(Posted with permission from Susana Luarca, Attorney at Law, ADA)
Dear Friends,
This is the moment to stop and think about the year that just ended. Although it was a difficult year, the balance is very positive for adoptions: the Hague Convention is no longer a threat, the Valladares law was not passed by Congress and the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the rights of the professionals, restoring privileges that were taken away from the notaries by an unconstitutional law , proving that the notarial process, if it is eliminated by a new law, would be equally restored by the Constitutional Court.
The victory of Oscar Berger is a victory for democracy and for Guatemala, because he is a good person and the people who are with him are people who are willing to work for the welfare of our country and of our people. We have no doubt that the new government will understand the need for homes of the orphans and of the abandoned children and will not hinder adoptions, following the wrong idea of UNICEF, that the children must remain in their country, even it means that they will die there within the first years of their lives. The shift of political power in Congress is also very encouraging. We have reasons to believe that the new Congress will be more honorable and responsible, and that the Valladares law will not be approved.
The legal process of adoption has been totally restored in Guatemala. The suspension that lasted six months caused a delay in all cases, but despite the lack of diligence of the chief of section of the PGN, Rudio Lecsan Merida, whose negligence is legendary, the approvals have been coming out, making many families very happy.
The most "difficult to please lawyers" of the PGN, like Ana Ayerdi and others, were sent to different sections of the PGN, where they cannot do much harm. Although some of the remaining lawyers still believe that article 21 of the Convention for the Rights of the Child entitles the PGN to request anything that they deem proper, some of them are beginning to understand that it is not so. A criminal process against Merida and one of the reviewers who abused their power, delaying the approval by demanding more recently issued documents was filed and despite the pressure put by the PGN the Judge has not dismissed the criminal lawsuit. The vacation of that court and of the district attorney's office has slowed down the criminal process, but the message is clear: the lawyers of the PGN cannot abuse their power and get away with it. Someone will hold them accountable and their careers, their jobs and their freedom will be on the line.
As soon as Oscar Berger learned of his victory, he received a petition of different leaders of many sectors of Guatemala. One of the main points is a request to "clean the PGN", which means that they want the removal of Luis Rosales, the Attorney General. We hope that Berger grants this petition and appoints someone who really and truly will fulfill the duties of the State Attorney. Among them, to see that the chief of the section of the Procuraduría does his work with diligence, for the sake of the waiting children and families.
At the dawn of the new year, we feel very confident that we will keep adoptions open in Guatemala, despite the continuous efforts of UNICEF to close down that way of escape for the children who otherwise would be abandoned to a certain death. Not only the political situation has changed for the better, but the battle has made us stronger and more united. With the help of God, we will keep winning, one battle at a time, making the world ad better place, one child at a time.
If you are thinking about adopting a child, do not hesitate to adopt from Guatemala, the only country where the Hague Convention has been defeated and adoptions continue to be processed privately, with the necessary checks and controls to guarantee that the child that you are taking home is really the child of the mother who relinquished the child...and that the care that your child receives while the adoption is processed, is generally very good. There is always room for improvement, and with your help and our energy, we will make changes that will benefit everybody, but most of all, the waiting children.
Les deseo Feliz Año Nuevo y muchas bendiciones a todos!
Susana Luarca, Attorney at Law,
Asociación Defensores de la Adopción
Let me be the first in 2004 to say Thank You, Susana for your diligence in being a watchman and warrior for the preservation and continuance of Guatemala adoptions. Your faithful updates have sustained many of us through a very difficult year.
I'm certain that without your labor, along with others working together with you, have prevailed against many adversaries in 2003.
We are still waiting to bring home our baby, but for us, the worst is over.
May you continue to triumph in 2004.
When David observed Goliath defying the armies of the Living God, shouted, "Is there Not a Cause?"
and he ran to the battle.
Thank you once again, Susana, for recognizing "the cause."
Sincerely,
Lori
Dear Susana,
Let me echo what Lori has said, and say thank you so very much for your tireless efforts that have clearly been victorious in keping adoptions alive in Guatemala. We, too, have not yet brought our child home, but we know that we will, and it will be soon. I don't have any other adoption experience to compare it to, but it has been a wild, exhausting ride! At least the very best is yet to come, and I can only thank Susana, the members of her legal group, Hannah Wallace, Kelly and the members of all these lists that have provided such support to us all!
