Our
journey to Guatemala began when we contacted Burlington United Methodist Family
Services and began filling out what seemed to be a mountain of forms.
After completing the homestudy, we were approved for adoption in the
spring of 1999. In May of 1999 we
received “THE CALL” from Cradle of Hope.
We had a referral of a 2-month-old baby girl.
We received the pictures of Heidi within a couple of days after the call
and we knew immediately that this baby was ours.
She was beautiful…
After
accepting the referral, we were told by Cradle of Hope that it would take 6-9
months for her to be escorted to the United States.
In
November 1999, we received a call from Cradle of Hope advising that Heidi’s
paperwork was completed and she was ready to come home in December if we went to
pick her up in Guatemala. If we
waited for her to be escorted it would be February or March 2000 before she
would be home… Needless to say, along with a good friend, Debbie flew to
Guatemala on December 6th to pick up Heidi.
We
were met at the airport by German, our coordinator, and his family who basically
“held our hand” while we were in Guatemala. We were taken on a tour of Antigua (the colonial capital) the
day after we arrived in Guatemala, and upon returning to the hotel we were met
by Heidi and her foster mother. We
had a tough night; she missed her foster mother and family and was very upset.
The adoption counselor from Cradle of Hope called Debbie to see how
things were going. When Debbie
advised her that Heidi had cried and thrown up all night, she had such
reassuring words… She said “Try to remember that her being upset is a good
sign, it shows that she has loved and been loved and that she can love again.”
After
we returned home, and Heidi had a few weeks to adjust to the food, water, and
excited family members, she was doing extremely well. She is such a
bright and beautiful little girl.
I
would highly recommend anyone to consider adopting from Guatemala, the children
are beautiful. Cradle of Hope was
excellent to work with. I could not
imagine adopting from any other country or using any other agency.
It was so nice to be “walked through” this process by the staff at
Cradle.
I thank God everyday for bringing this wonderful child to us. We are so blessed…
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