Tuesday 29 July 2014

And the story begins part 2

The decision to adopt now had been an easy one.  We had considered it years earlier, before Logan, and said that we would probably revisit the idea later on.  We were so excited to get the process started!  We feel that being called to this amazing path will be such a blessing to us.  We are learning so much with every step that we take.  

When the time came for us to put some real adoption plans into place I started researching online.  We didn't know very much at this point about what agencies were out there, or which one we should choose.  I had known of families who had adopted or were currently adopting through Christian Adoption Services, so that was the first agency that I looked into.  There are two other private adoption agencies in Alberta as well, Adoption By Choice, and Adoption Options.  I made a few phone calls and ordered the application packages.  When speaking with the ladies at the agencies it became apparent that the statistics for how long families wait before they have a child placed is very similar among the agencies.  Usually, you are waiting two to three years.  Of course, there is a chance of a shorter wait period and a chance at a longer one.  With birthmothers choosing the family for their child, it doesn't go in the order of how long a family has waited.


In the end, we decided to go with Christian Adoption Services for a couple of reasons.  When I phoned, I was able to talk to someone who had been with the agency for 20 or more years.  She was knowledgeable and kind, and ready to answer my questions.  The cool thing was, I told her that I really didn't know what to ask, that I was trying to determine which agency we should apply with, but that I didn't even know where to start!  She then told me all of the basics, including what things I should weigh when making our choice.  One of biggest things that solidified our choice was that the agency is small.  We have a chance to KNOW the ladies who work there, and they KNOW who we are as well.  Since there are about 20-30 waiting families, we are not lost in a crowd.  I'm not sure how big Adoption by Choice is, but at Adoption Options, there were over 150 waiting families when I contacted them.  When I phone CAS (Christian Adoption Services) or send an email we get a quick reply from one of the ladies that we've met or already spoken with on the phone.  I know that it might sound like a small thing, but when going through something as emotionally charged and personal as an adoption application, home study, wait period, and actual adoption, I appreciate knowing who the small group of ladies are that we will be working with.  The other clincher for us, is their mandate.  Not only are they facilitating adoptions, they are doing it with the worldview of Christianity.  Their mission is to "demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by placing children in permanent and loving families."  Sharing a faith in God really helped us to connect with CAS.


Don't get me wrong, I think that the other two agencies would have been excellent choices as well; we just had to go with the good feeling we got after speaking with CAS.


Once we had made our decision and got working on the application package, the feeling of urgency was pretty strong!  All of a sudden, knowing that the application and home study would take several months was a painful thought.  Why hadn't we started this earlier?


This is getting to be a pretty long post, so I will continue with the application process in my next post.  

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