Guatemalan Adoption

Tom and I began our adoption adventure on May 4, 2006 when we decided to adopt a baby girl from Guatemala. After months of research and talking with friends who are adopting from Ethiopia, we were ready to begin the process. We spent the month of May researching and registering with a local agency, Accept, and beginning to gather the necessary paperwork.
Our first setback came when the California agency, Accept, informed us that they were no longer working with the orphanage Semillas de Amor in Guatemala, and therefore had no Guatemala contacts. While Accept would continue to be our Homestudy agency, we would need a new agency to work with alawyer in Guatemala to find us a child and foster her out until we had been cleared for adoption. Again, we turned to the internet for research, along with friends. One of Cheryl’s roommates from Boston has a sister who adopted from Guatemala. She highly recommended the agency she used for her first adoption, so much so that she is working with them for her second child. In June, we signed up with Palmetto Hope, an agency in South Carolina. We should hear from them tomorrow about what paperwork can be reused from Semillas de Amor, and what other paperwork they might need. Stay tuned!