Susan (waiting for Andrew b. 4/5/03)
Thank you Susana for the update, it is very encouraging. I admit needing some encouragement today. We are waiting for our 2 daughters (biological sisters ages 11 and 14)to come home.We have been to Guatemala twice to visit our girls and these 2 wonderful children (who call us Mom and Dad)ask everytime we call - when can we come home? I dread telling them "just a few more months". None of the politics can be comprehended by them. We are praying the case will soon be through the PGN. Thanks for the good news. Stacy
Posted by: Stacy Rech at January 2, 2004 02:32 PMWell, they missed one of the "most difficult to please" laywers when they sent Ayerdi and others to another section of PGN. Our case has been in PGN since Sept. 26, with no previos. The only explanation our agency provides is that our PGN attorney is difficult. It's wonderful to hear you being optimistic Susana; I sure wish we could share the sentiment.
Laurie, waiting
Posted by: Laurie at January 2, 2004 09:32 PMThank you Susana
We have had our baby home since Oct 29, He has been the best thing that has ever happened to us.
We love Guatemala and all of it's people. We could not have made with out Kelly and all of thr Guatadopt people we love you all God bless you.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on this site. The last year was a very difficult one for most of us, but since december 6th 2003, my world has changed in ways I never thought possible. We brought home the most perfect, beautiful little girl who has brought so much joy to our family, we cannot explain. For those of you still waiting, oh let me tell you it is so worth it in the end. Its hard now to remember all the pain, when I look into her beautiful face. Thank you everyone and we hope you all had a wonderful holidays. Thank you to Susana for your informative posts and to everyone involved with guatadopt.com I'll keep reading and praying for all still waiting. Terri
Madison's mommy
QUESTION ABOUT AUTHENTICATION PROCESS-
Is their anyone out there who lives in Maryland but has some documents from Arlington, Virginia. Our bank letter was done by a bank in Arlington, therefore notarized there. I take it we need to get it notary certified and authenticated, but where. HELP!!! Can email me directly at jhrmcr@comcast.net.
Susana, thank you very much for your encouragement and for all your evident efforts and for keeping up the "battle" for the children!! We have one beautiful boy from your country already and even if we wait for referral since 15 months (!!!) we trust our attorney which works along with you and are trusting that this year will be the GOOD year. After reading your record I make a big ouffffffffffffff. I'm very glad for the information I get here!!
Les deseo el mejor tambien!
I am writting from France and want to say thank you to Susana and Guatadopt. We had very precious information from them, and were lucky enough to bring our little boy home on December 24. We could'nt have a more beautiful Christmas gift !!! My english is not good enough to say all I want but I want to say to all the parents waiting : feel confident... Guatemala is a nice country, and we would have loved to go to adopt an other child (we have learned that the biological mother of our son was pregnant), but unfortunately the french administration don't want to hear about Guatemalan adoption, if they don't accept the Heague convention.... Anyway good luck to those who are waiting : it will be a Happy New Year; Best Wishes
Posted by: Genevieve at January 5, 2004 04:19 AMI understand you very well Geneviève. Last year we couldn't adopt the biological brother or sister to our son because of the Hague Convention. It was really hard. We have lost 15 months... Now I feel we are really fortunate (we are in the French part of Switzerland) because my husband and I received special permission to do an adoption in Guatemala (just because our dossier is in Guatemala since Sept. 2002. Other couples can't because of the same reason you just mentioned. I would have a question to Susana in this regard: the government told me here that they would allow adoptions coming from Guatemala but the Guatemalan government has not written to The Hague to retrieve their signature of the Convention! If they would do that, I guess that France, Switzerland and other countries would allow adoptions from Guatemala again.
Thank you if there is an answer to this.
Have a good week.
Et félicitations à vous Geneviève, vous avez eu beaucop de chance!
Manuela
This site has been so wonderful throughout our journey. We brought our daughter Jaclyn home November 20th 2003 at 5 months old. She was such a wonderful gift for the holidays. I agree with Terry that its so worth it in the end. And to everyone still waiting, hang in there.
Posted by: Shari at January 5, 2004 04:49 PMDear Ms. Luarca,
This is my first visit to this website (www.quatadopt.com). I was hoping to have a question answered, and I felt you might be able to help me. Could you please tell me the process a Guatemalan orphanage would partake in order to ready a child for adoption?
Thank you
Posted by: Paula at January 6, 2004 09:00 AMWe got the call yesterday. We are out of PGN! I'm not sure how long until we travel. Keep the faith!
Posted by: cheryl at January 6, 2004 12:52 PMWe got our call yesterday as well that we are out of PGN. We aren't sure how long until we travel but we know it will be soon.
