Andrew and Laura
Psalm 113:9 "He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!"
After 5 years of trying to start a family and being told we would not be able to conceive, God blessed us with three beautiful daughters, almost all at once! Our "home-grown" daughter was born in September, 2011, and we brought our "heart-grown" daughters home in January, 2012. We cannot imagine life without them.
Many thanks to OWAS for working so diligently with us and making this adoption possible. And many thanks to our Father for blessing our lives and our home with children. The LORD is great and greatly to be praised!
Robert and Kathleen
Oleg and I are now home from Latvia and, as of yesterday, he is officially a U.S. citizen. Thank you so much for everything you have done to help us bring our boy home. We are so grateful for this miracle. As you know, we had been told numerous times that this was not possible. Thankfully, the Lord had other plans!
We are so happy that our family is now complete. God bless you !!
John and Danielle
We wanted to let you know that we finalized our adoption of Dannika today!! We are so thankful to you and One World! We have recommended you to everyone we can!! Thank you so much Jessica for helping us become parents! Here are a few pictures of our darling girl!
Clay
I feel blessed and very fortunate to have worked with OWAS throughout the Congo adoption process. They became my advocates, comforters, friends, and allies throughout the year and a half that I was in the Congo program (I was with OWAS for a total of two years beginning in the Brazil program and then switched to the Congo program). My compliments also go to the OWAS Orphanage in the DRC as they did a wonderful job raising and preparing the boys for their arrival in the United States.
At dinnertime each night, we three together thank God for each other, for the food, and for our family, but I especially thank God for bringing these two boys in my life. I pray that I can raise them to be happy and successful and have a passion for each experience they pursue in life. Thank you One World and the orphanage in DRC for this awesome opportunity! May God truly use me, their Papa, and our surrounding family and friends to truly make a difference in the lives of these two children.
Regina & Patrick
I have worked with many different agencies and people in the adoption circle. And unfortunately, my husband and I have had our share of bad experiences with adoption. However, One World Adoptions took the stress and the leg work out of the process. When you are adopting it is an emotional process - especially during the "waiting period" and sometimes you just need someone to tell you everything is okay. Until One World Adoption, no one had EVER done that for us. Our caseworker would take my calls or return them within 30 minutes - no matter how silly the question was or how many times I had already asked that question. The case workers are all adoptive parents, also, so they understand the frustration, anxiety and emotion that comes with adopting. They are sensitive to your financial needs, desires for a particular child and so on. I told them what my limit was, what we wanted and did not want in a child and how we felt about the birthmother being in our lives. They matched me with the exact situation we wanted. When we didn’t understand a policy given to us by the adoption agency, they represented us and our interests and made sure our best interest were always priority.
Take it from someone that has "shopped around" and seen the good and the bad side of adoption. One World Adoption is a God-send and we are so thankful, every day, for finding them. Our adoption went smoothly and quickly and we FINALLY have the child we have been wanting for so long.
Chris and Sarah
After 5 long years of trying to have children, my husband and I decided to look into the adoption process. I had heard of a local agency through someone at my workplace and began our process by making a simple phone call. After a few weeks of figuring out who we needed to speak with, we were given OWAS’s information. In the beginning, we had a caseworker who answered questions quickly, or directed us to whomever we needed to speak with. After more than a few glitches and bumps, we finally began working with our caseworker at One World. She is such a wonderful person! She always answered the phone in a pleasant manner, even though she probably knew that we were calling for the 20th time that day! She always took the time to explain what paperwork needed to be completed and how we should go about getting it completed. Basically, she held our hands through our entire adoption process. After speaking with numerous agencies throughout the country, we were hitting roadblocks with agencies that didn’t seem to fit the mold that we knew we could find. Our caseworker was relentless in making phone calls, trying to find that “perfect” agency for us. After almost a year, she stumbled upon an agency that we finally loved, even though it was across the country in California!!
My husband and I know in our hearts that if it wasn’t for OWAS, we know that we would probably still be waiting for our daughter. They took a personal interest in our case and made us feel like we were talking with a friend when we called for anything. Even though we have been a family for almost a year, we still keep in touch with pictures and phone calls.
OWAS was the blessing that we were looking for.
Christie & Dave
The only place to start with any kind of adoption testimonial regarding OWA is with a HUGE THANK YOU! The Lord really blessed us when he put us in contact with Susan and OWA. Susan has been a source of steadfast support and wise counsel throughout the entire adoption process.
It was important to my wife and me that we find a Christian organization that understood where we were coming from, and Susan and OWA certainly fulfilled that requirement.
While we don’t encourage working outside of normal business hours, it is very apparent that adoption and helping the children of this world is Susan’s passion. Adoption is never easy, and there are many questions. Susan has incredible BlackBerry typing skills and demonstrates them throughout the evening and over the weekends replying when those questions arise. The night before we received our placement, we received an email from Susan saying she was going to be out of town without access to her beloved BlackBerry. My first thought was no placement for the Hubners this weekend, but the following afternoon, Susan contacted us to say that there was a baby boy in Texas who needed parents. Less than 48 hours later, we were on a plane to Houston to start a whole new adventure in life.
Uno, dos, tres, no mas…is our new philosophy when it comes to children, but if we decide to adopt another child, the adoption will be done with OWA.
