The Xuwen Research Project!

In October 2009, we became aware of a research

project taking place for families who adopted their

child(ren) from the Xuwen SWI in the Guangdong

Province of China. It began with a woman on our

Xuwen/Adoption Yahoo group who had done

quite a bit of her own research. She traveled to

Xuwen because her daughter was adopted from

there and during her visit a relationship began to

form that would open up special doors. This

woman then came in contact with a Chinese

woman who was doing research for families

with adopted children. The research includes

mapping out the town, translations of important

paperwork in files, locating finding spots and

many other special things. We were invited to

participate in a group research project in which

anyone on the yahoo group could pay a fee to

both send information to the orphanage through

this Chinese woman AND receive information in

return. It sounded like a great idea so we joined

in on the project. I gathered many photos to

update Libby's orphanage on the last three years

of her life and then Libby and I made a special

video for them. First, I'll let you view the video

and then you can read below some of the amazing

things that have come from this project!

So, dry your eyes now and read some more!

We were updated almost daily, by the American

woman putting this project together, while the

Chinese woman was in Xuwen doing her

research. Before the research began we were

asked to write down any questions we would like

the researcher to ask Libby's orphanage staff,

nannies, etc. I submitted several questions and

am still waiting to receive the answers to those

questions. Very excited to read those precious

answers! But one of the families submitted a

question I had never even considered. They

asked if their child's finding clothes were kept

and could they obtain those. Little did I know

how that family's brilliant question would become

a blessing to us. The researcher went a step further

and asked the orphanage staff for ALL the families'

children's finding clothes. And better than that -

the orphanage was completely open and shared

that they indeed kept these items and even some

blankets/toys for each child!!! Today, Libby's finding

clothes arrived. The tiny, sweet pink outfit is our one

link to Libby's biological family! It has two

bears on the front, each holding two heart-shaped

balloons. Now, I have no idea if people in China

think of the heart shape as a symbol of love like we

do, but I just LOVE that hearts are decorating Libby's

top in which she was lovingly placed and later found.

And the little pants... well, they are split-bottom

pants - all the way up to the elastic waist! That just

made my day. Hand-cut, tiny split bottom pants! Here

is a picture of the outfit. It's hard to get an idea of the

dimension, but it's a tiny outfit. I put a pacifier in the

picture to give you an idea.

A view of the split bottom pants (above)

We also received some other precious gifts, blessing notes, information about the town's history, the orphanages history, lots of pictures of the town... the list goes on! It's amazing to have all this information in our possession. Libby will be so blessed in the years to come to know more about her beginnings and her birth-land. To the two women who pulled all this research off - THANK YOU! To the Xuwen SWI staff - THANK YOU! We will never be able to put a value on these precious items - they are simply PRICELESS!!!

I have left a lot of details out for the sake of security, out of respect for the orphanage and for Libby and for other reasons as well. But, just know - if you have a child adopted from China and an opportunity like this comes your way - TAKE IT! It's so worth it!