with the first parent because there is no known cause and no successful therapy approach.. and it was nice to clarify to the others that their child had a language delay but has since caught up with their peers and will continue to thrive going forward. These parents were so stressed about every little thing their child did; whether it was talking to themselves during play, not having an hour long attention span, or being content with hanging out and not asking a lot of questions, the parents feared the worst. These children were such joys to play with. They smiled, they joked, they imagined and they were energetic. One mom told me she was glad her son wasn’t autistic because now she won’t need to have another kid 😦 and another shared with me her worries of her child going to kindergarten because she asks herself questions and then answers them while she’s playing and mom is anxious about the teacher reporting her as abnormal and sending her to special ed school. I told her that I can’t change her school system or the teacher or even make her “fit in” exactly like she needs to, but I can confirm that her baby girl is not abnormal and is amazing and we can help her to make friends and do our best to give her the most successful kindergarten year. Culture ought to create room for meaning and connectedness; cultural pressures take away from experiencing the fullness of the individual. This three and a half year old told me her peach looked like a monkey’s fanny. Everyone should be able to let out a belly laugh about that without being weary of the child’s professional future.
Day 13: “But certainly God has heard [me]; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.”
PSALM 66:19-20 AMP
In other words: Whatever you need, God hears you! So call out to Him and receive what he has to give. He never turns away and is always ready to shower us in his out-of-this-world love.
The Lord has taken such good care of me on this trip. I am not homesick, I am healthy, I am sleeping through the night, and I have some quality instant coffee!! Love that he cares about the little things to, he listens to even the smallest of requests.
Also, God hooked it up and gave me fast WiFi, smooth communication, and a VPN hack for my google account which allowed me to submit an apartment application— and He got me approved within 24 hours! I’ve officially got an apartment for Boston!
Counseling easily takes up 50% of our sessions. Whether it comes in the form of encouraging a therapist or parent or simply listening and providing validity to their observations and concerns. I am so thankful for good interpreters; I really hope they can feel the value of their story and child.
Day 14: Goodness me, I am tired today! 14 days without a legitimate day off— we will get a half day tomorrow to rest and then hit two more facilities and end with assessments for children who haven’t seen a doctor or been diagnosed. I kind of feel like I’m in a time warp here. All the days blur together and Chinese still sounds like gibberish to me.. I’m learning so much every day and also able to see a glimpse of how Jesus is working here, which is more than I could ask for!
After lots of videotaping and clapping and numerous thank yous at our stops I thought of this:
In facilities where you are praised for being American and educated, where people see you as healers, I could see how one would believe they are pretty great. May no arrogance or pride flow from me; may I always have a student spirit.
“Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. But the greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.”
MATTHEW 23:9-12 AMP
May all things point to him and we all work as his humble servants!
—
Ending the day in happy tears with endless alleluias
” In the moments where you go unnoticed, in the ordinary day to day, countless miracles of life around us, point like arrows to your name
let our voices rise, all creation cries, singing out an endless alleluia “
Day 15: Our “off day” consisted of milk tea, a visit to the ancient Nanjing stone city, climbing a mountain, touring a museum, a well-needed fresh meal, and travel to our next city, Changzhou. It was a strange day because 1) everyone was dead tired & 2) we were led around by various government officials and they never wanted us to know where we were going ahead of time. There was some odd communication with all that for sure, but still, the day was warm, bright and full of realizations: 1) a shared meal sprinkled with laughter is one of the best ways to fuel up to conquer life 2) everyone handles hardships differently; hardships don’t give anyone the right to be an a**hole 3) grace is the key to a healthy life, you’ll be less frustrated, more understanding, and carry less baggage 4) you shouldn’t live your life for the approval of others, but some people will just never get you. hold tight to the ones that do!
—
To mirror the start of our trip, a few things have changed for our last few stops— 1) we will be visiting Nanjing again in between Changzhou and Qinhuangdao 2) in Qinhuangdao we will be doing assessments for children who have not been diagnosed and are part of the believing family.
It’s looking like the tail end of this trip is going to throw us some twists and turns— lots of miles, children, and lectures to cover, please send us all your wishes!
Day 16: Even if I am POURED OUT, emptied, robbed of my possessions— for preaching the good news of salvation, still, I rejoice and welcome all to share in my joy! For NOTHING compares to the heavenly glory that is revealed through us, to the honor of being used as a vessel, nor to the suffrage the Lord already took upon himself for these gifts!
“For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!”
ROMANS 8:18 AMP
—
I have not been consecutively this physically tired in a long time. I’ve been tired after a soccer game, sleepover, or examination week, but 16 days of constant go is very close to new record. At the same time, I am experiencing a spiritual renewal, a God-sent energy that I haven’t felt in a long time. Praises be God, for he has not turned away my prayer nor his loving kindness from me!
—
I love these kids, therapists, and families that I get to work alongside with. Each city brings with it its own unique characteristics!
Today I had one girl in particular who captured my heart. She was 13, has cerebral palsy and is a social butterfly. The only catch is that she can’t verbalize her communication, she needs another outlet. We ended up playing guessing games and asking questions about things she liked and she’d drop a ball on the designated ‘yes/no’ ‘blue/green’ ‘outside/inside’ answer—whatever fit the subject. I learned later that she only receives physical therapy without any language content, which made me sad, her smart self is stuck in a body that can’t communicate all she has to say. But mom seemed pretty killer and was working to have her type at home to communicate. Go mom!! I also realized at the end of our session today that this facility does PT and cognitive skills but no language or communication and they don’t have cards, games, or tools to help facilitate that either, just the exercise balls and some blocks. I wish I could have given them a whole box of tools:(
Leaving the day a little down about the unmet needs of people everywhere.
