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Adoption ReferencesReference 35 Dear Sherry, Tay & Irena Reference 34 Jennifer and I would like to send our deepest gratitude to you, your staff and Pastor Joe Liberia for all you’ve done to bring our girls to our family. These last two weeks have been so far above our expectations that it is unbelievable. These two children are extraordinary. At the pediatricians the doctor mentioned what we also saw, that these two have been VERY well cared for. Pleases pass that on to Pastor Joe so he can pass it on to whoever was involved in their care. Both seem to be very healthy and happy. The adjustment so far has been amazing. Of course, we all started out timid and afraid, but steps that we thought might take months or longer are happening in days, sometimes even hours. Though we know there will be many challenges to come, it is clear that we are all forming a family. Most of that is because these two girls have such courage, hearts, and, surprisingly, great humor. We expected that they had had no schooling and that we may keep them at home to home school until next year to help them catch up but that is not the case. Though both of them may be a little behind their age group here in the states, they have both exhibited enough of their ABC’s and such that we feel they can go to school soon. They both show a great eagerness to learn. We have an appointment with the school principal and a couple of counselors tomorrow to assess their abilities and come up with a school plan for both of them. We are eager to get them started and help them with their learning. We also hope to do all we can to keep their culture and history for them so that as they grow and ask those kinds of questions that we will have as many answers as we possibly can. We know that we are still in kind of a honeymoon period right now and we are sure that there are many challenges to come, But we would like all of you involved with bringing these two wondrous children to us that we are going to do everything within our power to be the absolute best parents to these precious beings that we can possibly be. Thank you, Thank you so very much. Please feel free to contact us any time as to their progress, and please feel free to use me as a reference to your organization, I will be happy to talk to prospective parents on your behalf. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 33 It’s been almost two years since we picked up our boys in Guatemala. Time has sure flown. Alex is now 3. He’s finally outgrown much of his terrible twos. To our relief, he is finally acquiring a large vocabulary of one-word phrases (still no sentences yet, but they should follow soon). He goes to speech class two days a week and preschool two days a week. He LOVES school. He’s our little helper, always the first to volunteer to do anything for us (help feed the dog, set the table, take the trash out). He also loves his soccer ball so we’re looking forward to many seasons of soccer in the future! Scotty is 2 and a whirling dervish. He’s on the go and loves to talk from the moment he gets up in the morning until he collapses into bed at night. He’s crazy about Thomas the Tank Engine, Sponge Bob, and balls. He loves stacking blocks but loves knocking them down even more! He’s definitely all boy! There’s not a moment that I can imagine my life without our boys and I count my blessings that we were lead to adopt them through Angels Haven Outreach. As we start 2007, I wish you and yours a Happy New Year. May you have the opportunity to enrich other families the way that you touched ours. Thank you again! Reference 32 Time is flying and the girls are speaking English better than I do. They are doing great and we often think how grateful we are for you helping us adopting both of them and how it was possible with all your assistance and patience. You and your wonderful staff, both here and over in Russia, will always be the ones that we will be remembering and indebted to. Mom of Julia and Katya Reference 31 One year ago we stood in front of a Russian Judge and made our plea to be Nicholas’ parents. The day was bright and sunny with fresh snow blanketing the ground. Icicles hung from the eaves of the courthouse that shimmered in the sunlight. It was a magical day. The only sunny day we saw in Russia on either of our 2 trips. Along with regular court cases, there was also some kind of big meeting going on in the old building that day. There were lots of people scurrying around. The women in their furs and the young men in their pointy boots. We did lots of people watching to keep our minds off our nervousness as we waited our turn in front of the judge. Our case was heard and we were done. Our 10 days were waived. We would be heading to Moscow with Nick the next day. Tons of running around ensued. Passport, birth certificate, other papers, who knows what. But. we had to see him that night. Finally, after dark we got to the orphanage to hug him and say the words that we had been waiting to say. “Tomorrow we are starting the journey to finally take you HOME!!!” (Not that he had a clue of the mighty adventure that lay ahead of him. He was only 13 months old.) We went back to the apartment and made a few calls to family to share the good news. What excitement!!! We finally fell asleep that night being parents of 4 instead of 3. We could not wait to get home. Christmas was