Jeff & Jennifer
We cannot say enough wonderful things about OWAS! We looked at several agencies before deciding on OWAS. Two of our friends have adopted through them, so we decided to give them a shot. We were never disappointed!
Before we even signed a contract, Susan answered a ton of our questions. We came to expect a quick response and there was no question too ridiculous. What impressed us the most is that everyone at this agency has also adopted children. They knew where we were coming from.
Once we began the process, we were put in touch with our caseworker. She is an amazing woman! On more than one occasion she told us to call whenever things got overwhelming. She knew that a reassuring voice would be enough to calm the anxiety and fears. As we got closer to actually flying to get our son, we could feel her excitement growing as well.
The caseworker who performed our home study was always so excited about adoption and we have grown close to her. She has worked tirelessly to make certain we had everything we needed to make the adoption go smoothly.
Our process did not take long at all and it has been a smooth ride. We have friends who are with other agencies and they are not nearly as pleased as we are. If you are looking for an agency that will treat you like family and who personally knows the steps along the adoption journey, OWAS is the agency for you.
Thank you will never be enough....
Chad and Samantha
Chad and I could not be happier with our One World Experience! The personal attention and the wonderful communication is outstanding. We are so happy that we decided to use One World. Our beautiful baby girl is doing terrific. I have attached a picture that was taken yesterday at church. Thanks for everything!!!
Josh and Jill
OWA assisted us in every step of the process. Terri, our country coordinator, was just wonderful, very competent, kind and lovely. We often thought that we would annoy her with all our questions, but each time, she took her time to answer and was so nice. We have so much to thank her and OWA for. The whole process might feel scary and long but OWA knew what they were doing and we trusted them 100%. The whole team were not only our 'adoption agency' but most importantly, they became our friends. It is very important to choose an agency whom you trust and feel confident with. OWA exceeded all our expectations! Thank you!
Love and hugs,
JJCR crew
Gary
I think it’s fairly simple – I got lucky. I turned to OWAS after several incredibly frustrating years trying to adopt an older child through the U.S. foster care system. After a countless amount of disappointments I finally had enough and started to pursue the world of international adoption. I started by randomly contacting agencies who represented a country I was interested in and found out very quickly the need to narrow my scope as many countries were not open to single prospective fathers which was reminiscent of the many narrow minds I had encountered trying to negotiate the U.S. foster care system. Once I settled on Brazil, which was a surprisingly natural choice for me given the many beautiful Brazilian children I have had the good fortune to work with in my schools as a psychologist, I found the advocacy agency LIMIAR that works with the Brazilian courts concerning children available for international adoption. As LIMIAR only handles the Brazil side of things, I needed to go through an adoption agency stateside with whom they are associated. Given my single parent/father status as well as my being Jewish, I was promptly referred to OWAS with respect to an agency that was considered to have a more progressive, open-minded attitude. Indeed, from the first contact, I felt welcomed and valued, which was not necessarily my experiences upon casual contact with other agencies and within the context of my experiences with the U.S. foster care system. I surprisingly had no misgivings when it came time to write out that first “big” check. Most of my direct contact tended to be with the agency’s executive director, Susan Manning. I always felt I was in good, caring, and competent hands with Susan. Of course there were several glitches and bumps down the road, but primarily due to international policies, etc. Nevertheless, Susan always was a great source of reassurance and support and her adherence to ethical practice is admirable; I never doubted her sincerity or interest in working towards the connection with and then helping me to bring my 2 sons home. Now, we’re home and it’s only been a short while, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you/obrigado – I simply could not have made it without Susan and OWAS. As it only has been a couple of weeks now, I can say that I still feel somewhat in a daze as I navigate my way through this new, often rather daunting yet exciting world of parenthood. Nevertheless, most importantly, I am most grateful to all of OWAS efforts that made it possible for us to be a family. I can most definitely say that together as a family, we can only now envision our lives together as such.
Paul and Barbara
Our adoption journey began with a hosting program. We are empty nesters and adoption was not on our minds, but that changed very quickly into the hosting program. We contacted OWAS, and we were on our way, beginning the most wonderful adventure. There were a few anxious moments along the way and all the paperwork is very intimidating, but praise the Lord we got thru it and our son is home and we can't imagine our lives without him. One World Adoption Services was great! Thank you so much!
Jeremy & Kara
My husband and I began our adoption journey in August, 2007. We started working toward an international adoption through Guatemala, so our search was limited to international agencies. After many hours of research on the internet and over the phone, we decided to work with OWAS. I was first put into contact with our caseworker, and she spent a lot of time answering our questions and addressing our concerns. I was most impressed when the second time I called her she told me she might have to call me back because a car had run into her family’s store-front and she was waiting for the insurance rep to arrive. She talked to me while she waited, and when she had to go, she called back within 15 minutes (and we hadn’t even made a commitment to use OWAS, at that point!). This is the level of service we received from OWAS, and my husband and I have never been disappointed.
When Guatemala halted foreign adoptions in November, 2008, my husband and I made the decision to try a domestic adoption. Our caseworker let us know that Susan Secor had added a domestic consulting service to OWAS, and after spending some time on the phone with Susan, we decided to try it. My husband and I put together our family picture album and Susan started marketing us to different agencies in January, 2009.
