It's a situation many of us have faced before. You get on a crowded bus and have to sit next to someone else. You might make some small talk, to feel a little less awkward. Chances are, the person you're next to isn't someone you actually have a history with. Usually, it's just a stranger you'll never see again.
Liberty University sophomore Ally Cole did just this, striking up a chat with freshman Ruby Wierzbicki. But that small talk turned into a huge revelation. The two girls had actually spent a lot of their childhood together.
The girls both realized they were born in China and had a lot of similar life details before putting the connection together. Photos shared proved that they both ended up spending time at the Jinan Social Welfare Institute as children. That was the orphanage from which they were eventually adopted.
After getting off the bus, it was hard for both girls to comprehend what they learned. In some of the photos from their youth, they're standing right next to each other. What are the chances that they'd end up attending the same college and sitting next to each other on a bus?
Ruby shared the full story on Instagram, encouraging others to share it. "What started off as small talk with someone who I thought was a stranger on a bus, was someone I knew over 15 years ago," she wrote. "As we were both talking, we realized we were both adopted from China."
"After pulling up an old picture of me on a slide from the orphanage, she had said how the slide looked familiar to her. She then pulls up an old picture of her on a slide." The two girls quickly realized that the slide was the same in both photos.
"We then came to the realization that we were from the exact same orphanage!" Ruby wrote. "After looking at more old photos, we found ones of us standing next to each other, discovered that we had mutual friends, and were adopted only a week apart from each other." It's quite strange that they had so much in common.
"I cannot thank [God] enough for bringing us together like this," she said. "It has been an absolute blessing to meet this amazing girl, look through old pictures, and talk of our old memories in China." It looks like the two have already embraced their instant connection.
Ruby has a lot of baby pictures on her Instagram, many with her adopted family. She seems blessed that their connection was made, and very proud of where she's come. As for Ally, she also felt like the connection was almost miraculous. She told the media that it was really hard to come to terms with the idea that someone from her past was suddenly in her present.
"I think I was just in shock that I actually knew someone from my past," she said to CNN. "I think it didn't really hit me until after I went to class." Now they're trying to piece together even more information about their past.
Ally shared even more with Christianity Daily, mentioning their mutual friend who also happened to be at the orphanage. "We started scrolling through our photos on our phones, and I realized that Ruby had a lot of photos of me that I'd never seen before and photos where we were together," Ally said. "We even had a mutual friend from the orphanage, Emma, that we each had photos with."
Ruby herself is very religious and felt as if this was definitely meant to happen. "There are people I've talked to about this and they've said, 'What a coincidence.' But we think that this is 100% God," she said. "There's no way that two people who were in the same orphanage in a different country can somehow end up at the same school at the same time and have it not be God."
China currently has the highest rate of adoption, followed by India and the Ukraine. A Child's Hope Int'l writes that while adoption is still big, there has actually been a decline in international adoptions in recent years. As adoption is a wonderful way for people to add to their family, it may seem puzzling.
"Even though the orphan population is growing from year to year, the number of adoptions is decreasing. There are many challenging reasons for the decrease and our response should not be one of frustration but of fervent prayer for the children who are left behind," the organization explains. "That is one of the reasons why an orphan care model is necessary — to care for those who remain in their countries without the love, care or necessities needed to thrive."
According to the website Lead to China, which does tours, the Jinan Children's Welfare Institute, a similar orphanage in the same province, still offers meet-and-greets for families interested in adoption. On day two of the tour itinerary, interested families are able to meet the children who are there. It's quite strange to know that Ally and Ruby's adoptive parents went through the same procedure just a week apart.
Now that their story has gone viral, it'll be interesting if others from the Jinan Social Welfare Institute will come forward with their own stories. If anyone also knew Ally and Ruby, it'll help them piece together their own childhoods a little better. These shared experiences are so important.
No matter what, Ruby and Ally will be in each other's lives from here on out. For adoptees, to know someone else who shares your early childhood experience almost exactly is a gift. Their time in China will always be a big part of their lives, and discovering more about their roots is something they both owe to themselves.
