babies children and babies

Yesterday, we boarded a plane in Hanoi and headed to Hue for the weekend. Hue is considered to be in Central Vietnam.We were all starving when we got in, so a few of us went to a place near the hotel and got these filled rice cakes that you put in a bowl with greens and a delicious peanut sauce as well as pork on onion sticks that you wrap in rice paper with greens and dip in a sweet sauce.

We started this morning as the Office of Genetic Counseling & Disabled Children (OGCDC) to talk about some of the facilities and programs in place for disabled children. There are still a large number of children being born with both mental and physical disabilities due to Agent Orange. On top of that, Autism is becoming a more widely recognized issue for which centers are being established where kids can learn in a more focused environment. We even got the unique opportunity to tour some of the centers and schools where these students learn.

The first place we went to was a center for students with Autism. We didn't walk into the classroom because that would have been too stimulating for the kids, but one boy walked out onto the balcony to see us. Fa has autism and is non-verbal. He covers his ears a lot. Out of pure instinct (thank you Ontario Pioneer Camp), I squatted down so that I would be face level with him. We walked over to me and looked at my intently. I started talking to Fah, and he stopped moaning and rocking and was still. I think I even got him to nearly smile. He tried to follow me down the stairs, but his teacher took him back into the classroom. As we walked back to the van, I got the chance to share with my professor and some of the other students some of what I've learned in my experiences with children, mostly through Ontario Pioneer Camp.

The second place we went was a pagoda of nuns who ran an orphanage for mainstream students and a school for children with special needs. We got the chance to play some soccer with the kid, and then were taken upstairs to hang out with the babies for a bit. I don't even know why they brought us to the babies because I fell in love right away, and it was really hard to walk away from them. This orphanage does not do adoptions because a few years ago they had an interested couple, but none of the kids wanted to leave. They had formed a family of their own and could not imagine leaving, so they don't do adoptions anymore.

We got lunch at a vegetarian restaurant that helps to sustain the pagoda/orphanage. The restaurant was beautiful, and the food was amazing.

I don't know what was in these little rice cake things, but I can tell you that they were scrumptious.

Here we've got some noodles with veggies and fresh spring rolls.

Fried zucchini with mayo and sweet chili sauce. Delicious.

After lunch, we spent some time with the students at Future School. This school has 45 special needs students broken up into different classes both by age and by ability. Its everyday classes are run in a montessori style. We got to learn a Vietnamese song with some of the students who taught us some simple choreography and directed our performance of it. We then went to a handicrafts store where the OGCDC sells crafts made by artisans with disabilities. The proceeds from the shop went to sustain some of the programs that OGCDC runs in Hue and in the mountains near here.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. I got to hang out with kids all day. I couldn't think of any better way to spend my time. I was reminded over and over again today that every child is a child of God. His radiance and love is reflected in the face of every child regardless of ability. After a summer spent away from the wonderful familiarity of working with kids at Ontario Pioneer Camp, God gave me a day to reaffirm what I had forgotten: I love children and will be working with them in some capacity for the rest of my life. What a blessing.