You may recall that at the end of October, we sent a letter to ElleAnna's orphanage. We included many photos of her over the past year, to show them how much she was growing and changing. We hoped, in our hearts, that we would hear back from them, but we had no promises. This past Saturday, however, we got a very special Christmas gift - a letter from her caregivers in China. It took a few days for us to have it translated into English, but it was worth the wait!
In the letter, they were very glad that PanSuo was in a family who loved her. They enjoyed seeing her sweet smiles in the photos. They wished her much happiness and good health. They told her that she was very lucky. They were grateful to us for adopting her, giving her parents and brothers who love her very much.
Now, I am even more excited to write them a reply! Even before we had found ElleAnna, we intended to send a "care package" to our daughter's orphanage each year to recognize the anniversary of her adoption. We have been picking up items over the past year with that intention, but we were reluctant until we were certain that the address was correct. Now that we know, we will finish filling the box and get it ready to be shipped. We have clothes for boys and girls, some small toys, little gifts for the nannies...
Amazingly, just a week or two ago, I was approached by a wonderful lady (Wilma) at our church. Each Sunday, the little children pick up lose change when the ushers take the regular collection. Wilma had wanted to send that money to Elle's orphanage, but I had told her how we were waiting for a reply to our letter first. If/when that happened, we could use some of the children's collection and buy a few more things for the box to be sent to the orphanage. I am excited that I can let Wilma know that our prayers were answered and we can move ahead with her terrific plan. :-)
I also plan to send a few disposable cameras in the box and ask the orphanage staff to take photos that we can have developed for ElleAnna. Through this venue, they can share faces of her caregivers and other children that she lived with. I hope that it will give Elle a way to remember her life gently, the life she left behind when she came to us.
Our daughter reminds us constantly that she, Mommy, Daddy, Bryant, and Alex are a family - Elle's family. I am grateful to God every day for her sweet giggles and contagious smile. I am glad that He kept her safe and guided her to us, to her family. She made us the lucky ones, in spite of what the orphanage believes. We are the ones who are blessed to have her as our daughter!
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