Chris & Meng Plummer's
China Trip Summary
It had been more than 2 years since I visited China and 5 years for Meng. It was great to be in Jiaozuo and to see how the work has grown.
Our long journey from UK to Singapore to collect our niece Jia Lei, and then on to Jiaozuo went very smoothly. We arrived in Jiaozuo exhausted and because of that, we did not have too much problem with jetlag. We adjusted swiftly into the time zone.
It was good to see how the children have grown and I was really pleased that all the children and staff were delighted to see me. I needed no introduction in each home and the children were quick to come up to me for a cuddle. 
There was a team of American volunteers (World Race Team) staying and working in the EW homes while we were there. It was perfect timing as we were able to work together to paint murals, manage the homes while the ayi (carers) were in training and take the children out on short excursions. Meng was a great help in interpreting for these volunteers and myself.
We managed to speak to the Director of the orphanage about assisting COAT with company registration and he promptly advised that he was working closely with Donna, our in-China Director to get this sorted. Donna was given the paperwork for this while we were still in China. Once COAT is registered officially, this will be a tremendous help for COAT's work in China.
It was good to be able to accomplish all that we intended during our short trip. I have lots of up to date pictures for the website, many of which are already up loaded. We were able to take many of the children from EW3 out most evenings to the play area and round to visit the pigs, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Meng and I, together with the world race team took the children who live in EW4 to play outside whilst their ayi's were engaged in training with Donna over a period of several days. This was especially beneficial for all the EW4 children who are in wheelchairs, and they loved it! This was one of the most memorable activities of our stay and you could see the enjoyment on their precious faces. I along with 2 members of the World Race team were also able to take 2 children out on an afternoon excursion as were other World race team members. This was really good for the children as they got one-to-one attention while on these excursions.
The more abled children really enjoyed doing the craftwork we brought with u
s, these being sticker and puppet theatre kits. I enlisted the help of several of the world race team members and the visiting specialists to help me with the puppet theatre activity. The puppet making process was quite complicated but with the number of helpers present we were able to achieve it. The children enjoyed it and their puppet theatre production got underway. Qing Qing was rather upset when she lost the ear of her puppet but hopefully she has recovered from this loss now.
Jia Lei had obviously enjoyed the trip as she asked to stay on with me. We had a good time with her and were able to help her see a world that is so different to hers. In her own words, "I was a little afraid when I arrive at EW3 as I did not know what to expect but was relieved to see that the children are happy and welcoming. They are better behaved than children who have parents." She got along well with all the children and us and we managed to spend lots of time with her.
The trip has been very beneficial as we were there with the intent to assess if we would return for a longer term. While there will be much adjustment needed, we are still open to see how our Father wants to lead us in this work and are considering various options
Chris, Meng & Jia Lei