Day 17: It’s amazing what a morning with Jesus can do to set the stage for your whole day. I leave my room each day with a sweet tune in my ear, amped for what lies ahead of me.
We are headed back over to Nanjing for a day and a half of training at a new facility before going to our last city. I can’t believe we have less than a week left.. I am learning, loving, and living so much of every day here. God really took advantage of this time to help me recalibrate my life.
It’s funny how typical it is for us to jump off a train and meet up with a set of strangers. 80% of the time I have no idea who I’m driving with, where I’m going, or what I’m meant to do when I get there. Kind of like the food, it’s all a guessing game.
Day 18: In Nanjing for our final full day of presentations and therapy. Tomorrow we will take a 6 hour train ride to visit the homes of family and friends that Vicky & Paul were close to when they lived in China (Vicky is a longtime friend of our professor Appie and has worked as our translator for this trip). These last few days are going to be more about helping this community and their special needs kids than specifically doing speech therapy. 🙂
Day 19: I have loved this trip. In our debrief yesterday evening we were asked ‘what has been the hardest part.’ Most of the team agreed that is was showing up for breakfast and having no idea what would follow (i.e. who we’d be doing therapy with, what facility we’d be at, how many kids we’d see, when would lunch be, when would we end, who are these people I’m driving with, etc). This was actually one of the easiest parts for me because I had no choice but to focus on what was at hand since I couldn’t make a single plan for what would follow. Instead, the hardest part for me has been not feeling like I’m doing enough, can fix enough, am able to touch enough kids; even though I know all rests in God’s hands, it is so hard to feel accomplished when there is so much need!
Our debriefing also included news from the government officials who have been with us. They give us clearance for the facilities and place random monitors in with us, just as they send monitors to all organizations in the country to observe and approve of their messages, intent, and conduct.
There has been tremendous spiritual war fare in these last few days.
Apparently there have been a number of debacles among the natives involved in our trip thus far, full of rumors, miscommunication, and he-said she-said fights. It turns out that the underground church we were going to visit published a few pieces about the seminar we’d be a part of, a monitor heard about it, and the government got involved and shut everything down. We can’t go visit. The church can’t hold their events.
The church said they are willing to stand and would welcome us with open arms. Our arrival would jail all church members present without trial and force our own deportation; May we all stand with such confidence, daily, regardless of our environmental setting.
After discussing, our leaders decided that we will not be visiting as the church is making too great of an impact in their community to jeopardize their other outreach programs.
I was disheartened prior to this news because the therapists we were seeing seemed closed off and hostile. I now believe that this was a reflection of the inner turmoil of all those in power who were overseeing our operations.
Now I am saddened that we cannot go to our families, my fellow brothers and sisters, and I am upset about the 19 kids we could have seen there. 19 families that we can’t speak to. 19 homes that we can’t change.
There are always going to be more, everywhere we go. From California to Massachusetts, from China to Africa.
It’s humbling to know that God enables, reveals, and controls all. I will never have the full picture until heaven, but I can hope and pray for glimpses of it until I get there. Even still, no weapon or evil will ever succeed, but maybe just impose a few barriers along the way? But then, all things have to pass through the hand of God, so this must have to? Sometimes my mind is just blown. I don’t have all the answers and I still wish we were finishing our trip as planned, but I also know God works miracles and is doing far beyond what my mind can comprehend— May His name be praised in all things!
With nearly 200 kids seen, I am confident good will spread.
My daily verse, what a Godwink:
“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And this is their vindication from Me,” says the LORD.
ISAIAH 54:17 AMP
“Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
COLOSSIANS 3:17 AMP
Day 20: As our story and the Church’s has unfolded in greater detail, I’ve learned that the entire church has in fact been shut down. Their stance, had we shown up in full force, would have been HUGE. Even still, they are determined to continue meeting in small cell groups and see us for bits and pieces while we are here as tourists— at times on this trip I felt like the earliest plower, but I know that many have come before me.. It’s a long process! I’m not even sure who will sow or when it’ll happen but the great news is that God is reaping ALL THE TIME! A good friend told me, “God’s time is all the time.” -Ron Harvey
Off to the Great Wall today. Lots of love.
(I will note though that the government had to “approve” our trip so they told us what tourist company we could use which just means that the guides and bus drivers are their fellow monitors. Which is fine, because we have nothing to hide, it’s just such a strange thing to have grown relatively accustomed to and for it to be so rooted in the communism here.)
Day 21: We explored various parts of the Great Wall, shared homemade peanut brittle, and told stories with funny uncle, strange cousin, sweet nama, little gracie and hannah; Our time in Qinhuangdao felt like time with family. It was wonderful and the church showered their love over us in the form of tender smiles and a plethora of flavorful foods. The church is not a building, WE are the church!!
Off to Beijing this afternoon for one final day of tourism tomorrow!
Day 22: I cannot believe that this is our last day in China… tomorrow morning we will be on a flight home and, unlike some of the other members of our team, I will not be returning to CBU in the fall, so this is an actual goodbye until who-knows-when, even for my American friends. There are so many people and feelings and sights I am going to miss! The diarrhea, strange meat, and squatty potties I might not miss entirely, but for who I got to go through these experiences with and all the laughter and insight they granted us, well then, in context I actually might miss these things!
Beijing, here we come, for one final outing as tourists in your oh so different country.
Day 23: Our team is safe and sound, all back in the US and ready for some mexican food! Thanks again for staying up to date and lifting us all up in prayer during our journey! I miss the children of China already… but as always, it is great to be an American! Lots of love xoxo
Compass 