Day 12 (August 12th) Bethel Home for the Blind

After our crazy night of getting home super late, we headed out early the next morning for Bethel. It was a long drive and became even longer. Our bus broke down on the highway. We were stranded with no air conditioning, and it was a HOT day. Hannah and I were sitting by each other and thought the whole thing was hilarious. It felt like we were in a movie, and even though it was hot and gross, it was still all apart of the experience! We eventually made it to Bethel, and we were all blown away by what we saw.

This orphanage is specifically for blind orphans, ages 3(I think?) to 22. They train them in all sorts of tasks, helping them become independent in spite of their blindness.

They have 7 houses located on their land. They group the orphans together in 'families' and they live in these homes together. They have someone there to watch over them at all times, but they like to give them a sense of independence, so they only interfere if needed.

It is run on a self sustaining farm. They have all sorts of animals and fields. The children even have their own personal gardens to care for.

Yes, this is a rock climbing wall. It was so inspiring to see people with no sight capable of such things.

This man, along with his wife, is the founder of Bethel. They run it together with the help of their staff. They are French but moved to China sometime in the last decade.

We all sat down to listen to the kids sing for us.

They have their own choir and they perform at different events around Beijing.

It was SUCH a neat and inspiring place.