In addition to OWAS, my husband and I used an online profile site to increase our exposure, and Susan handled all of our contacts we received through this third party. And for that we are eternally grateful, because through this site, we became targets of a scam, and with Susan’s help, we were all able to figure out relatively quickly what was going on. Susan was in contact with us and the “scam artists” almost daily, and she worked really hard for us—both when we thought it was legitimate and even after we found out it was not.
Susan’s perseverance and commitment to us was exceptional. She made contacts with several different agencies and our profile was shown to many prospective birthmothers. Her hard work paid off for us when she made contact with an agency in Florida in May, 2008. Susan established a good relationship with this agency, and ultimately this is where our baby found us. On June 11, 2008, Susan called to tell us that there was a preemie baby boy waiting for us in Florida.
We brought our son, Matthew, home on July 18, 2008. We feel so lucky that we had Susan and the OWAS staff on our side, and we will be eternally grateful to OWAS for helping us start our family.
Michael and Lori
Every adoption story is unique. The road to find Trent was littered with obstacles and heartaches, yet these have receded into memories that are almost, as Trent would say while raising his palms in an exaggerated gesture, “All gone!” Would we follow the same path if we had to? Absolutely! Very importantly, we most certainly would choose One World Adoption Services to go with us on that journey. When it seemed that governments and circumstances were conspiring to steal our dreams, our friends at OWAS were there to assume all the roles that were necessary for our emotional support, and more importantly to see that the process would keep moving forward toward a successful conclusion.
Our caseworker and Susan expertly donned the mantles of intermediaries, coaches, counselors, and magicians. What was most obvious was that their primary concern was for us to find the right child for US. When we determined on our trip to Russia that neither of the two little boys we met was meant to be ours, they never tried to talk us into taking one of them. To the contrary, they reassured us that we had made the right decision and that this was not the end of our dream. While lesser agencies would have pushed for a “successful” conclusion, OWAS reminded us that we would know in our hearts when we had found our child. They were unwilling to consider anything less as a success for us or for the children that they care so much about.
The month we were in Ukraine was spent riding one of the world’s great emotional roller coasters (a metaphor brought readily to mind by recalling our how-could-I-forget-to-increase-my-life-insurance rides to the orphanage). Through it all we had a fabulous support system, both “in country” and in the States. The optimism of these allies was matched only by their dedication to making certain that their work behind the scenes justified their positive outlook.
A word of advice: If you are trying to locate an adoption agency you can trust, don’t focus on testimonials about how swimmingly it all went. Adoption agencies cannot control governments and governments govern the adoption process. Get the logic? Stuff happens. Find an agency that will know what to do with that stuff. OWAS has lined up the best support team you could hope for to prepare the way. Just as importantly they are ready to adapt when needed so that you can realize your dream of finding YOUR child.
This is a risky business. The fine print is there for a reason. What sets OWAS apart is a commitment to partnership that trumps the fine print. It was that commitment that took us through pages of mystery, drama, and humor so that we could write the final chapter of our adoption story. Fortunately for us, in the final chapter the hero beats all odds and crawls over three thousand miles, swims one ocean, climbs a mountain of dossiers, and wrestles two dozen immigration officials into submission before falling exhausted into his own crib to dream of books, puzzles, animals, cars, blocks, and his new Mommy and Daddy.
Chris & Kim
We chose One World Adoptions for our China adoption and strongly recommend them for anyone considering adoption. OWAS answered our questions promptly and quickly approved our application for adoption. Our homestudy was also completed in a very timely manner. Our caseworker was wonderful to work with. She is a very friendly person and is very knowledgeable about the China program. She has adopted herself and truly understands the emotional aspect of adoption. She was available 24/7 for all or our numerous questions. No matter how big or small the question, she was always there for us and happy to hear from us. We traved to china in June '08 to adopt our son Ely. We had a wonderful experience. The guide that OWAS chose for us did a great job. If we were to adopt another child,we would choose OWAS again without any hesitation.
John and Jamie
We want to take a moment and thank One World Adoption Services and its entire staff for assisting us with our adoption. You truly are an outstanding agency. I would highly recommend anyone wanting to adopt to consider OWAS. Their personal service, quick response, and knowledgeable staff sets them apart from the others. I can not thank Terri enough for her endless work on our adoption. She will forever be a friend.
Our adoption journey began on October 15, 2003 by mailing off our application to OWAS. We were not advised to have any more children, and we did not want our three year old, Abigail, to grow up alone. So, the few months before, we had began researching adoption, the countries available to adopt from, and the too many adoption agencies. As I began contacting agencies, I noted that OWAS responded quickly and made me feel like so much more than I client, I felt like a friend was on the other line. Terri received many phone calls and questions during the next few weeks, and at that time I learned Brazil was open to adoptions again with the U.S. At this time no one had completed a Brazilian adoption yet, but I was drawn to the country and its children, and felt completely confidant that OWAS would not let us down. The next 18 months Terri was there for my every need, question, concern, the waiting period, and the paper work chase.
We had set out to adopt a toddler girl, but God led us in another direction. In September 2004, after seeing Alex’s picture and video we knew he was the one meant for us. Alex was 6 and had spent almost 5 years in the orphanage. The waiting time to travel was the hardest part, but we managed to stay pretty busy. We prepared Alex’s room, shopped for little boy clothes, learned some Portuguese (very helpful!), and prepared to leave the country for 6 weeks.