Posted by: Melissa at January 6, 2004 03:00 PMIts good to hear that cases are comming out final! I am so happy for everyone who is getting the call! We got to bring our son home on Dec.10. He was 6.5months old and we felt very lucky lots of people in Guatemala were just visiting and their children were older. I know The wait is really hard at times and you will have good and bad days but I just want all of you to know that I have been praying really hard everyday that all of you would get the call very very soon. God does know the right time for each baby and child to come home and if you keep the faith you will be rewarded someday. I look at my sweet baby boy every day and wonder if I had not waited maybe I would have not got the child God had picked out for us. So as hard as it is keep the faith ands if any of you need a friend please e-mail me and I will try to if nothing else send you words of encouragement! Just remember Proverbs3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight! I had to keep telling my self everyday the part lean not on your own understanding! And in time he did make my path straight! Remember its ok to have a bad day and cry! God is always their to piuck up the pieces! You are all in my thoughts and prayers! Sorry this is so long but I just have been thinking of you all so much during the holidays I know it was hard for some.
Posted by: carrie at January 6, 2004 03:16 PMIs anyone else out there still having problems with their case? We have been "out" of PGN with previos since early October. Our atty cannot seem to get a needed correction from the Family Court social worker. She was away for a month, then back, and now she is out again for 2 weeks. I am getting very frustrated that we have been waiting for 3 months, and getting nowhere. We have already been waiting 10 months, and are not even back in PGN yet? Have others had this problem?
Lynne
Posted by: Lynne at January 7, 2004 05:49 PMLynne, I too have become very frustrated with the PGN. I've been in there since early September, kicked out early November, back in before Thanksgiving, and nothing further. I am now waiting for the Director to sign off supposedly. My child is almost a year old now. It is very frustrating when others are bringing much younger children home already. I'm tired of "trusting the process" and trying to "keep the faith" as others have suggested.
Posted by: janet at January 7, 2004 09:05 PMSusana, Thank you for all the helpfull information you have been providing us. God bless you all for the wonderful job you have been doing to help all children to be adopted. I has not been easy but God is opening doors. I am a Guatemalan born waiting for my child to come home. Keep on working God is with you and He will give us the victory and our children will come home. It must be hard at times but God is with us helping us to go thru. Dios les colme de ricas bendiciones en el nuevo ano.
This is my first visit to the site, I already feel more at ease. We went back and forth Guat, Russia and back to Guat now that the Haugue was not passed. THANK YOU SUSANNA!!!! We filed our Home Study app this week and hope for smooth sailing. Keep us in your prayers as I have all of you in mine.
I can understand everyone's frustration about children coming home at 4 months old, 51/2 months old, etc. I'm not sure any of us will understand the process but just keep in mind that at least these children are coming home. Our son will turn 10 months old on the January 10th. We thought for sure when we started the process last January that he would have been home by now. We did get the call to say that our case was out of PGN on the 5th. We are now waiting for the call to let us know when our appointment with the embassy is. You really do need to pray and keep the faith. You can't give up. Right before Thanksgiving our lawyer was told that our case had been approved. She went to pick up our file and it was no where to be found. It took them 2 weeks to find it. Talk about being frustrated!
Posted by: Melissa at January 8, 2004 07:49 AMIt is frustrating seeing the children coming home at 5 months and younger. This process has been such highs and lows in the last year that other people don't understand. We are all in this process and don't understand. Our agency can't explain why some couples get approved and others don't. We have been kicked out twice and learned we are back in PGN as of Jan. 5th we hope. We understand we could get kicked out again as other people have been kicked out more than twice. Our son turned 1 on Nov 8th 2003 and it was painful not being with him and now we didn't have him for Christmas. But 2004 is a new year and I hope all the waiting children come home soon. My wife and I learned we are at the mercy of PGN and try and keep faith in the system to bring our son home. So Lynne and Janet yes there are other people our there like you. I keep telling my wife we will travel and pick up our son and this will be a distant memory after 6 months. Take care everyone.
Posted by: John at January 8, 2004 11:26 AMWe are another case waiting forever it seems. Our case was submitted in the PGN on 9/16. We were kicked out 11/21 and back in on 12/10. We met a couple who were in and out of the PGN in 3 days but had huge issues in Family Court. I am glad for the folks who made it out but the waiting is very frustrating escpecially when you don't know how long. We are constantly asked by friends and family "How you heard anything?" We can only say no. Sometimes with a smile I tell folks the cute one take longer. I too long for the day that the waiting is a distant memory.
Posted by: Jim W. at January 8, 2004 12:15 PMMy husband and I started the adoption process in the beginning of February and got our referral 4/3/03 and have heard nothing but...your paperwork is in the PGN. We have been in the PGN since 9/12/03. It is so great to find a website that you can read other stories and relate to other people. It helps to know you are not alone. Praying our son, Blake comes home soon.
Posted by: Tracey Edwards at January 8, 2004 01:26 PMOur case is finally approved through the PGN! What a long and frustrating journey this has been. Our little girl is now almost 13 mos. We are waiting for the pink slip and then we can travel. Any of you who are also waiting for the pink slip, maybe we can see each other in Guatemala? Any of you who have already traveled, any advice on where to stay, what to bring, how to make the trip easy?
