We were given permission to send a few items to our daughter. Though we would much rather deliver these items in person, there is some comfort in knowing that we can physically send her a few items. One of the items we included was a disposable camera with hopes her nannies will take some photos of her daily life and return it on Gotcha Day. In addition, we sent a couple of light thermal blankets, a baby photo album with pictures of us, and a stuffed animal. Trying to find a stuffed animal without music or loud noise was quite difficult. Most children, even in the best of orphanages, have limited access to toys.

I put together a simple letter from examples listed online from a company which makes its business delivering gift packages to children waiting for adoptive parents, in Chinese orphanages. From what I can understand the owners used to work in the adoption industry. They better understand the culture of the orphanage, so we chose to use their simple example. In addition, I took the letter to a woman in town who owns our communities Chinese restaurant and had her write a message at the bottom of the letter. She advised me that the majority of people know English, so they should be able to understand what was written in the majority of the letter.

Eli has Spanish camp run by volunteers from his school all week, so this will be a great opportunity to get more done!