The stay seems long, but was well worth it. Alex had time to adjust leaving Brazil , get to know us, and learn some English before going home. It made the transition much easier. At the same time we learned a lot about Brazilians and their culture.
The assistance in Brazil is phenomenal. Our facilitator, Luciana, was wonderful. She was there every step of the way. We even shared Easter with her family, her son became our children’s friend, and she worked with us even 9 months pregnant (literally-she had the baby the day after we flew home!) We will forever be grateful to her.
On April 26, 2005 we formally completed Alex’s adoption in Brazil. We can’t say that we know a whole lot about our son’s first few years of life, we did not see his first steps, nor did we hear his first words. But what we did see is a little boy who is so grateful for an abundance of food on the table, the luxury of a warm bath, a room of his own, and a family full of love. Many people say what a lucky little boy he is. We beg to differ. We truly are the lucky ones and so blessed to have such a wonderful addition to our family. Thanks OWAS!!!
Tracey & Scott
A Most Heartfelt Thanks
It's impossible to describe the moment that your adopted child is placed in your arms yet it's emotions I can rekindle in an instant whenever I hear news of a new forever family. Our adoption process was an emotional roller coaster that ended in the happiest moment of our lifetime and happened because of the persistent, patience, empathy and support we received from the One World family. We choose to work with One World based on their very personal approach to international adoption and the empathy that our caseworker brought to the process. She's a seasoned veteran...she knows first hand what it's like and until you experience it, there is no way to really truly know.
Every moment of doubt and wonder was erased with a call to her for reassurance and comfort. The feeling of hopelessness about the endless wait and the frustration of the paperchase were constantly put into perspective by her. She was a constant source of positive energy and focus on the positive outcome we were waiting for. Every thing she told us would happen did...like clockwork. Every piece of advice she gave was exactly right. She's been there, done that for sure and she shared that knowledge so happily and confidently that we knew we were in the right hands. We are home almost three months now and every day is just better than the previous (just like she said!) and we have her to thank for the wonderful family that we have become.
David & Laura
As we began looking into international adoption, we had many questions. One World Adoption Services staff patiently answered each one of our questions and gave us many details about the entire process. Everyone we spoke with was knowledgeable and had a warm caring attitude. Our caseworker was especially helpful. She was there for us every step of the way. Being an adoptive mother herself, she definitely understood our journey. This showed by not only her knowledge in her job, but also in her tremendous emotional support. We couldn't have gotten through this without her.
Initially, we planned to adopt from Bulgaria, but later decided to switch to Guatemala. Our caseworker's assistance in making this switch allowed us to bring our beautiful daughter home from Guatemala sooner than we could have imagined. We would highly recommend OWAS to anyone considering international adoption.
Thanks to OWAS's assistance, we were able to add a precious blessing to our family and for that we will be eternally grateful!
Keely & Flint
We wanted to take a moment and let you know how incredible we think the entire staff at One World Adoption Services is. My husband and I decided to adopt internationally just over a year ago… When the search started for an international adoption agency that could help us find our first child, the nights and days were filled with questions and concerns. The biggest concern was trust. How would we find and agency that we could trust with all of the hopes and dreams for our future family? Would they take our money and break our hearts?
After many calls, emails and hours on search engines, we came across OWAS. You made me feel as if I had found long lost friends. You were friendly, upfront and caring about our concerns and needs. You answered all of our questions promptly and we were assigned with an amazing case manager who was kind and responded to all of our silly and serious questions. She was always there night or day and is extremely knowledgeable and honest.
In June 2004, we returned from Guatemala with our son Cristobal. Our travel was unexpected, but even with the short notice, we couldn't have had an easier time with everything upon our arrival.
We have said all along that the OWAS team is the best, most caring group of professionals we have ever had the pleasure of working with. We can't brag on you enough. The only thing we wish is that we were in the same state so we could visit more often. You all have become extended family and we love you so much!
If there is ever anything we can do to help, please let us know. Cristobal is very lucky to have such wonderful people in his life and we all will never forget your kindness.
Pat
Families come together in many ways. In my case, as a single adoptive parent, it involved a trip across the world, Russia of all places, and today that’s seems like it was the way my family was meant to be. A blessing from God provided from the belief that it could be-plus a little help from my friends at One World!
A friend, who was a good friend of a caseworker of OW referred me to One World. That in and of itself is a fated event. I mentioned to only one person that I had been investigating adoption agencies for months and was so frustrated by the “corporate like” behavior of many agencies and the lack of warmth in the discussion. My friend immediately got me the number for One World. It took me more that 1-week to call the caseworker, more from nerves than anything else. But when I called her it was like talking to a friend for the first time, we talked for more than an hour and I really felt she wanted and would help me, that it was more than a job to her. That was the first day I felt the possibility that this could really happen. I was a client within the week. She explained the different countries, regions, and options I had available to me and we felt that the Russian program was the best place for me to go. Additionally, the fees and country outlines for costs were right on the money and outlined from day one. After signup I received a Russian program disk that outlined the paperwork and processes.
The adoption process itself is the most emotional thing anyone can go though, it’s like having someone put your hopes on display along with all your financial records?