I have been checking in on this site every week since September, I know how hard this wait is. This is not an easy journey into parenthood. I think of all you still waiting to get out of that darn PGN!
-Ellen
Posted by: Ellen at January 8, 2004 04:00 PMMy husband and I went to visit our son in Sept. and we stayed at La Casa Gande which is literally a block from the embassy. I highly recommend it. You can arrange to have someone pick you up at the airport. They cater to adoptive families. What to bring....everything. We took everything a baby would need. If you would like more info. you can email us directly. We may see you there. We got out of PGN on the 5th. We are hoping to find out soon when we will be traveling.
Posted by: Melissa at January 8, 2004 05:26 PMI have found the Travel Tips on this site very helpful when going to visit our daughter. We will be returning to Guatemala on Jan. 17 (hopefully) to finally bring her home! She is going to be 11 months old next week! We have been out of PGN since early December, but ran into delays because the birth mother missed her appointments to sign the final decree, and then there were the holidays... But the end is near. We hope to have our pink slip on Tuesday and travel the following weekend. We always stay at La Casa Grande, and love it there. It is so peaceful and it's nice to talk with the other adoptive families. I pray for all of us waiting to bring our children home. It seems to take forever sometimes!
Julie (waiting for Emmie)
Has anyone tried to call the PGN this week & get through? I have been trying since Monday with no success. The phones ring busy constantly. If anyone has any numbers they use to get through please post.
Thanks,
Janet
Janet,
I've been trying to call also, but have been getting a busy signal. The numbers I have are:
011-502-331-1005 and 011-502-331-1006.
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa at January 9, 2004 01:51 PMmy humble travel suggestions:
We were in Guatemala to pick up our son a few weeks ago. We stayed at the Marriot. I was very impressed with staff and concierge services. There is also a good supermarket one block away for diapers and formula. We stayed at the Casa Grande for our first adoption in 2002 and it is a great hotel with lots of character and is next to the embassy. If you stay there, about two blocks past the embassy is a great deli that sells wine, good bread, imported cheese and such if you want to do a room picnic. Word of warning at the Casa grande - Myself and two other people I know got sick when we ate there (separate times, but in all three cases the fruit was the suspected culprit).
My strongest suggestion is to either go early or stay late so that you can spend at least 3 days in Antigua. There are a bunch of great hotels there (Hotel ANtigua, Villa Antigua, Santa Domingo and many others) - the people are very friendly, the air clean, great views of the volcano, a very nice craft market, incredible architecture, great restaurants at relatively inexpensive prices (avoid hotels for better deals on food). Use Nancy Hoffman to arrange a shuttle between Guat City and Antigua - she will make sure the shuttle has a baby seat and her drivers are very safe.
Have a great trip!
Jonathan,
PS: Long-term waiters - we were in the same boat - took 13 months from referral to finish. I know the hell of the wait and my heart goes out to you. Once you are out of PGN and the birth certificate has been changed so that you are the official parents, and if you can take time off - go on down and stay in Antigua with your new child until the pink slip has been issued. You get custody a few days or weeks sooner and you get to experience Guatemala in a beautiful and safe city, plus you are down there to lean on your lawyer or the embassy if there are dumb problems with the Pink slip!
Posted by: Jonathan at January 9, 2004 02:57 PMLisa, thanks for the info. Those are the PGN numbers I have been trying to call also. They must have their phones off the hook. What a way to run a government office!!
Hi,
We received our DNA results in early December and are still waiting for the U.S. embassy to certify them. I heard that it may take up to 60 days from our Senator. Any advice on how to proceed so we can get the paperwork to the PGN as soon as possible.
John
P.S. We too stayed at the Marriott in December and it's a real nice hotel which definitely caters to the adoptive parent.
Posted by: John Holland at January 9, 2004 11:20 PMHow far is the Marriott from the embassy?
Posted by: Melissa at January 10, 2004 03:13 AMPlease help me....I was informed this morning by my agency that PGN announced last week they would no longer approve single men for adoption and that single females would have to produce extra documents and take longer processing/reviewing.
My case exited FC with approval and entered PGN on 12/22.
Has anyone of heard of this announcement or had any experiences yet?
Posted by: Paul Copeland at January 10, 2004 09:07 AMPaul...
We were reading the information that we received from our adoption agency and it says that only married couples or single female applicants are eligible for adoption from Guatemala. We don't know if this is just a rule from our agency or for Guatemala.
