JOURNEY TO SARAH

It's been a long time since my last post, but I was busy and I was not in the mood to blog. But today I want to share my journey to Sarah as a way to compare how two different countries work.

When I was 15 I learnd about China's one child policy, since then that became my dream of one day go to this country to get one of this unwanted babies. Well time pass and two weeks after my mom died(on 2/14/06) someone left a newspaper at my work place and the front page news was about International adoptions, after reading the story I contact the agency to check if I could adopt from China and the nice lady told that the wait for singles it was very long and she suggested that I try Vietnam and the wait will be 12 months for a baby girl. This country was never a choice my girl was in China and China was the choice, but after reading about the singles quota and learning more about Vietnam and all the children available there I made the choice to go with Vietnam and try to get one of those single spots for China. Since I always wanted at least two kids that will be a good choice. So I start my paperwork on may 2006, but I start to reading in the groups about some agencies and a more short wait, so I contact another agency and the person in charge told me that the wait for a baby girl will be six months, so I went and swicth agencies and by the end of november my Dossier made its way to Hanoi. In the meantime one on the chinese agencies call me with the news that I wont one of the singles spots so back to the paperchasing again.

On january 10, 2007 I contact the Vietnam cordinator to check what # I was in their list(Vietnam put you by numbers not LID dates) and she told me that they just recevied referrals and that they had three families waiting and of course I was one of them, so I thought that by next month I will get my referral which was good a two month wait not bad at all.

Next day I was at work and around 3:00 I went to check my emails and there was one from my agency with the word referral, I thought she's sending me information for my upcoming referral, but as soon as I open the mesage with the words Are you sitting down? the floor started to move while I kept reading this was my REFERRAL I was looking at my baby girl for the first time, as I look at her I was thinking I know you, I have seen you before it was so strange feeling this conection with someome so far away and to feel her so close to you. She finish the message with the word let me know if you want her? O f course the respond was YES,YES,YES. From that day I had to wait for the next three months for my TA.

On march 21, 2006 at six am I took off to Vietanm to get my Sarah , since then I feel that I have been giving the greatest gift ever, life as change in so many ways but for good. The only black cloud is this wait that has no end. Why it gets longer and longer? Vietnam is so tiny compare with China and they dont have the one child policy. My only wish is that at least the wait does not get longer, to know that we are getting somewhere. That my daugthers can grow up together. LET'S KEEPING THE FAITH!!!

23 MONTHS