The second fated event of my adoption process was a call from my caseworker in January. The region in Russia I had chosen was slow in processing dossiers and would I consider changing regions and going with Ivanovo. She had been looking out for me and trying to push the process as fast as could be possibly done. Well amazingly enough, the day I agreed to change regions was the day my son was born. I would not know that for another 8 months but the stars were all aligning.
I would not say this if I didn’t fully believe it, I could not have endured the process without the daily calls to my caseworker and other folks at One World. Since they’ve all adopted themselves they understand the waiting, the uncertainty, and the frustration. I remember calling her up crying and she just listened and tried to help, then calling back laughing at myself and she would go with that too. She was a wonderful ally and has become a great friend.
Then in August I finally got the call, it was my caseworker, “It’s a boy,” she said. I still tear up thinking about it. Within minutes I had a photo of my son, and we were both laughing at his milk stained face on the phone.
Inside of 4 weeks - the trip to Russia, never in my life did I think I’d be heading off to Moscow! What a wonderful adventure. I had been nervous but buoyed by the agency through people who had gone before me. To say the people of Russia were kind to us doesn’t say enough. In Ivanovo, we stayed with the Russian adoption worker in her home, rather than stay in the hotel. They looked after us like we were their kin. I still write letters to her and let her knows what’s going on with us. The steps were explained to me in Russia and I was accompanied every step of the way by a representative of the agency. Meeting my son Charlie was a surreal moment, is this really happening? What a beautiful little guy, but so tiny…..Leaving after the first trip was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. In Moscow we stayed at the Marriott a very US hotel with all the amenities. I spent the next 8 weeks preparing for my life to change, I just didn’t know how much. During this time, she kept my spirits up and helped me with the additional and final paperwork. December 4th we became a family; my second and final trip was completed.
I cannot recommend One World more highly, they were honest, courteous and caring; I have agreed to be a phone contact etc, because I believe in the organization. Thanks to all of you who helped me bring Charlie home.
Casey and Kathy
BRAZIL, HERE WE COME
Excitement, new adventurers, butterflies in our stomachs, and most of all, our new family awaits for our arrival. We are Casey and Kathy Jones from Phoenix, Arizona. We have two bio children and five grandchildren. In the fall of 2004, our family grew with three new additions from Brazil. We were united with our beautiful daughter Mara, 13 and our two sons, Connor 7 and Anton 5.Our lives have certainly changed. Our home is full of even more love and laughter these days. We owe so much of this to OWA.
We would like to share our experience of our adoption journey. We had been watching a TV program called "adoption stories". We noticed there were several older couples that were adopting. We began talking about how we would like to share our lives with a child. Our first step was to search the Internet for an adoption agency that could help us. We interviewed several agencies. The one that stuck out the most was OWA. They seemed very warm, friendly and professional. They took the time to answer all of our questions over the phone. We have friends that did not have that feeling with their agencies. We realized that OWA was best for us. We were interested in adopting one child and probably from Haiti. We never would have thought that in less than 10 months we would have three. One evening Terri, an adoption coordinator from OWA called to tell us that there were three siblings in an orphanage in Brazil that needed a loving home. Terri asked us to think it over and she would send us a video of the children. The next week we got the video of our three children. Our hearts melted. We watched the video and said "when can we go to Brazil". This was the best decision we ever made.
Our HS was almost complete and our next step was the dossier. With the help of OWA, we got our dossier ready. Now we were just waiting for our travel date. OWA was ready, we were ready but the courts in Brazil were not ready for us yet. This was all out of our control. It was so hard to be patient and wait. The wait was well worth it. It seems like the courts in Brazil have so many holidays and the judges do enjoy a lot of vacation time. Then one day in late October, we got a call from OWA and the courts had sent us a letter of invitation to come to Brazil and wanted us there in three days. WOW!!! We got those bags out and started packing. We called a travel agent, got our airline tickets and in three days we were in Brazil.
When we arrived in Brazil,OWA had a representative waiting for us at the airport. We arrived on a Saturday and were scheduled to meet and pick up our children on Monday. OWA had made arrangements for us to stay at a beautiful resort during our stay. The resort was very inexpensive. We received three large meals a day plus our laundry service included. The hotel is located on a few acres of land. There were sheep roaming on the grounds. It was beautiful. The Brazilian government requires that you stay with the older children for six weeks for the bonding process. There were several other families there that were adopting too. We met families from the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada. One wing of the hotel was reserved for families that were adopting.
Monday came, this is when the butterflies in our stomachs started. We were off for a two hour drive to the orphanage to bring our children back to the hotel with us. OWA asked us to send a photo album to each one of the children. There were pictures of us, our extended family, our church, and pets. OWA already had the children prepared for our arrival. When our car pulled up, the children came running to us saying Mom and Dad in Portuguese. They were all three jumping in our arms. It seemed like the children had always been with us.
The next week we spent doing fun things with the children. We took a train ride through the rain forest. We went to amusement parks etc. Our adoption representative arranged everything for us as well as doing all the paper work on that end. He was on call for us 24/7. Terri from OWA called us several times to ask how things were going and if we needed anything.
Our last stop was Rio. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach. The children loved it. We had to stay in Rio for a couple of days while our children's visas were being processed.
Our children have been in the states for 18 months. They have grown so much. They are healthy and have adapted so well. Our boys became fluent in 'English in just a couple of months. It has taken Mara a little longer since she is older, which is expected.
