Success Stories
Our little boy, Logan, now six, had been asking for a brother his age or younger since he could talk. My husband and I, waiting until the eleventh hour in my life to have my first child (I was 39 when I had Logan), were quite content with just Logan. But he got us thinking…and talking to other people…other people suggested adoption. At first, we thought, no. Then, we started thinking more about it, talking to other people, and I became interested enough to do some searching on the Internet. We looked at some agencies doing Russian adoptions, talked to some other couples who had completed Russian adoptions and then saw a boy who grabbed my heart. I wanted to adopt HIM! We signed with a company, but it didn’t work out with them. They were demanding money from us and threatening to void our contract because we didn’t have our home study completed by their deadline even though we had no control over the home study agency (which is another story in itself!). We canceled with them and lost our first payment in the process. We could have given up then with that bad taste in our mouth but we didn’t.
This whole adoption case has proved so many times to us that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. We took another leap of faith and signed with a new adoption agency called Faithful Adoptions mainly because of our faith in Elena Kononenko and the agency’s philosophy and integrity. Even though the agency was relatively new at the time, the professionals at Faithful Adoptions had years of experience primarily with Russian adoptions, we learned. We read other testimonies and talked to other parents who had great success with Faithful Adoptions. We weren’t able to adopt that first boy we saw on the website of the first agency. During the process we learned he had extended family who had agreed to foster care him. But, in about a year’s time, we were able to adopt a very cute, sweet, strong spirited five-year-old boy named Nikolay from an orphanage, who fit our profile. Plus, he really looks like our family, especially my husband, Marv!
The entire adoption process would be worth writing a book about, or, at least, a personal journal (but who has time!) Yes, we had our ups and downs throughout the entire adoption process. But in life I guess you need to have the problems and pitfalls in order to appreciate the rewards. We grow stronger through the process. Our adoption of Nikolay would never have been possible without Elena and Faithful Adoptions. They were always there when we needed them, even when we didn’t think we did. For example, Elena double checking our itinerary and explaining to me just in time that we would need to take a shuttle bus to transfer from the International airport in Moscow to the domestic airport! Elena was always there for these little things that could have been big things to us in a very foreign country. We never felt alone. When Elena wasn’t there, I knew her spirit was there through the other coordinators and contacts she had work with us from the travel agency, to the visa company, to our wonderful coordinators in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Everyone was wonderful!
I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go to Russia and learn more about the country, its people and culture. And I am so glad that we have our second son, Nikolay. We’ve had Nik with us since the end of August. He is adjusting very well to American life, Las Vegas life, our family lifestyle, Kindergarten, gymnastics, etc. Each day we grow to love him more and more. Yes, we have had our moments as all parents do with any child. But at the end of each day when I say goodnight my heart is filled with love, gratitude, and satisfaction knowing that this was meant to be or it wouldn’t be. As Faithful Adoptions says, “GOD PLACES CHILDREN WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR REASONS NONE OF US WILL UNDERSTAND IN THIS LIFETIME...”
If you are considering a Russian adoption, or other International adoption of their specialty, I would highly recommend that you work with Faithful Adoptions. Even if you don’t have the fortune of working with Elena, I’m sure that the other adoption coordinators are wonderful. I’m just biased because I’ve grown to know Elena not only as my adoption coordinator but as my friend for life. I can’t wait until she comes to visit us in Las Vegas and meets Nikolay face to face!
Thank you for everything. Very truly yours,
Jan and Marv