waiting. The fun was just about to begin. It has been a year full of joy. A busy house with 4 kids under 8 years old. A singing, running, fighting, messy, happy, funny group of kids. My “posse” as we have been called. We can’t wait to see what next year will be like. Nicholas told me he loved me this morning. It totally melted my heart. He also told me he loved tacos, which I thought was hysterical. I think he finally “gets it”. He is part of a family and has found his place in this world. We could not be happier. Reference 30 We will be celebrating our 1 year “Gotcha Day” Anniversary on December 15. Again, thank you so much for everything that you all did to help us. The more I read and hear about Russian Adoptions, the more I appreciate Angel’s Haven. I have never heard of anyone having a process that went any better or more smoothly than ours. We are so blessed. Thank you!!!! If we decide to do this again in a few years, you will be the first to know. Thanks again, Kelly Reference 29 This Thanksgiving, our family had so much to be thankful for. Abraham has brought so much joy to our lives; I just can’t begin to tell you. He makes us laugh all the time with his silly faces and he is the biggest copy cat you have ever met!! His English is outstanding. I had him at the hospital last week and some people who didn’t know he was adopted said “wow, he speaks well for not yet being 2″. Little do they know he has only been here less than 5 months!!! His sisters are still very much in love and miss him while they are at school. Our adoption journey was such a blessed ride and has touched many people - I have been asked adoption related questions by 4 couples and I feel so lucky to be able to help them grow their families this way. I can’t imagine how satisfying your jobs must be. I’m rambling now, but I just can’t say enough good things about y’all, just everyone involved in bringing this angel to our family. Thanks also, for taking a chance with us - I know referrals to non -paper ready families are rare and risky. This also confirms for us that Abraham was the child God had chosen for us!! Valerie and Dar Reference 28 There is an angel living among us…and her name is Sherry Archer. Sherry Archer is, without a doubt, the most dedicated, honest, tireless, motivated, dynamic, loving and simply beautiful woman I know. She has dedicated her life (and I mean nearly every second of it) to the plight of international adoptions of orphans around the globe in addition to assisting those left behind who will never find themselves in the loving care of parents of their own. I met Sherry in September of 2002 when I began my exploration into the world of international adoption of a child from Russia. I was immediately impressed with Sherry’s incredible knowledge and thorough education I received about the international adoption process — including the ups and downs. It is vital that prospective parents enter into the process with full knowledge and expectations appropriately set of the possibility of what could potentially impact their adoptions. It’s very much like going on a safari and, believe me, you would only want Sherry Archer as your guide. Sherry is, without a doubt, the most honest person I know — so much so that when I speak to prospective parents about my experiences with Angels’ Haven and Sherry, I prepare them of Sherry’s gift of delivering information in the most direct fashion (sans the sugar coating) to waiting parents. I cannot tell you of how many stories I have been told of agencies misleading parents causing emotional anguish, unspeakable delays and false hopes. I assure parents that they will never find themselves in that situation with Sherry Archer. You will hear ” the good, the bad and the ugly” and you will always, and I mean always, know where you stand and the bottom line. Sherry proves that honesty is indeed the best policy. This alone is the “gold standard” in adoption. Sherry assisted me in the successful adoptions of my son from Russia in 2002 and my daughter in 2004. I was met with the same level of excellent service, love and support throughout both experiences. I have developed such great respect for this dynamic woman who I have watched travel to far ends of the globe in hopes of establishing new programs in countries that are in the midst of civil war. Her interest is in the children, end of story. I have personally met children whose lives have literally been saved by Sherry and countless others whose lives have been forever changed with the blessing of adoptive parents to nourish them thanks to Sherry. It is indeed a rare and special privilege to know someone who has so dramatically changed the world; Sherry has, one child, one life at a time. The impact of her love and dedication will live eternally, deeply embedded in the future of an untold numbers of lives. I have always said that when I grow up I want to be Sherry. It makes me laugh to say such a thing but really, she the best role model I have of a life lived in service and love — she is truly my hero. Yes, I believe in angels and I know one, her name is Sherry Archer. I bet that if we looked hard enough we would see her wings. Warmest Regards, Danette L. Dugas Reference 27 It’s so hard to believe that it’s been a year since your call to tell us that we could go to Guatemala to pick up our sons. Traveling to Guatemala seemed like such an adventure at the time, I had no idea that