We still keep in touch with Terri. We thank God everyday for giving us these specials gifts.
If we decide to adopt again, we will certainly use OWA and always refer them to others.
Christie & David
My husband David and I chose to adopt internationally. After reviewing the programs offered, we decided that Guatemala was the best fit for us. We heard about One World Adoptions from a friend, and from the beginning everyone at One World was extremely welcoming and helpful. Each staff member who worked with us was also an adoptive parent. They were there for us not only for the business side of the adoption but the emotional side as well. Our caseworker, my caseworker, was phenomenal. She was always there to answer any questions we had, no matter how silly they seemed. She was also there for us by phone whenever we needed her. Without my caseworker's help, I don’t know how we would have gotten through the waiting process. Once our daughter Olivia came home, the staff at One World continued to be there for us to answer questions and to help us with the remainder of the process. I have and will continue to recommend One World to families seeking to adopt. Attached is a picture of our family at the airport, when Olivia got to meet her sister (Carly) for the first time!
David & Earlene
For anyone thinking of adoption and looking for an agency, we would recommend you choose One World Adoptions. Besides having a great staff, most or all of them, are adoptive parents themselves. They know all about anxious moments, hectic paper work and the long waiting involved. Our caseworker was always there for us…many times more than once a day. She always made sure we had everything we needed.
When it was time to travel -- that was the easiest part. One World assisted us and guided us all the way to our precious treasure, Madilyn Grace. We are very blessed.
Scott & Allison
In early 2002, my husband and I began talking about adopting another child. Our daughter was adopted domestically over 10 years ago, however this time we decided to adopt a child internationally. After doing hours and hours of research, numerous phone calls, and hundreds of emails, we found One World Adoption Services, and decided to sign up with their Bulgarian program, in May of 2003.
From the beginning, OWAS has been friendly, responsive, and prompt in answering our questions and concerns. All of the staff at OWAS are adoptive parents themselves, so they understand not just the process, but the emotional aspect of adoption. We were assigned an outstanding case manager - Nicole, who also did our homestudy. Nicole cheerfully answered a million questions, got us through the daunting paperwork process, helped us over the hurdles, held my hand thru the emotional ups and downs, and was always there day and night, no matter what.
In April of 2004, our adoption path changed. After MORE discussion with Nicole, and A LOT of questions and prayers, we changed to the country of Guatemala . Again, OWAS was there in the preparation of a new homestudy, dossier, and required documents, along with the emotional support.
On June 1 st , 2004 we received the referral of a beautiful baby boy, and in September 2004 we returned home from Guatemala with our son, James Scott. Our trip was smooth, easy, and incredible! Words cannot describe the experience of getting our son.
For anyone even remotely considering adoption, I would recommend One World Adoption Services. Besides being an incredible agency, they have the most warmest, caring, outstanding staff anywhere! I have already recommended them to several friends considering adoption, and will continue to do so in a heartbeat. When and if we decide to adopt again, we will go back to One World.
Doug & Kristen
Doug and I cannot say enough positive things about One World Adoptions or their Guatemalan adoption coordinator. Doug and I struggled through seven years of unsuccessful infertility procedures and failed domestic adoption attempts before deciding to adopt internationally. We spoke to numerous agencies, but after speaking to One World, our decision was made.
They are not only honest and genuine, but also passionate about assisting people in making their adoption dreams come true. Once we began the international adoption process, we learned that they are also diligent, thorough, and understanding.
On Saturday, June 11, 2005 the greatest blessing we could ever ask for was placed in our arms. It is difficult to know how to thank anyone enough for that. Our daughter has blessed us every day since and I have no doubt that she will continue to be a blessing throughout all the days of our lives. If seeing is believing, then please look at the picture of our daughter, Harper. Doug and I will be forever grateful to all of the people at One World adoptions for bringing our daughter home to us.
Susan & Ernie
We decided to adopt a baby boy from Guatemala in October of 2004. We spent weeks researching adoption agencies and finally decided on One World Adoption. Our decision was based on the glowing references we received, and the comfortable feeling we got when talking with the agencies’ Guatemalan case worker. We really liked the fact that they were smaller and almost all of the staff had adopted themselves.
Our case worker was extremely informative and compassionate, and she held our hands the entire way. She was available 24/7 for our numerous questions and always made us feel like everything was going to be ok.
We received a referral in March -- just days after submitting our dossier. We visited our son in June and spent five amazing days with him. The paralegal was great and it was wonderful to meet the foster mother. It was very hard to leave but we wouldn’t trade those five days for anything. We brought Brandon home in mid-July -- he was just under 4 months old.
Brandon is an adorable, healthy, happy baby and we are so fortunate to have him. We are very lucky to have found One World Adoption and we cannot thank them and the wonderful lawyers and paralegals in Guatemala enough for bringing us our son.
Kristen & Dan
In a process as chaotic and sometimes unpredictable as adoption, having our workers from One World Adoption Services, Inc. (OWAS), as a constant through it all was priceless. Had we not had them helping us through the process, it would have undoubtedly been a lot more difficult.
We decided to adopt February 25, 2005. While researching many agencies, we came across OWAS. Although we did not personally know anyone who had used them for an adoption, we knew shortly after talking with them that we would use them for ours. Our case manager spent a good hour on the phone with me, just as a potential client, and answered all of my questions, which were many...
