The Chronicle stops the presses- Play offers new twist on classic story
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Graduate student channels classic horror in thesis film - Alumnus creates mobile gallery
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- Noted author speaks to students
- The Green Scene: 'We have a dream'
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Trivial Pursuits
 Green carries love to children in China
 Photo courtesy of Emily Green Emily Green (left) shares a hug with Chloe, one of the children at New Day Foster Home. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, September 22, 2006 Emily Green, a publications editor in the Savannah College of Art and Design college printing department, recently spent 10 days on the other side of the world, working with children in a foster community. Green was part of a 14-member team from Savannah Christian Church that visited China July 7-17. “The trip formed after conversations between one of our group leaders, Dr. Jean Wright, her niece Beth (missions ministry assistant at SCC) and the missions pastor, Dave Stewart,” Green said. “Jean’s done medical missions since the 1980s.” Wright also has a personal interest in China; in 2004 she adopted her daughter, Bethany, from New Day Foster Home, where team members worked and stayed. The home, which opened in 2000, provides medical and other care for Chinese children who come from government-operated Children’s Welfare Institutes. According to the New Day Web site, www.newdaycreations.com/foster/, “Most of the children who come to our foster home have minor disabilities that are correctible. We choose needy children so that we can give them a better chance at a healthy life and adoption.” In the foster home, nannies care for three children each and work every other day, so the children have a chance to bond with their caregivers. “The nannies there are in love with those kids,” Green said. Local families also serve as foster parents for some of the children. “All of the New Day kids are matched or will be matched with adoptive families,” Green explained. “Some of them were already receiving things from their new families.” She and other team members devoted a lot of time to the children. “I spent a few days in the foster home, playing with the kids and just being an extra pair of hands for the nannies,” she said. “A couple days were spent visiting foster parents in the village nearby and other foster homes that are affiliated with New Day. We brought supplies and toys with us when we were out in the community.” In addition, some team members traveled to other areas in China. “Two groups were sent from our main group, one to Tai Yuan and one to Luoyang,” she said. “One was mainly made up of medical team members and they did some training with staff in some of the state orphanages. The other was nicknamed the ‘parenting’ group; they were going to do some parenting skills training.” Although Green didn’t visit the state-operated orphanages herself, she was still affected by the experiences her colleagues shared. “The pictures that came back with them from the state-run orphanages were eye-opening and saddening,” she said. “One of the orphanages they visited had never opened its doors to foreigners before, but after the visit they said the team was welcome to come again. That’s huge because usually they try to keep a tight rein on who sees the conditions of the orphanages. They still didn’t see the kids in the worst conditions. I can’t imagine that being possible after some of the pictures I saw.” In addition to learning about Chinese culture and working with children, Green said the team members also encountered a different approach to religion than they are used to. “The people who run New Day are Christians, which, as you can imagine, is a challenge in some ways in China,” she said. “They are legally allowed to be Christians and run the business (the foster home and English school are considered ‘good works’ by the Chinese government), but it can’t be an official Christian organization due to the attention it brings.” Green said members of her team also had to exercise caution. “The first night we were there, our Internet connection was lost after some team members wrote home using our normal ‘freedom of speech’ rights to tell about things God is doing there,” she said. “A lot of us also experienced the presence of a third party on the phone line sometimes when we called home.” She said, “I didn’t realize how incredibly open America is until I got to China.” The team members’ involvement with Chinese children didn’t end when they returned to the United States. On July 29, Wright and several family members, including Bethany, are heading to the city of Fuzhou, where they will meet Emily Grace, Wright’s new daughter. Another team member and her husband are in the process of being approved as adoptive parents, and they are hoping to make Sarah, one of the New Day children, part of their family. Friday, September 22, 2006 - Green carries love to children in China
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