the REAL adventure was life once we got home! It’s been an exciting, challenging, WONDERFUL year! The boys are growing so fast! Alex is such a sweet, sweet child. He’s our “little helper”. We have some concerns as he still isn’t talking much. He can say ball, book, and car. . .and although we’ve heard him say individual words beyond that (we think moon, star, hotdog and, amazingly, spaghetti) he mostly just babbles. I’m hoping that it’s just a delay from changing languages right when he might have been speaking Spanish. But, if not, we’re prepared to get him whatever help he needs in order to get up to speed with speaking. Scotty is all boy. He loves balls, truck, anything that makes noise, especially if it’s LOUD! He started walking at 14 months and then went straight to running! He has a substantial vocabulary and surprises us each day with something new. His current favorite word is YUM (and his chunky build shows that he loves to eat!). We all had an incredible Christmas. I’m so glad that we made the decision to adopt. Thank you again so much for all your help in our adoption of the boys – Merry Christmas and may you have a blessed and successful 2006! Happy New Year! —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 26 I will write a longer and more detailed letter in a few days. We would be happy to be included in your references section and to help any parents going through the process. I can imagine that some of her behaviors might be confusing to a person who hasn’t taken children through this sort of thing before. We are thrilled to have her. Thank you for all your hard work. Reference 25 Thank you so much for your assistance in helping us bring home our daughters, Luba (age My husband and I spent nearly two years researching international adoption/adoption agencies prior to choosing Angels’ Haven Outreach. Now, after having recently completed the process, we would have no hesitation in recommending AHO to anyone considering a Russian adoption. You and your staff were always pleasant and prompt in responding to our questions and requests. I must tell you that we were equally impressed with the Russian team. All made us feel like a “part of the family” during both stays. I cannot say enough about how important it is to have a caring, dependable group of people to assist you while in Russia. We met families who did not have this in-country support. Unfortunately, it made their trip memorable for the wrong reasons. Thanks again! We would be happy to talk to others about our experience working with Angels’ Haven Outreach and adopting from Russia. Warm Regards, —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 24 You are heaven sent and held in such high regard by me! I hope to someday be able to follow in your footsteps and participate more in international adoption and placing these beautiful children with families to love them. I have such a passion for adoption and especially the Russian children. Please know that I am always happy to meet with parents and bring the kids to share my experiences if you ever have those �Open House� type of events for prospective parents. I�ve attached a recent pic of Piper Alexandra � we just celebrated her 1st birthday this past Wed, 8/25 as well as an updated photo of Kaden, now 2 � yrs. You have my permission to post both on the site if you�d like. I pray that I am given the strength, courage and resources to be able to adopt again. I think back and remember playing with my dolls when I was young and I always had 5 children�.I know this was God speaking to me and I have a sneaking suspicion that I WILL end up having 5 children and be the happiest Mom alive! Next time I�m going to try a new challenge of the 2-3 year old range : ) Much Love and Admiration! Your biggest fans, Danette & Family (Hannah, Kaden & Piper) —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 23 Mom of Victor and Dennis —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 22 Both children are doing extremely well! We couldn�t be more pleased with their overall adjustment and feel very blessed to have them in our lives. They are two little sweethearts! The descriptions that we received ahead of time were really quite accurate. If you want to use our names as a resource for people adopting older children, feel free. We�d be happy to share our experiences so far. We have, of course, had a few bumps along the road but have been fortunate to navigate them well and feel certain that all of us have attached well to each other. For those just starting out, we have hope to offer and insights to share. Thank you for everything� Sincerely, Margaret —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 21 Just a quick note to let you know all is going exceedingly well. You were right about these kids from Liberia being quite normal (with fewer adjustment issues). Elijah seems amazingly well-adjusted. We are having lots of fun. He is a very good boy. He has been affectionate right from the start. He is coming out of his shell more every day and is quite inquisitive. We took him to church yesterday and the zoo afterwards - he loved both. He is learning things quickly and seems to be taking the changes in stride. No real medical concerns. Scabies and giardia - both easily dealt with. Mild cold - almost gone. Otherwise, nothing good nutrition won’t correct. We are thrilled to be parents! Thank you so much for getting our Elijah home to