We received our referral on July 14, 2005 and brought our son, Jonah, home (from Guatemala) on January 6, 2006. It was a day filled with more joy than I can possibly express in words. Now that my son is sleeping soundly, in his crib in the room next door, all of the stress, anxiety and craziness that is the adoption process seems like a blur. But in the thick of it, it's very real and very important. For me, that's where our case manager played the most important role. Ninety percent of the time, emails were answered within a couple of hours, sometimes more than once per day. She eased my mind over and over and over again...
We plan to adopt again and will definitely look OWAS up at that time.
Joanna
If it had not been for One World Adoptions I would not have my daughter Miranda. I had been trying to get a singles slot with the China program for some time with no luck. I had talked to my caseworker and told her about my struggles. She was very compassionate about my situation. Then it seemed that fate stepped in. Several days later she called me late in the evening to tell me she had just unexpectedly received a singles slot.
It was early December and the agency that One World worked with had one slot left over to fill their singles quota. The catch was that my completed dossier had to be in China in two weeks. Since I had already had a dossier put together for a different country’s program, my caseworker and I decided we would give it a shot even though the dossier required for China was completely different from the other country. We were in constant contact with each other during that time as she coached me through each step of document gathering. It was a hectic time, but we were both overjoyed that my dossier made it to China on time. This past September I brought home my beautiful daughter Miranda.
I can never thank Julia enough for all that she did for us. For my caseworker, adoption is not a job. Each adoption is as personal to her as if it was her own and anyone who works with her will be just as thrilled as I am.
Tricia
When my husband and I decided to adopt, we began our search for a country and an agency. After a lot of research, we decided on One World Adoption Services. Some of the reasons why were because of their size, many of the case workers had adopted themselves and they had also gone through many of trials we had trying to build a family. We decided upon Guatemala for our son. There was a lot of political red tape in our process and it took longer than anyone expected. During this time, our caseworker was very patient and supportive to us and was always there for me to ask questions.
We decided to go visit our son because the process was taking longer but I did not know how I was going to come back home without him. Our caseworker had a few long phone conversations with me to help prepare me emotionally for the visit. Once we were in Guatemala, I ended up staying an extra week without my husband, something I never thought I would do. With this being unplanned, the Guatemala Team was very helpful and supportive. There is no way I could have gotten through it without the assistance and support of our translator in Guatemala. I highly recommend families go visit their child if they can. It was an amazing experience; I was able to spend time with the foster family and get to know them so I can share this with my son when he is older. They are an amazing family and this made it easier for me to leave my son and also it assisted the foster mother in letting him go. She told me she knew he was going to be loved. Also during my extended visit I got to know other families in the process; one from OWAS and others from other agencies. There is an amazing kinship between the families and I still keep in touch with many of them.
Once we brought our son home, it was a little overwhelming even for someone that was not a first time mom. I was at home with a 9 month old whose world had totally been changed, and my 4 year old daughter. All the emotions of the process going from one child to two, and finally completing our family finally caught up to me. Our caseworker was great; she would check on me and offered support during this time also.
Life is just wonderful; now I just sit and watch my daughter and son together and think would I do it all over again, of course. Children are amazing gifts from god and worth everything we went through to build our family. I highly recommend One World Adoption Services to anyone looking to add a beautiful angel to their family.
John and Heather
In January 2005, my husband and I began to pursue the idea of adoption. At first, we both looked at each other as if we were nuts (We have already been blessed with five wild and crazy boys) and then decided to pray about it separately and see how we both felt after letting the thoughts sink in. Sure enough, we both came to each other with the same feelings. We felt God tugging on our hearts that this was thing to do. We didn’t know where or with who or what child but we knew God was calling us this direction.
After one long weekend of “surfing the net” for agencies, I became a bit discouraged. All the information packets I had signed up to receive had never shown up. The phone calls I did make were discouraging. We were told we had too many kids at one point and my heart just sank. In my heart of hearts, I knew this was for us even though there was still so much discouragement out there. Finally, I decided to “Google” one more time. This is when One World Adoption Services, Inc. showed up on my screen. I decided to email them immediately and within two hours I had my first response. I forget the lady’s name now but she recommended we check out the Guatemala program and before I could even type an email to the case manager for Guatemala, I received an email from her that set the new path of our lives in motion.
From the get go, our caseworker was there for us. She walked us through every step of the dossier. Never once did I feel regret choosing an agency out of state. She was there to answer every question and make sure every T was crossed and I was dotted. It took us awhile to complete our dossier but she never forgot us. She was carrying a caseload of probably 20-25 families and I must say, I always felt as if we were her soul clients.
When our caseworker called to tell us we had a referral, we were elated to say the least. It was like sharing the news with my best friend. She was excited for us as anybody. As an adoptive mom herself, she knows what that feeling is like. As we began to progress through paperwork such as Family Court, DNA and Pre-Approval, our caseworker was there to answer any questions we could possibly have. We made visit trips that she would coordinate with the Guatemalan side of things so that we could just show up and spend wonderful amounts of time with our daughter. She always kept track of us.
In December 2005, we entered PGN and ended up staying there for a very long time. I believe we were a very unusual case that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Never once, did our caseworker forget us. She listened to my countless hours of whining and crying and I believe, truly felt our pain. I would send her at least one nagging email a week and she would respond in the most positive light.