Posted by: Melissa at January 10, 2004 04:30 PMWe accepted a referral of a baby girl in October. We had a long time at DNA due to vacations and the flu that our case did not receive approval till after the new year. We are about to enter PGN. I am a single woman with two children. Needless to say, I am alarmed at some of the information that is coming across about "new" documents that are being required for singles. Whatever it is, I need to know now. My bags are packed and we leave Thursday.
I had heard rumors of a last ditch effort of Unicef to burst our dreams in front of the old congress yesterday.
Anyone know what happened? How long must we be tortured further? Any answers?
Thank you for listening.
Single with two, awaiting for number three.
And blessed with each opportunity to mother. Married or not.
Kelly
Posted by: kelly at January 11, 2004 12:16 AMHannah Wallace posted to the big list regarding singles adopting. To put it simply, PGN does not have the authority to decide who is allowed to adopt - they can not pass laws! Some agencies will not do singles adoptions but that is generally because of thier own religious affiliations.
The PGN does have the ability to ask for different types of documentation to prove that someone is in line with what the laws say is an eligible parent. And at at times they have overstepped thier legal authority in this regard but the lawyers have found it easier to comply than to fight them.
All that said, singles may now have to provide some documentation that states they are heterosexual or something like that. IMHO, wehether you are hetero or not, sign what they want and be done with it. If PGN is truly trying to say that will not approve cases for single males, then there will be a legal fight because it is beyond their authority to do so. Unfortunately, that means extended waits for those impacted while it gets sorted out.
Hi,
Not to burst your bubble John, but I have had my DNA results in the US Embassy since October 7th and they are still not certified. We went to Guatemala on Nov. 15 to find out what was up and they had mis-filed them. I plan to continue the hound the US Embassy with e-mails until they reply, which by the way, they have not yet and I have e-mails dating since December 14th which they have not answered. I guess my next step is to find someone in the state department to complain to.
Posted by: Ritta Knapp at January 12, 2004 10:20 AMOur agency asked us NOT to call the PGN. The PGN has already shown and continues to show defiance.
Constant calling outside of agency representation will only make waits longer.
Melissa,
We stayed at the Marriott when picking up Elena (who came home with us on Dec. 23, 9 mos after accepting the referral) and had a great experience. The hotel is about 10 minute from the Embassy by taxi. The grocery store is right around the corner and has standard Gerber baby food, as well as formula, etc. We brought some items, but supplemented from the grocery.
Posted by: Lee Anne at January 12, 2004 10:00 PMyesterday we received the call that everything went thru and was signed off..now just waiting for our visa appointment and we are ready to pick up peter joseph age 101/2 months..yes, it is a good new year..to all who are still waiting for the call...hang in there..you have a lot of support here with us..marion
Posted by: marion at January 13, 2004 06:07 AMIn reading some of the above notes, some of you mention having an embassy appointment or waiting for an embassy appointment. In speaking with our consultant yesterday she said that we aren't actually given a certain day for the appointment that when we get the pink slip we can travel to pick up our son. Are any of you actually told when you have to be at the embassy?
Posted by: Melissa at January 13, 2004 10:20 AM We received the call on December 11 and we are now having problems getting our amended birth certicate or "pink slip". We were informed that this is the latest problem with Guatemala and our agency does not know when we will be able to travel. We were praying for the beginning of JAnuary but now it looks like it may be the beginning of February. Is anyone else having this problem? Is there anything that we can do as they are keeping us from our babies once again? It just seems so unfair that they can do this to us. We thought we were out of the woods and expected smooth sailing after we finally exited the PGN but that does not seem to be the case. I guess all we can do is keep praying for justice to be served on the people that are doing this to us and pray that we will all travel in the new future and be united with our precious little ones. Thanks for listening. I am quite frustrated once again!
Lori
Lori, the pink slip and the birth certif are two differenet things. The pink slip is done solely by the US Embassy. The birth certif comes from the municipality in Guatemala where your child was born. Maybe they are having a hard time getting the b.c. and since they need it for the pink slip, they can't get that either.
Someone else asked about Embassy appointments. Here's how it works... Once your lawyer presents all the necessary docs to the embassy, you should have a pink slip within 2-3 business days. Once you have a pink slip you can take the child to the embassy doctor for thier medical exam. Once you have that done, you can go the embassy anyday (Mon-Thurs) you like and will have the visa at 3:30 that afternoon. There is no formal appointment. Agencies say not to travel until the pink slip is issued to ensure that you don;t get their too soon. Once it is done, it's a forgone conclusion that you can bring the child home...