us. - Becky Reference 20 This darling little Sarah is so very wonderful. I’m so very contented now that she is in my arms. Her feet have hardly touched the floor !!! She and I are showing signs of beginning to bond and attach and it just thrills me to pieces. Of all our adoptions, she is by far the most healthily adjusted little person without institutionalized weirdness. She loves to play school and is very bright. We never leave each other�s side; she likes to be touching me always. I’m her security blanket. Thank Pastor Joe with all our hearts……..this little girl is absolutely a precious treasure. I can’t say enough good about her wonderful personality. Thanksgiving is oozing from my heart. Thank you so much for opening up the Liberia Program. Love, Gloria —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 19 We never imagined when we began our process with Angels’ Haven in September that by January, we would be holding our son for the first time. Everything we had ever heard or read about international adoption told us to prepare for the worst: grueling stacks of paperwork, endless waiting, pitfalls and unforeseen problems. For changing our picture of the process forever, we have to credit Angels’ Haven for their incredible professionalism. There was not a question that went unanswered, or a phone call that wasn’t returned within 24 hours. It was nice to know that when you are dealing with something as emotional as building your family, there is someone just as concerned as you guiding you each step of the way. Specifically, we would like to thank Sherry for her dedication to her families, Marc for her tireless efforts on our behalf (waiting for us after hours while we sat in traffic waiting to come see our first photos of Josh), and Janice for making sure that every aspect of our trip to Russia went as smoothly as possible. We love all of you and thank you for the love you showed us. In addition, we were so blessed by the staff in Russia. Marina and Tamara, our interpreter and our host, were wonderful. They were so patient with us as we asked question after question. Everything that they could do for us, they did. Our paperwork, while in Russia, went so smoothly. For that we need to thank not only Marina and Tamara, but also Zuliya in Moscow and the staff of the Adoption Center. Zuliya’s aunt, Gala, and her son Roman, were also amazing hosts. Gala was an excellent cook and Roman gladly shared his Play Station with us and beat us both at a few hands of “war”. As we look back over the past few months, we are able to realize that the issues and stresses we dealt with upon returning home were not overwhelmingly due to being adoptive parents, but becoming parents in general. As Tamara said to us while we were in Russia, “It basically comes down to this - Do yo have the braver to be parents, or not?” Becoming Josh’s mom and dad is the best thing that ever happened to us. Every new day presents a new challenge, but seeing how far Josh has come so quickly is truly a testament to the power of God and His amazing grace. He led us to Angels’ Haven who, in turn, helped us find our child on the other side of the world. Thank you so much for everything you did for our family and continue to do for other families. Hopefully, we will be able to work with you again soon! Reference 18 Things are going very well and we feel so blessed having them with us. They are such a delight and we can’t imagine life without them. They are both bright, intelligent, loving and beautiful children and are loved by everyone who meets them. Our lives have changed dramatically and even though they have been a lot of work it has all been worthwhile. We wouldn’t change one minute of the past year and are looking forward to the future. Joshua says he wants to be an airline pilot when he grows up (he has been saying this since he learned to speak English) and Sarah says she wants to be a princess and live with mommy and daddy forever because kissing boys is yucky. Only mommies and daddies are supposed to kiss. I guess I have taken up enough of your time so I’ll let you go. Take care and if it’s OK I will send you little updates and pictures every once in a while. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 17 This year your Holiday card comes from the our Family Liz, Marina, and George (Sergei). We adopted each other in Vladimir, Russia on December 13th. They are exceptional children bright, friendly, affectionate, and very handsome. I am only quoting other people! My niece, Amanda, traveled with me to Russia (her first trip out of the country). Going through customs and immigration, getting local transportation, dealing with a foreign language, and converting the currency is old hat for me. All I had to deal with was the frightening prospect of meeting the kids and taking them home with me a lifelong commitment with total strangers. Although I had been prepared by the social workers here to expect the worst, I was hoping for a positive outcome. George and Marina have turned out to be the best kids I could have ever asked for! We became a family within the first hour together. We left for Russia on Saturday, December 9. On Monday, the 11th, I went to the orphanage and picked up the kids. Wednesday, we went to court for the adoption (the prosecutor, the adoption center representative, the orphanage social worker, the translator, Marian, George, and I all had to testify before