When my husband and I started this process we were truly trying to find a faith based agency. OWAS may not proclaim to be faith based but I can assure you, I truly saw God’s hand throughout this entire process. He led us to OWAS for a reason. And I truly believe it was because they were the path to our daughter. After ten long months in PGN, we can finally say we are HOME. Our daughter is absolutely amazing and our family is just thriving.
Angelo & Stacy
My husband and I always talked about growing our family through adoption. In October of 2005 we decided it was time to begin the process of our first adoption. Through much research and prayer, we decided to work with OWAS. Little did we know that the decision to allow OWAS to help us adopt our child would be one of the best decisions we would ever make.
When we began, OWAS made sure that we were informed of all our options and costs. After reading through the information and asking lots of questions we decided to go with the Guatemala program. Our caseworker, the Guatemala program director, always treated us with the up most respect. We had so many questions and she always made them important even when we thought they might be silly. Our caseworker was always straight forward about the things going on in Guatemala and always kept us informed as to what was going on with our case. In fact she called us on Mother’s day 2006 to let us know that “It’s a Girl”! We don’t know how we would have gotten through the emotions of this process without OWAS.
We highly recommend OWAS to anyone that is making the decision to adopt. They will make sure that you bring home your precious blessing.
Thank you OWAS for uniting us with our precious daughter, Annabella!
Jeff and Teresa
I want to take this opportunity to thank One World Staff for everything you have done for us while going through our Bulgaria adoption process. When at times it would seem it was never going to happen, you were always so positive and gave us the encouragement we needed. If we didn't quite understand something, you took the time to lead us through it all. One World became an important part of our family and we will always be grateful for the caring attitude you always displayed working with us.
When we first started this process, it was overwhelming. We had contacted many agencies that dealt with International Adoptions. No one answered my questions better than One World Staff. When we decided that we wanted to have a face to face visit with One World Staff, they were more than willing. My mother and I flew to Georgia and met our caseworker and Susan. Within 15 minutes of the visit I knew in my heart we had made the best choice by choosing One World.
We would highly recomend One World Adoption Services to anyone who wants to adopt internationally. I would love to talk to any family interested about the agency or adopting from Bulgaria. One World is not just an agency - they become your family.
Stacey
I would like to take this time to recommend One World Adoption Services to anyone that is considering international adoption. In April of 2005, I chose them because they were close to where I live and I was impressed with how many of their staff had adopted. I was undecided on a country at first, but was considering both Brazil and Haiti. I was also sure I wanted to adopt a little boy, until I spoke with Terri Punturi. She called me soon after I filled out the request for information and started talking to me about a little girl in Brazil who was 18 months old. She emailed Jessica’s picture and from that moment I knew she was the one for me. Terri explained the MedKids program, which allowed Jessie to come to the states for medical treatment while I completed my dossier. Jessica arrived in October of 2005 and Terri was extremely helpful every step of the way. She was always an email or phone call away.
In October of 2006, Jessie, my mom, and I traveled to Brazil to finalize the adoption. Again, Terri was available to answer any question I had and to make me feel like I was not going crazy worrying over “paperwork” things.
Having Jessica in my life is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I must thank Terri Punturi and One World Adoption for all of their help. I know I couldn’t have done it without them!
Adam and Tina
I wanted to make certain that it is noted that both One World Adoption Services and the China Program Coordinator, have provided our family with exceptional service while going through the process to adopt our daughter, Mei-Ling, from China.
On New Year’s Eve in 2004, just after having made the decision to adopt a baby, I found our caseworker online. I e-mailed her and to my surprise, on New Year’s Eve, she e-mailed me back! We continued to “talk” back and forth that evening. I was just stunned that in today’s world, there was actually a real person behind this website I had found who would take the time to respond to me as if my adoption were the most important thing in the world to her. And she did that on New Year’s Eve while most people are out celebrating.
After my interactions that night with our caseworker, I decided to do a little more research on One World Adoption Services just to make sure the agency could live up to the awesome, compassionate service our caseworker had already provided me. She also made it clear to me that she enjoyed the time with me whether or not I chose One World or not.
Needless to say, I did choose One World Adoption Services. I have never regretted that decision. I knew up front that they were a “smaller” agency that ran multiple adoption programs. Many of my friends had chosen larger “China only” agencies. However, the often ran into the issue of feeling like they were part of an assembly line. I did not ever feel that way about One World.
Our caseworker would return my call within a few minutes each time I left her a message. She never hesitated to be there for me, even as the wait to adopt children from China increased dramatically. She encouraged me when I was afraid that the adoption would never happen due to the waiting times. She was able to handle any emotions I had by meeting them with logic and thoughtful insight into the process.
I consider her to have been the most integral part of our adoption process. From that New Year’s Eve in 2004 to the day we returned home from China with our daughter, she offered us everything she had and made the process run very, very smoothly. From paper-chasing forward, she was able to answer each and every question we had. We could not have asked for a better adoption coordinator.
I would recommend her as an adoption coordinator to anyone and will be happy to give telephone or e-mail testimonials to anyone who would like one. I will also be happy to add a testimonial to the OWAS website. That is how happy we are with OWAS and how confident we are that they would perform the same excellent job with any family.