To Our Next Destination
John Connor Brown Care Center in Tiendeng

After another five hour train ride, we arrived in Nanning. Since this trip was during the afternoon, we had seats rather than a sleeper bed, but it was not great. It was a very dirty train and we had to deal with peasants (the poorest people in China travel this way). There were also many screaming children and since they do not use diapers in China, they let them go to the bathroom wherever they are even though there are crude restrooms on the train. There was a lot of loud talking, arguing and eating going on the entire trip. Only the uneducated and very poor have poor manners and are often rude. The more educated people always treat us with great respect and courtesy, but we never expect it from the poor class in China.

The seats were terribly uncomfortable so Ron’s back was hurting worse the next day. It was the only train we have been on that was late arriving at the station. You might know it would be this one! But we changed from the poorest level of transportation to the very best when we arrived in Nanning, three hours from Tiendeng to our destination that night. (Tiendeng is located in Southern China about 50 miles from the Viet Nam border).

Mr. Edward Li, the head of Toyota, heard that we were coming to visit our care centers in Tiendeng and Pingguo. When Jim Griffith and his family from North Canton, Ohio, came in September, Mr. Li personally escorted them. He was in Guilin at the time we arrived, so he sent a driver in one of their new $60,000 cars to meet us at the train station and drive us to the John Connor Brown Care Center in Tiendeng. The driver stayed overnight at a hotel to take us to Pingguo the next afternoon.

We were invited to stay in the home of Ross and his lovely wife in Tiendeng. They are volunteers who help at the orphanage. Ross is from Australia and Raewyn (I’m not sure if I have spelled her name correctly) is from New Zealand. They have two children of their own and two adopted Chinese boys. Their children are wonderful teenagers. We got in about 11 p.m. so we met their sweet children the next morning at breakfast. The Chinese boys are younger. They were found in suitcases as babies as part of a smuggling ring of Chinese babies. They are very fortunate boys to have a lovely family now.

Their house is amazing. It is narrow but has five floors of rooms. There are two rooms and a bath on each floor so the winding stairs just go up and up from the first floor to the roof.
From the roof, they have a fabulous view of the mountains, fields and lake. They have white tile floors that were spotless. It was a beautiful place, but right on a very busy and noisy street in the middle of town.

We owe a lot to this family. They also gave Ronald, our son, a room when he first arrived in Tiendeng. They have encouraged and helped him so much. Ross and Ronald have done a lot to clean things up at the care center and assist the workers in making this a better place for the children. The construction of the new kitchen and dining room has begun so Ronald’s time will now be devoted to that work. Ross said he and his wife will continue to help Mark oversee things at the care center. They are helping teach the children, get things better organized and maintain a cleaner care center. They have sorted through a room full of clothing that was donated to see what is usable and what needs to be passed on to others.


Ron did a check list of things that need to be done to improve the building. With so many children, things are naturally going to get dirty, so walls and windows need to be cleaned and many places need new paint. Maintenance of the buildings is a constant problem, but we want the children to live in a clean and nice facility.

Seeing Ronald was especially nice. He has
accomplished so much in the few months he’s been in China and we are very grateful for his assistance. The children love him and call him Uncle Ron. They sometimes drive him crazy hanging on him and teaching him Chinese words, but I think for the most part, he loves them very much. He said sometimes he has to say, “No, no, that’s enough,” and they have learned that they must stop playing with him so he can do other things.

Ronald built a wonderful table for their dining room. It bothered him that the rice cookers were placed on the floor and the children had to bend down to fill their bowls. Now they have a nice table for this purpose. The present kitchen is in another room and food is brought to the dining room and served family style at the tables. While workers and children were away for recent holidays, Ronald scrubbed every pot and pan in the kitchen, organized the shelf items and cleaned the floor.



The children were so sweet and well-behaved. They wanted to touch us and hug us all the time we are there. They laughed and enjoyed the fact that we are Ronald’s parents. I told them when I arrived, “I am Uncle Ron’s Mama,” and they kept repeating “Uncle Ron’s Mama.” It was difficult to tell them goodbye when it was time for us to leave.

We ate lunch that day in the city with two government officials from the school system. The building we use for the care center is on the school property, so we try to keep a good relationship with these employees. The Toyota driver also had lunch with us and then drove us to Pingguo.