Moving On

Here goes, I've been kind of dreading writing this post because it's embarrassing and humbling for me.  Our 12 month stay has turned into a 3 month stay.  We are returning in November.  This was an agonizing decision that we spent a long time trying to figure out.  There are a couple of reasons why we need to go back to the states (one of which we aren't free to discuss here).  The other reason is this: we agreed before we came that if we all weren't doing well, then we would re-evaluate.  Well, 3 of us are doing fine but 1 is not.  Benjamin just has not adjusted to this way of life and we fear he probably never will – at least not during his elementary years.  He has regressed.  All of the hard behavior work we and his teachers did last year has been undone here. Home education is almost non-existent as he will only do a couple things a day and they are on his terms or he'll refuse all together (OK that part hasn't changed much from KDG but still….).  He dislikes going out and having people stare and paw at him (can't blame him for that one).  We can't discipline him in public because, well, he's Chinese and we're not.  So his consequences are not always immediate like they need to be.  He cries "I want to go home!!" almost daily.  He's even packed up his suitcase a few times and tried to leave, saying he was going to get his ticket (for the airplane).

 

We made a promise to him, to God, and to his orphanage that we would take care of him, do what's best for him, love him through the hard times.  Only we can do that.  There are other people that will continue to do God's work in China but we are the only ones that can take care of our sweet Benji.  That was the deciding factor for us.  How can we continue to work with orphans if we aren't taking the best care of the 1 orphan God entrusted us with?  We definitely plan to stay involved with the kids here though, doing what we can for Swallow's Nest Children's Home from the states.  We wish the situation was different, but it's not.  So, we will move on from here for now and maybe someday we'll return.

 

Dennis will actually remain on staff with the school he's at.  They've re-hired him as an international consultant.  He will recruit American teachers, build partnerships between American schools, and much more.  They've also agreed to fly him back yearly to meet with them.

 

So, what's next?  Dennis will need to finish his dissertation, compiling all of the research he's obtained here and will also be working.  Benji will go to school ASAP!!!  I think we will have our Benji back after a few weeks of him being in a structured classroom with his 6 year old peers.  I will continue to home educate Emily and work a little on the side if need be.  We don't know where we'll be living yet; we're waiting to hear back on some job applications.

 

Thanks for all of your support throughout our little adventure.  See you soon.