the judge. He then looked over all the documents, waived the usual 10-day waiting period, and approved the adoption. Quite a stressful event. On Friday, the four of us went to Moscow to get visas at the U.S. Embassy passport pictures, medical exams, official interviews, and finally all the paperwork for U.S. immigration in New York. We then spent Saturday in downtown Moscow enjoying the sights in spite of the cold. Saw St. Basil Cathedral and the outside of Lenin�s tomb in Red Square (part of the Kremlin), and then went to Gorky Park (small amusement park opened even in the winter). In Vladimir and again in Moscow we stayed with Russian families. Awkward for everyone at first (they are very poor and shy), but soon we were all quite cozy and comfortable. From having traveled all over the world the last two years, I have seen that people are more alike than different. These two families proved this again to be true. Marina was born March 12, 1990 and George on May 26, 1991. They are very close to each other. When their parents died 5 years ago, their grandmother (who lives on 110 rubles a month - $4), had to place them in the orphanage. Finally, last April she allowed them to be adopted. A very, very hard decision, knowing how sweet the kids are. I met her at the orphanage, and she felt good about her grandchildren joining our family. In 2 years, I plan to go back for a visit to keep the Russian connection for all of us. The only problem we’re having is the language difficulties. I took some Russian classes (which helps tremendously) and the kids are slowly learning some English. But when they get frustrated, it is hard on all of us. I am told that this will take about 3 months. Until then, each day gets a little better. Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and help. I hope to have you meet Marina and George soon even in Russian you can enjoy them! Happy New Year to all of you and your families! Liz, Marina, and George —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 16 I am completely convinced my experience was better than many others who have traveled to adopt in Moldavia because of the wonderful care Tatyana and Alexander (the staff) gave me. It made my trip absolutely fantastic and very enjoyable. Tatyana took me everywhere with “Pop” (her father) driving us all over the city and walking the parks, going shopping. I had the opportunity to go all over the city, see everything because of them. Whatever you can do to keep Tatyana as a “team member” do, she and Alexander are absolutely darling, precious and sweet people. They are both very very intelligent, speak fair to good English, and have hearts of gold. I have no doubt that you should have the best Moldovan program of any agency in the country with the care you guys provide here and with their assistance there. I loved Pop the driver, he drove well, and I never was scared of his driving even though most drivers drove rather insane, but still better than the Autobahn in Germany or New York City drivers… Okay for the really important stuff: The orphanage was painstakingly clean, spotless, didn’t smell, and was bright and cheerful. I counted at least 4 to 6 women going in and out of the baby room, and there were less than 20 infants total between the two rooms. The children were well cared for, interacted for the most part, and were happy. With the exception of only one child, I saw no rocking behavior. The care givers love these kids and it shows. Alexander is a sweetheart and would sit and goo to the babies. Tatyana is a one in a million asset to you guys, she is divine, and is beyond precious. My apartment belonged to Tatyana, it was very clean, very nice, and comfortable. It was chilly, and if there was heat, I didn’t know how to work it. However, I was prepared and had long johns and heavy pajamas and I was completely and totally comfortable. I loved her apartment, it was nice but I never ever ventured out the door without Alexander and Tatyana with me. I made a video, not very long but will show you a lot. I’ll copy it and as soon as my pictures come back I will forward you a set. Court was easy and I will try and write down each and every question I was asked. I brought back a blank Custom form as when I arrived in Moldavia they did not have ANY English forms and I had to fill out a Russian form. I kept begging some customs fellow and he brought me back a form in English that some American had already filled out and I used it as my basis to fill in the Russian form. I do have a blank form I can copy that you can give to future clients to take with them in case they meet the same problem. It is hard to fill out a form in a language you don’t know..LOL! I simply can not say enough wonderful things about Moldavia, the people, the city, the orphanage and mainly the truly wonderful Alexander, Tatyana and Pop who made my stay the wonderful experience it was. Please let me know any questions you may have. I’ll call you tomorrow when I get some sleep. From when I took off on Air Moldavia till touch down in Dallas I was traveling 22 1/2 hours… Oh, and by the way, Air Moldavia is a very fine airline and no one should be afraid of using it. It flies directly from Frankfurt to Chisinau… Thanking you all for all your hard work to make everything go so well for me, Lisa Reference 15 The adoption has gone great! Olya and Ed are happy, healthy, beautiful, and loving children. Our time