Posted by: Kevin at January 13, 2004 11:41 AMYou can go to the embassy any day (except Friday, I believe) once you get your pink slip, The pink slip does not identify a specific date that you need to be at the embassy, but it does provide an appointment time (there are 2 appointment times each morning - 7:30 and 8:15, I believe). We found out about our pink slip on a Thursday night, but could not travel until the next week due to getting grandparents in to take care of our 3 1/2 year old while we were in Guatemala. You do need to be at the embassy very early the morning that you decide to go. They will review your paperwork and if everything is in order, they tell you to return that afternoon (3 or 3:30) to pick up your child's visa. Unless you want to spend a few days in Guatemala sightseeing, etc., our agency recommended that we travel down on a Saturday, pick up the child on Sunday (they brought our daughter to the hotel), go to the embassy on Monday and leave on Tuesday. That way you have a few days' buffer if there is anything that needs to be corrected with your paperwork. It is my understanding that the embassy is closed on Fridays - unless this has changed.
Posted by: Lee Anne at January 13, 2004 03:16 PMI had actual appointments for the embassy both times I went. I know they were actual appointments because I went with a group the last time, in December 2003. Some in the group were scheduled at 7:30 a.m. and some of us 8:30 a.m. One of the parents lined up too early for the 8:30 a.m. appointment and was sent back to the begining of the line.
I adopted my first daughter in November of 2001. It took 5 1/2 months.
My second was stuck in the mess and just came home 12-23-03. It took 10 months.
Posted by: Lisa Miranda at January 13, 2004 04:55 PMI just got the call today from my adoption agency that we are through the PGN! We are travelling the last week of January - he is legally ours! We have waited 10 months - he just turned 10 months this past Sunday. Anyone else going at the end of January - if so where are you staying? I would love to meet up with another family who can share this wonderful time.
Posted by: Tracey Edwards at January 13, 2004 06:04 PMHello Tracey,
Our son turned 10 months on Saturday. We are waiting for word on our pink slip before we make our travel plans. The final decree was supposed to be signed yesterday. Our adoption agency told us the other day that it would probably be 2-3 weeks before we travel so we may see you in Guatemala. We will be staying at the La Casa Grande. It is right next door to the embassy. We stayed there in September. It is very nice because they cater to adoptive families and there will be other families there as well. We met some very nice people there in Septmeber and we are in daily contact with them. Maybe we will see you there. Send me a note as to when you will be there and I'll do the same.
Posted by: Melissa at January 14, 2004 01:58 AM
Dear Susana,
Thank you for this positive news. We brought our first child home from Guatemala and are just finishing up with the paperwork here in the states and as a result of your post we are now encouraged to move ahead with a second adoption from your wonderful country of Guatemala as we do love the people of Guatemala.
Victoira
Hello:
A couple of questions. What do you mean that the Hague Convention is no longer a problem. My agency disagrees.
Also, do you know an attorney named Julio--he is who my agency works with--I think he owns the orphange but my baby (alomost 5 months old) is in a foster home.
Thanks for any info.
Beth
Posted by: Beth at January 15, 2004 12:39 PMIs anyone else having problems getting their birth certificate? We have been waiting for over a month and they are not sending it for us. We are really beginning to wonder what is happening. Please let me know if anyone else is having the same problem. Thanks!
Posted by: Lori at January 15, 2004 08:02 PMI empathize with those waiting to bring children home from Guatemala. Our son was referred to us in August 2002 and came home in October 2003...a 14.5-month wait. The months between referral and homecoming were agonizing and the lack of concrete information was extremely frustrating. However, at long last, we have been blessed with an extremely healthy and happy son. The foster mother was an angel...she truly loved our son and took extremely good care of him. Please know that our hearts go out to all waiting families. To say that it was worth the wait is an extreme understatement.
Posted by: Meg at January 15, 2004 08:25 PMWe've been told by our agency that our attorney has taken money from 7 other families, and not worked on the cases. Our case has been in PGN since 8/26/03. Does that mean we're OK? How should we handle the last payment for attorney's fee! - Anyone had the same problem?
Thanks! God Bless!
Lori,
We had a delay in getting our birth certificate due to the fact that the man in the civil registry quit, but a new person came and we got it in a week.
We got out of PGN Dec. 18th and we are traveling Monday, January 19th to get our angel.
Good luck,
Lori
Hi,
Happy New Year!!!! We celebrated our first christmas with our daughter and it was so magical words just can't describe what a child means!!!We too got caught in all the hague confussion' we waited about two years. But the pain of that has gone away every time I look into my Alexa's eyes.We bbrought her home in Oct she was fourteen months and to look at her now you would think she is a different child!!! She is so beautiful full of life . She has done great adjusting It is amazing what alot of love can do for our childern. So I just want to say I know how hard it is to wait but once you bring your child home you then realize why you did this!!!!
Hang in there the families that are still waiting!!!
Kind regards
Kathi
Lyn,
Who is your attorney?
