Our Adoption Ark Story – The Young Family
We will begin our adoption story with the end first. We are now the parents of a beautiful little boy from Schuchinsk, Kazakhstan – Samuel Ethan Young – thanks to Adoption Ark. And we mean that literally. We were the last Adoption Ark family to adopt a child from Kazakhstan under the country’s previous system, and one of the last two or three families to adopt there worldwide. At several points along the way, it did not look hopeful – in fact, we left for Kazakhstan the day after Christmas of last year with a 50/50 chance of being allowed to stay once we arrived. Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of the Adoption Ark team on both sides of the world, we were allowed to stay and now Sam is our son. There can be no greater testimony!
Our journey with Adoption Ark began in September 2009, after we had decided to leave our former adoption agency who helped us adopt our first child from Kazakhstan in 2008 – our daughter Lily Grace. The reason to seek another agency was timing – the backlog of families waiting to adopt in Kazakhstan with our former agency was such that we were concerned that we may not be able to get to Kaz before Steve would not be eligible due to his age. We did not foresee at the time what turned out to be the case – that Kazakhstan would shut down their program to retool for Hague accreditation – and certainly if we had stayed with our former agency, we would not have made the dossier deadline the country subsequently imposed.
In the early stages of the adoption process, it’s all about the paperwork, and Adoption Ark did a fine job of offering guidance as we completed our dossier. Our adoption coordinator, Alla, became our partner and that dedication and commitment became critical when rumor turned to reality regarding Kazakhstan’s adoption program. We collectively pushed as hard as we could to submit the dossier as early as possible, and then began a difficult process of waiting as the Kazakh authorities accepted fewer and fewer dossiers each month. Then, at the last moment prior to accepting no more, our dossier was accepted into the pipeline.
As the months ticked by, Kazakhstan’s adoption program continued to be in flux, with information seeming to change from week to week. What we thought would be early November travel slipped into December, with the program’s end coming fast. Still, Alla would not give up hope, nor did we, and finally, we received word that we could attempt travel on December 26.
Once in Kazakhstan, we became partners with another hero – Bayan – who coordinated our process from that point forward. Bayan appealed to the government to allow us to stay, and in due course, we were matched with Sam in mid-January. While in Kazakhstan, we struggled with the mixed emotions of leaving Lily Grace behind with Steve’s brother’s family while we spent what turned out to be seven weeks during our first of two trips. However, Adoption Ark helped us find the only hotel in the area with an internet connection, and thus we were able to at least keep in touch via Skype – which saved our sanity! We were impressed with how Alla and Bayan worked together to help us in any way possible.
The rest of the journey unwound per plan – a successful court date, trip home, then trip back to Kazakhstan six weeks later to bring Sam home. Throughout, we believed we were living a miracle, and we still do. Sam has been home now for three months and is adjusting well to his new life in America. We invite anyone who would like to learn more about our story to visit our blog: http://trueloveandhomegrowntomatoes.blogspot.com
As anyone reading this story knows, international adoption is not for the faint of heart. For most of the families we’ve met along our adoption path, the decision to adopt is a response to a higher calling, and with that belief, the strength and perseverance required to see it through are provided. We believe that our partnership with Adoption Ark was a key part of that strength for us, and we recommend them to any family pursuing international adoption.
Steve and Tonya Young
Franklin, Tennessee
July 24, 2011