in Russia was fantastic. We were totally taken care of and all the people that we came in contact with were great. We bonded immediately with the children and they bonded immediately with each other. We are truly a family already.The children started school almost immediately and are doing great. Thanks for everything - you were great as were all the people we dealt with at Angels Haven. Russ Reference 14 Because our daughters had two different fathers, the paperwork was more involved and we needed to make two separate trips to Russia to get them. Our first trip was in January 1999. It went better than expected. We were able to come home four days earlier than expected. Angels’ Haven guided us step by step. We started the process in late September 1998 and had Irina by late January 1999. Vera was free and clear for adoption in June 1999, so in late June we went back to get her. Again, all went very well. All the people involved were very professional and cared for the welfare of our children. All our questions were answered. We were well taken care of in Russia by everyone involved with the adoptions. As for our children, Vera (14) and Irina (12), they are the true winners here. Both have made tremendous progress. Irina, who has been here about 14 months, is in the 6th grade and reading at the 4th grade level. This is outstanding for someone who didn’t speak English when she came. She continues to grow and learn and most importantly, she is happy. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 13 Hope all is well. We want to thank you for all your assistance with our adoptions. Bob and I and the kids - Katya, Sasha and Tanya are doing well! We are the some of the world’s proudest and luckiest parents! The kids are so wonderful. Great in school and extracurricular projects - lots of friends - love their new relatives and great with the dogs “Otis” and “Dino.” Katya is taking both flute and gymnastics and already has a great group of friends. She loves sleep overs, trips to the zoo, rollerblading, swimming at the club and playing on with the neighbors! Sasha has turned out to have quite the talent for puzzles, lego and projects. We suspect he could be the family’s first engineer. He is doing great in 2nd grade and loves to bike, go to gymnastics and eagerly awaits piano lessons. Tanya just turned five and had three birthday parties. She loves American girls, connect the dots and computers! She is speaking well and loves to read books to me! The trip to Russia was wonderful. You and your staff and associates did an incredible job - you are all terrific. We will never be able to repay your staff for their support, follow through, encouragement or care - however we think of them often and believe they are the best people on this earth today! They made the trip so memorable. Our stay was flawless and we have nothing but great things to say about them all and you. Please send our hellos and thanks! Well, being a mom of three has meant tons of love and laundry. It has kept me busy and extremely happy. We are planning trips to the Wisconsin Dellsand Florida (to see Mickey.) The kids have been tremendous. Thank you and thank god for enabling us to find and build our family. Regards, Kathleen and Bob —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 12 I have many close friends who have adopted domestically and internationally and none experienced the same ease, expertise and satisfaction with the adoption process that I did. I am confident that my experience was so extraordinary because of the competence, caring and commitment, of the staff at Angels’ Haven Outreach. The international adoption experience by its very nature is fraught with uncertainty, mountains of paperwork and emotional highs and lows. The staff at Angels’ Haven were always available by phone or email and guided me through the adoption process step by step. Once I arrived in Russia, I was assisted by facilitators, hosts and translators and taken care of with such warmth and hospitality that I will always look back on the visit with a deep sense of love and gratitude. In addition, the costs involved in the adoption were less than many of my friends had paid and the tangible services provided, not to mention the intangible ones received seemed to be far greater. I could go on and on but will be brief in an effort to make my point as clear as possible. Anastasia is a happy and thriving member of our family. The experience, caring and commitment of the staff at Angels’ Haven outreach made my lifelong dream a reality; simultaneously gave Anastasia a loving home, gave my sons a sister, my parents a granddaughter…in other words their work produced wonderful and permanent changes in the lives of countless individuals. They turned a potentially anxiety ridden experience into an experience of a lifetime, filled with love, joy and hope. I am forever grateful to them. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 11 I just wanted to thank you again for bringing Demitry into our lives. He is a joy. His sweet spirit constantly reminds me of how blessed we are. I am attaching a recent picture. He is growing like a weed! He has grown more than 5″ in height and more than doubled his weight since we brought him home to America. Thanks again for helping God to bring him into our lives. Sincerely, Demitry’s mom and dad! —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 10 We had a great trip to Romania. The weather had let up and only had snow for a day or two. The Best Western Hotel was fine good heater in the room and lot of hot water, we also had a refrigerator. Mihai is PERFECT, he is great. The trip back was hard for him on the flight from Holland to the states it took 9.5 hours on the plane, the first two he was upset but then went to sleep in his seat and did not wake up till we landed. Mihai is a bottomless pit when it comes to food, bottle when he gets up + jar food. Then cookies. Plays with toys and then it is naptime about 10am to 12. has a second bottle and more jar food (likes Mac-N-Cheese) goes for a ride in the stroller and plays with mom and toys then naptime from 2pm till around 5pm. Third bottle and a big jar of food, few cookies and plays with Dad from 7pm till 8pm. Then to bed for the night and sleeps straight through till 5am. He is a wonderful Boy. Thank you for your help and I will keep you updated. —————————————————————————————————————————–Reference 9 Thank you Angels’ Haven– we are enjoying our two little fellows immensely. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 8 I was a very glad things turned out that way, we could not have been more happy with this program. On June 7th just two days after our 6th wedding anniversary Melissa from Angels Haven called and said she had a referral for us. This was very surprising to us that this was so quick because we were told in April with the submission of our home study that it could be six months before we would have a referral. We were overjoyed! We called everyone we could think of and just two days later a FedEx delivery man would hand me a envelope that would change my life forever. A newborn picture of our baby girl who was born on May 20th 1999 just ten days before my 28th birthday. We were so proud of her I carried the picture with me everywhere and Gary framed his to put on his desk at work. Now comes the hard part we wait. Wait until the rest of the paperwork can be processed and on August 26th 1999 Janice would call me at work to tell me I would be leaving on Monday morning August 31st for HCMC Vietnam. I was scared but so excited I could hardly contain myself. We arrived in HCMC three US days later and was a little overwhelmed by the crowds of people but after a trip to the hotel and a shower we were ready to take on the world. My little sister went with me since me and my husband decided for our sons sake if anything should happen one of us should stay but he was jealous he wanted to go. The very next morning we left on a plane for Hanoi the providence our daughter was born. This is the capital of Vietnam. What a great place. I am not at all the world traveler and had night mares for months about plane crashes, etc.. And I would go back any day to this place. The shopping, the kind people, the scenery, the factories, etc…. Nothing but a pleasant experience. We stayed in Hanoi for about 10 days until all the paperwork was processed. Then we flew back to HCMC to put the icing on the cake. We stayed in HCMC for about 3-4 days before returning to the US. Our daughter is a gift from god she is everything we could have dreamed of. Her brother and her are inseparable. They need each other so much. If my husband heard me say this I would be in big trouble but I’m already ready for another one. She is daddy’s girl and I can’t imagine life with out her. Thank you Angels Haven for giving me this blessed child we love more than anything. If you are interested in Vietnam adoption and would like to contact us feel free to e-mail us @ crunch@lanwar.com or by phone @ (502) 477-1096 we would be glad to hear from you. The Collins Family - Gary, Missy, Clayton, and Emma Ha —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 7 —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 6 Best Regards, Brenda —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 5 Sincerely, Katie’s mom —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 4 Mike, Donna and Sergei —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 3 We wanted to take this opportunity to inform others who wish to realize their dream of parenting by informing them of the benefits of choosing Angel’s Haven Outreach and more specifically, a selecting child from Romania. When we first decided to adopt a child, we chose Angel’s Haven Outreach (AHO) for several reasons. For Example, their prompt reply to questions we had concerning the process of adopting and their confidence in being able to turn our dream into reality. After the initial “interview” and subsequently after we were accepted as prospective parents, the work of completing our dossier began. We were always kept informed by Janice or Sherry of any changes or additional paperwork that might need to be completed. Once all the paperwork was completed, we began the “hurry and wait” stage. As time went on and we waited for word of who our child would be, we had the normal angst of a couple that had tried every possible way to have a child and had been unsuccessful. We wondered aloud most every evening whether our unknown child would ever be identified to us. Finally, after only 6 weeks of sending our completed dossier to Romania, we got the call from Janice that a child had been identified for us. Pictures were scanned and sent via the Internet and the moment we had been waiting for had arrived. As we saw our baby, our little miracle, we knew