Posted by: Michele at January 18, 2004 10:28 AMMy husband and I received our referral for our little boy on April 15th last year. After what seemed like FOREVER -- we finally got approval from PGN last week !!!!!! He is almost 11 months old. We also have a 3yr. old from Guatemala,so we knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel!!!!
Our agency had 5 cases approved by PGN last week -- so they are making headway with these adoptions. I know how all of the waiting families feel right now, and my family will continue to pray that you can all bring your babies home SOON!!!
We will probably be traveling at the end of Jan. and we will be at the Marriott -- if anyone will also be there then, we would love to hear from you -- our email is ljmren@hotmail.com. -Laurie
We also received our approval last week. Our baby will turn one on Friday. Although we will not get to be with him on his birthday we know we will have him home soon. We are traveling, hopefully, the first week in February and are staying at the Westin. If anyone will be down there then that they know of please contact us. I too am praying for all those still waiting and all of us traveling soon. God bless!
My husband and I are thinking about adoption in Guatemala. Can anyone refer a good adoption agnecy? Thanks
Merry
Posted by: merry at January 19, 2004 10:51 AMMerry,
We are doing our second adoption in Guatemala and this time we are going through Homestudies & Adoption Placement Services (HAPS). The first time we used World Child, Inc., in Gaithersburg, Maryland and I didn't care for them. HAPS is located in New Jersey. They have alot of contacts in Guatemala and the attorney we are using seems to be well connected. I felt that if another episode came about, like the Hague situation, we wanted someone who would strongly work on our behalf and from what I hear, HAPS seems to be the choice of many. If you want additional information for just want to chat, you can email me directly at jhrmcr@comcast.net. Good luck with your decision.
Posted by: michele at January 19, 2004 10:19 PMMerry,
We are using Adoption Associates based out of Michigan. We are extremely happy with them. They have many contacts in Guatemala as well and the attorney we are using is in constant contact with our consultant. Our case is a little bit different because we are currently living in Germany but we would love to answer any questions you may have. You can contact us directly if you would like to. Mayr1206@t-online.de
Melissa
Posted by: Melissa at January 20, 2004 03:35 PMHas anyone had any problems with the US Embassy? They are investigating my case. It's out of the PGN and into the US Embassy but I can't get any answers as to what they need or what they are investigating. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Holly at January 20, 2004 08:42 PM Holly,
It seems like the whole adoption process is becoming frustrating again. We received our call on December 11 that are little girl is out of the PGN but we still haven't received her amended birth certificate and do not know when we will be travelling. I was told by Hannah Wallace (who is doing our adoption) that Unicef is causing problems once again and are trying to prevent adoptions by holding things up in this area. She also said the embassy is causing some hold ups. She is in Guatemala right now trying to get things moving again. So, once again, all we can do is sit back and wait and be frustrated while our babies are growing older as each day goes by. Good luck!
My name is Fr. Pappas from Boston. We have been in the adoption process since February of 2001. Yes, 3 years. UNICEF and Casa Alianza are holding our sons case. PGN has caused our son's case to now be in the supreme court. Our son will be 9 next month, we met him when he was 6. All document have been in PGN since October of 2002. It has passed through many courts, and PGN continues to appeal. They do not want this boy to leave the country, they have seeked out the bio mom and have convinced her that they will bring their son back to her. She has been found to be an unfit mother with psychological problems, by the courts. Casa Alianza still defends her along with UNICEF and PGN. My wife has been in Guatemala for 4 months now trying to get help from U. S. Embassy. They refuse. I have sent letters as well as emails, and personal visits to the US Embassy - they will not let me in! Yes, this is unreal!!! Please give us suggestions. Thank you, Fr. Pappas
Posted by: Rev. Pappas at January 22, 2004 07:58 PMSusana
My guest is that you are very satisfied with so many gringos being so thankful for having a new addition home. Just think there is a GOD and if you've been manipulating the wrong strings you might end up tangle up in your own wrong doings. They might not know what it is to live under the shadow of manipulative persons like yourself who have the money and position to do it. I hope your conscience is also in a better position.
Posted by: Lourdes Flores-Saravia at January 22, 2004 11:02 PMLourdes,
I am aghast at your posting! I am very curious as to your story and why you hold Susana with such disdain.
Hi. I just returned from Guatemala and spent some time in the city with my youngest daughter. The hotel we stayed in is once again filled with waiting parents and children.
The longest hold up we have is the backlog with DNA and especially with our US Embassy. In October of 2000, my first daughter's DNA approval took three days. I visited her at two months of age and had her home at three months. This time around my second daughter's DNA took five weeks and is sitting at the US Embassy awaiting a signature. I was told that they are 45 days behind in signing. Then off to PGN, which I was told would be another two months.
