It never ceases to amaze me when a good adoption program goes bad. I should be used to such news, since it seems it is becoming the norm more than the unusual. I remember when I first made the commitment to adopt- with much prodding from John- and finally decided on CHINA.....Then within days of getting in our paperwork the wait quickly went to 9 months- to one year- to who the heck knows how long. It was at that point that we started to search for alternatives. We dabbled in domestic adoption ( spent a ton of money on a useless adoption coach) and then realized that was not for us. Finally I stumbled across this wonderful Taiwan program, through an agency in Seattle Washington...almost too good to be true. I made some phone calls to the agency, and then joined a yahoo group for those adopting from this agency, and then made a phone call to someone who had recently adopted from the program and viola we decided to go with them. I remember a friend telling me that she had heard from a social worker friend that if we were going to adopt from Taiwan we better do it quickly because many people were starting to jump ship from China to Taiwan agencies. So we took a leap of faith and had our paperwork in. We waited longer that anyone else at that point for a referral and then there were some bumps along the way.... (see my posts from December 2008)and then a really looooong court time until finally we traveled to get our Paige.
I remember the little deaths I would die each time we hit another road block- delay-problem. We thought at times we would never get our baby home. And finally we did.
A few months back, our agency stopped their Taiwan Program that we used. There were issues- questions - government problems.....and people on the wait list- the same wait list we died and lived by- just lingered- putting all their trust into this agency.
This past week, the main Taiwan contact person left the agency, and the information everyone got was- lies? incomplete? devastating to say the least- they don't know what the heck will happen to the program. Supposedly, the Taiwan agency doesn't want to work with this agency... Why can't the owner be honest and tell these people what the heck is going on.
Even though we have our daughter- It reminds us how close we came to no having her. I think there were only maybe 5ish more referrals after us....on boy- that was really close. How lucky we were to get her... I still can't help but feel devastated for the families still on that wait list that have been in limbo all these months waiting... International adoption takes a special type of person to see it through.. even with all the bumps and turns.
I hope that all those people get to bring their children home at some point- whether through that agency or with someone else. Hang in there friends.
6 comments:
Terrifying! I almost can't allow my thoughts to go there because it is so upsetting to know that even a small delay od submitting our paoerwork could have change the course of our whole lives!!!! It brings tears to my eyes and lump in my throat.
I count us as the lucky ones, and any adoption is not for the faint at heart that is for sure!!!!
Love this pick of paigey!!!
how petrifying :( Your post makes me so very thankful for my agency that we completed our 2 adoptions form Taiwan with. I do not know what agency you are referring to but I will so be praying for all those people left in limbo there :( What a scary scary thing.
are yall planning to come to the Taiwan ROCks reunion in August ?? Its for all families who have or in process of adopting from Taiwan. I so hope yall come and I can meet yall :)
Blessings,
Tami
PRAYING 4 a MIRACLE 4 Jeremiah!
Oh, yes...my thoughts strayed this week too while blogging and my post ended up talking about much of this too. I can't help but feel the anguish and pain of those waiting and for the children still waiting.
What a ride it is ~ yes, you have to pull that grit from deep down when you begin the journey and then pull from someplace deeper to see it through.
Lovely photo of your darling girl ~ am I the only one giving extra hugs this week?? I bet I'm not!!!
Adopting has definitely been a rollercoaster ride. We were fortunate to get into our agency's program. We've gotten newsletters saying that the agency they work with in Taiwan is only placing older or special needs children. I thank my lucky stars each day that we have Lexie. We were also in the China program and dropped out of that because the increase in wait time.
When the program temporarily closed last fall after we had just come home with Lauren I was so upset. It makes me so sad when I think of the families that are caught in this situation. Adoption is SO mauch harder that anyone can ever know, unless you have gone through it too. I have only heard rumors about your program and pray that things can be worked out for all the waiting families.
I just learned about this reading your blog. Wow, I can't imagine what those waiting must be going through. I looked at Layne and cried, can't imagine what this would have meant if it happened during our wait. We are lucky to be blessed and my heart aches for those in this horrible position. When you come up for air, email me what you know...and let's see if we can set up a chance to get together before the spring :0)
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