Mark and Shelly Logsdon
Alaska
Adopted brothers from Komsomolsk
Adoption Completed May 30, 2005

   We signed with Alaska International Adoption Agency in August of 2004 and requested one or two children under the age of 2. Shortly after that Olga called us with a referral for brothers, 1 and 2 years old. We traveled to Komsomolsk Baby Orphanage in October 2004 and met our two boys. We were highly impressed with the orphanage staff and the great care they provided for all the children. The children even performed a fall play, singing all their traditional songs. You could truly tell the staff loved the children very much and worked hard to provide them with the very best!

We were caught up in the adoption Federal Data Bank closures and changes in law in Russia in the winter of 2005. While we could not travel for our court date, AIA remained working in the background dotting all the "I"s and crossing all the "T"s. Through it all, Olga kept in constant communication and assured us the time would come we would travel. Olga has endless patience and professionalism! The Thursday online chats with AIA are crucial to keeping your sanity and meeting all the other couples waiting to travel. Finally in May of 2005 we traveled to Russia for our court date. Once again in Russia the staff was so efficient. Irina, Lena, Kate, and Andre take such good care of you! They answer questions well and make the long ride to Komsomolsk a good experience!

When we returned to the orphanage in May we were surprised that they boys still knew who we were. The orphanage staff does work with the children and the boys knew who Mama and Papa were. Throughout our time in Russia, Irina and Lena talked with the boys and helped them prepare for the trip home. They smoothed the boys' fears and told them all about the airplane rides. Their assistance made our long ride home a good experience. Our time in Moscow was brief and if you've ever driven with Andre you can agree that it "flies by". Andre comes off very brisk, but he is an amazing guy who is very resourceful and gets the job done.

We experienced many bumps along the road during our Russian adoption but they were made smoother by the competent staff of AIA. We trusted Olga completely and she helped us find the perfect fit to complete our family. We would highly recommend AIA for your adoption experience. Feel free to contact us!

Nick and Cathy Hedrich
Georgia
Adopted 17 month old daughter
Khabarovsk, August 2006

   Our adoption was neither a simple nor smooth journey, but through it all our constants were God, our family and our agency, Alaska International Adoption.

   We signed a contract with AIA in January of 2005 and completed our dossier in early April. We desired to adopt a girl, as young and healthy as possible. We received a referral 2 weeks later for a 10 month old girl and traveled to Khabarovsk to meet her in late May. She was a delight and we filed the paperwork to start the adoption process. In early June of 2005, due to the negative publicity of adopted children being abused/killed by their American parents, the Russian Federation stopped issuing annual accreditation to approximately 50% of the adoption agencies, and unfortunately, AIA was one of those agencies. During this delay in accreditation, a family member stepped forward to adopt the little girl we had visited, so we had to wait for reaccreditation to receive another referral. AIA received reaccreditation March 1, 2006 and ~2 weeks later we received a referral for an 11 month old girl. We traveled to Khabarovsk in mid April but never met this referral, as she was diagnosed with a life threatening illness the day before we arrived. AIA's in-country facilitator had another referral in hand for us, this time a 13 month old girl. She was a real joy, sparkling and healthy, and we were smitten. We filed the necessary paperwork to adopt her and returned home to wait. We had our court hearing in mid August and joyfully returned home with our daughter on September 6, 2006.

   Although our adoption had its share of difficulties, we always trusted and felt supported by Olga Byrnes, the AIA contact here in the US, and by Irina Klimova, AIA's regional facilitator in Khabarovsk. We believe the entire AIA team worked diligently on our behalf during a very difficult period in Russian adoption. Olga was very upfront with us regarding the accreditation delay and loss of our first referral. She gave us a clear and accurate estimate of agency expenses (which did not increase during the process despite the length of time to complete the adoption and with all the added complexities) and kept us abreast of paperwork requirements and deadlines during the process. We appreciated Irina's proactive move to immediately obtain another referral as soon as the medical condition of our second referral was identified. Reaching Khabarovsk, located in the Russian Far East, requires 2 days of travel. Our 4 month wait between trips appears average for this region. The 10 day wait after court is never waived and our return trip to finalize our adoption lasted 3 weeks. However, the city itself is modern by Western standards and the AIA personnel in Khabarovsk are very personable and capable, so our stays were very pleasant. Our daughter, adopted from Babyhouse #2 in Khabarovsk, amazed our pediatrician in terms of her age appropriate growth and developmental skills. I directly attribute this to the excellent facilities and loving care she received from the staff at her babyhouse. Looking back, we would not change a thing as we believe every twist and turn in our journey led us to the child we were destined to adopt. Our daughter is our fifth child and as such, we have no further plans to add to our family. Should we ever feel the calling to adopt again, however, Olga would be the first person we would contact. Olga has our email address should anyone have any questions or want further information regarding our adoption experience with AIA. May God bless all of you in your adoption journeys.

Eric and Kathleen Payeur
Washington
Adopted 15 month old daughter
Khabarovsk, September 2006

   We signed our contract with AIA in October 2004 and completed our initial dossier in December 2004. In mid-January 2005 we received a referral for a 10-month-old girl in Komsomolsk. In April 2005 we traveled the long journey to Komsomolsk to meet her and spent three wonderful days with her. We began the paperwork to adopt her then in early June 2005 our nightmare began. The Russian Government ceased to issue accrediations and we got caught in the middle of this upheavel and waited 8 months for AIA to receive their accrediation. The delay was in no part due to anything done wrong by AIA; it was due to Russia looking into their International Adoptions Laws because of the unfortunate events that had occurred in the US.

   Late February 2006 we received news that AIA had received their reaccrediation however we also got word that for medical reasons we could not adopt the little girl we had met in April 2005. A few weeks later, we received another referral for an infant girl in Khabarovsk. We then traveled to meet this little girl and she was pure joy and a picture of health. Needless to say we fell for her instantly. After filing the final paperwork, our court hearing was held on September 4th, 2006 and we returned home on September 20th with our beloved daughter, Nadya.

Throughout our 2-year saga, we always felt supported by Olga Byrnes and knew that she was doing everything in her control to help us become a family. She always told us the truth, even if it wasn’t what we wanted to hear and she always listened when we needed an ear. The AIA staff in Russia is professional and they get things done quickly and efficiency.

At the time of writing our story, I can’t believe we’ve been home for almost a month now after two years of paperwork, travel, waiting, tears and happiness. Nadya is in excellent health and is on target developmentally, thanks to the staff at Baby Home #1 for providing excellent care even with their limited resources. Every night when I kiss my daughter goodnight, I feel truly blessed for having her our life and I thank Olga for helping us bring her home. When we are ready to return to Russia to adopt a brother for Nadya, the only agency that we will call is Olga at AIA.

Each adoption has its ups and downs, and we certainly had our share of happiness and heartbreak but in hindsight, I look at our journey and am extremly thankful for having Olga and AIA with us though it all.