Each adoption case is different. My daughter waiting for me is now three months old. I have seen many children stuck from before the shutdown. I count myself very lucky to have gotten this far. I pray for everyone that they all have their children home as soon as possible. If anyone has any ideas as to how to get things moving faster on our end, meaning the US Embassy, let us all know.
Also, in regards to the offensive post by "Lourdes"... I doubt those who use the word guest instead of guess would know what the word aghast or disdain really even mean. Don't waste your time or thoughts on an even less than respectful person. I won't even mention the fact that the color of a parent or person has nothing to do with anything. I am surprised he could spell the word "Gringo".
Let's spend our energy on getting our children home so we can celebrate life.
Just my thoughts and I will be forever thankful to be fortunate enough to adopt from Guatemala. Thank you to Susana and Hannah and all the forces in support of the children of Guatemala. I am sure God knows who deserves to be blessed.
Posted by: kelly d at January 24, 2004 02:28 PMWe found out some great news on Friday...our case was bring presented to the US Embassy today, Monday. This happened really fast for us. We will be traveling next Friday, February 6th. We will be staying at La Casa Grande. If anyone is traveling at that time let me know. It would be nice to meet you.
Posted by: Melissa at January 26, 2004 05:34 PMMelissa,
When did you get PGN approval? How long did the final steps take for you? We are trying to time our trip but are afraid that the final steps will take longer than expected. Just wanted to get an example to follow. We received PGN approval on 1/16. If you can let me know that would be great. Thanks!
Kristi
Krisit,
We got PGN approval on January 5th. The birth mother signed the final decree on January 13th. Our lawyer picked up the birth certificate on January 22 and his passport on January 24th. We were told yesterday January 26th that our case was being presented to the embassy. Our lawyer and adoption agency said that we should have our pink slip this week. The reason we made our travel arrangements for next weekend is because we are currently living in Germany and the sooner we can get the tickets the cheaper. We also need to get all of the forms ready for the embassy appointment. So it was about a month from the time our case was out of PGN. Hope this helps!
Posted by: Melissa at January 27, 2004 04:47 AMMelissa,
Thanks! That helps a lot. Our birth mother signed the final decree early last week but the Registrar that does birth certificates is closed until the middle of this week. So we are probably looking at atleast another couple of weeks. Thanks for the information, we will pray for your safe trip and arrival home with your little one!
Kristi
My husband and I are travelling 2/1 to 2/6 - anyone going to be down there at the same time? We are staying at the Marriott.
Posted by: Tracey Edwards at January 27, 2004 03:26 PMWe just got our phone call today. We are finally out of PGN after 2 previos and many months later. To all families waiting for your children, God will hear our prayers and will answer them in His timing! We will continue to pray for your children to come home soon. God Bless!
Posted by: Becky at January 28, 2004 02:03 PMWE WILL BE TRAVELING TO PICK UP OUR BABY ON FEB.14-15..WE WILL BE STAYING AT THE RADDISSON SUITES IF ANYONE WILL BE THERE AT THAT TIME E-MAIL ME AND WE WILL MEET FOR LUNCH OR SOMETHING..
MARION
Our case was finally approved yesterday by the PGN after 4+ months and 2 previos. My wife and I are very excited. Our daughter Katrina will be 10 months old on Monday. Hopefully the rest of our journey will go smooth. To other familes waiting for what seems forever, hang in there, your prayers will be answered too.
Posted by: Jim W. at January 29, 2004 12:57 PMTracey,
We are traveling on the 5th. We are staying at La Casa Grande. Maybe we will see you there before you leave.
Melissa
Posted by: Melissa at January 30, 2004 04:49 PMWe are wondering if anyone else is having a hold up with the U.S. Embassy? We are are waiting for DNA testing to be done and our agency told us that they only have 2 workers at the embassy. I wonder how long before they get some much needed help there?
Posted by: Julie Hughes at February 3, 2004 04:53 PM We finally received the good news that our pink slip is ready and we can travel to pick up our little girl (81/2 months old). We are planning on leaving Saturday and coming home on Wednesday. I cannot begin to tell you the emotions that you go through- they are different every minute! What excitement and great joy it is to finally hear the news that you are ready to leave. My prayers are with all of you that are still waiting. I pray that you will all hear the good news soon!
Lori Fisher
I was just informed that my case has entered the PGN and the DNA testing is being done. Does anyone know how long it has been taking in the PGN and what does it mean when you talk about "previos"? I would sure love the information. I have no idea what to expect now. Thanks much..Julie
Posted by: Julie at February 3, 2004 10:16 PMwe are leaving to pick up our son on Feb. 16, staying at the Radisson Suites..if anyone is going to be in Guatemala city at that time maybe we could meet..Marion
Posted by: marion at February 5, 2004 06:18 AM