Our Adoption - Hamel Family
Our journey to Russia to find our son was an unforgettable one. Even though we were completely clueless, apparently God knew who our son would be and how we would find him. I have to say our patience, trust and perseverance were all tested through the Journey, we trusted that God was leading our way to our son. When we started the journey it was Jill who helped us initiate the process. She’s a very caring and knowledgeable person, whom we are forever thankful. Ally then was our caseworker who guided us through this whole mission and goal to find our son. She was the rock when we needed it, she kept us “real.” Elina has been there for anything we ever needed, and was a good feeling of security to know she was readily available and involved.
Adoption is an amazing journey, it is a journey of hope, love, positive outlook, perseverance and dreams. Mix all these ingredients together for a successful adoption journey. We could not have done this adoption (literally), without the assistance of Adoption Ark. We are very thankful to Adoption Ark, all their staff. Everyone was eagerly waiting to help and assist with absolutely anything. Our court date was great!
Of course, besides having this wonderful agency, AA, we had to do our share of paperwork and prepare any extra documents as needed in a quick and accurate manner. Dealing with different governments and so much involved, things can change and one must adapt to that. We worked very hard at getting everything done in time which helped us to complete our adoption in 7 months.
My advice to anyone adopting is, have a positive outlook, things happen, things change, you are dealing with the US government and the Russian government or any other government. Be flexible in adapting to changes, be quick on responding, and if things don’t always go your way, smile and think of your goal, to bring your child home!! After all why worry and doubt something that God already knows for you!! Relax and enjoy the ride! It is up to you to work hard and not let anything get in the way of that, your child is waiting!!! We have recommended Adoption Ark to others we’ve met and will continue to do so, as in talking with many other couples that were with other agencies, we realized how very fortunate we have been to be with AA!!! We are the proud parents of our son Ivan, who brings us joy and happiness every day of our lives, and it was worth every sweat on our foreheads and every penny in our wallets, to have this pumpkin home!!! To see his smiles and his laughter, to see his amazement with each new thing, makes the journey all worth while!! I hope Adoption Ark continues to do their wonderful work that they do which is join families together forever, what an awesome job!!
Our Best Regards,
The Hamels