immediately that she was perfect in every way and even though we had only 48 hours to decide if she was what we were looking for, we knew in 10 seconds that she was without a doubt the one. After spreading the joyous news to our anxious relatives and friends, we started to prepare everything on the home front for the imminent arrival of our little princess. We would talk to Janice (hopefully we weren’t bugging her!!) about the baby and asked 20 questions on everything from her eye color to what her biological parents looked like to what she was eating on a daily basis. With the kindness and patience that was born to her, Janice answered all of our questions and if she couldn’t answer one right away, within 24 hours (mostly less than that) she would have an answer. We learned early on that the questions we were asking were normal for a couple adopting a baby. We were curious about what type of family it was that she came from. Did she have any brothers or sisters? Could we see photos of her biological parents? Did she have 10 toes? Our main concern was our baby’s health. Since she was in an excellent foster home, she was well fed, loved and cared for by a kind family. We had questions regarding her parent’s background and all these questions were answered. We received a complete profile of the baby and what was known about her biological parents. Any health questions we had were addressed in that profile. Complete, to the point answers were given to any question we presented and our daughter was in perfect health and doing awesome. 2 weeks after we got the green light, a video of our daughter came in the mail. We watched in awe at this miracle that was now only a short time away of being ours in our own home. We had done it!! Now, if the time would just hurry up and pass until our date to pick her up would get here!!! Finally, it was time to go and get our princess. Everything on the home front was in place and we were packed and ready to fly. We left July 2nd, 1999 destination: Satu Mare. When we arrived in Bucharest, we were met by a team of super folks (Costel, Anya, and George) who took care of us until we were safely on the train that would take us to where our daughter was in Satu Mare. A long train ride through the night made it a little easier to try to get some needed sleep, but the excitement of being less than 12 hours away from the dream becoming a reality proved more powerful than Mr. Sandman. When we arrived in Satu Mare the morning of July 4th, 1999, we were met by Claudia, Ildy, Mia and her husband. We went to the center and had a great brunch and given some time to freshen up before we went to pick our baby up. Finally, it was time. We left the center and went to the home where our daughter was being lovingly cared for and we will never forget what MIA (our daughter’s case worker) said to us…”Take a deep breath and get a hold on your emotions…you are about to see a miracle.” We were already so emotional and happy about this moment finally being here, that it was all we could do to hold it together. When we arrived at the home where our daughter was being lovingly cared for, thank goodness she was napping and we were able to look at her sleeping peacefully and just allow the emotions of the last 10 months go. We were so overjoyed at this true miracle and we had loved her for months, but nothing can describe the feeling of love we experienced when she woke up and we held her in our arms. We truly loved her with every ounce of our being and could not have loved her anymore if we had created her ourselves. It was THE most important day of our lives and we felt so lucky and blessed to have her. We have been back from Romania for 6 months now and everyday is a joyful new experience with Willow. Not only have we learned so much from her, it has brought Chad and I closer together and allowed the three of us to form a real united family. In closing, to anyone who is thinking about adopting, we encourage you to choose Angel’s Haven Outreach to secure your dream of parenting. Willow is a perfect baby who has had no physical, psychological or developmental problems. She is the perfect child we were told she was. —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 2 —————————————————————————————————————————– Reference 1 My wife and I deeply appreciate the courtesy and professional service your organization gave to us during the adoption of our son “Nicholas” from Russia. We were deeply impressed with Angels’ Haven employees understanding all procedures and guidelines for adopting in Russia. Each staff member made sure they were always available to answer our questions and insure that the adoption was handled smoothly. Several of the orphanage and court officials in Russia continuously commented on how they enjoyed working with Angels’ Haven and how efficient Angels’ Haven had been in previous adoptions. We will definitely recommend Angels’ Haven to anyone we hear of that is interested in adoption. I wish that there were more agencies like yours that really care about the feelings and anxiety that the adopting parents go through during the adoption process. Your office was terrific!!!! Please use us as a reference and feel free to post this letter of gratitude to show your now potential adopting parents the excellency of your agency. Forever grateful, Kenneth Granger
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and Kasenia (age 7) from Russia.