We are so impressed with An Open Door and especially our social worker Cathy Sawyer. Things went so smoothly and if they had not told us we were their first family adopting from Bulgaria, we would not have had any idea.
When we first started the process with An Open Door some of their staff were on vacation, so Walter Gilbert, the CEO, actually worked with us and answered many questions. We called many times a day for those first few days and he was quick to call back and respond to all our questions.
An Open Door and their Bulgarian counterpart were so thorough and efficient. They moved as fast as we were able and would have slowed down if we needed them to. We didn’t realize that not all agencies help you put together all documents necessary every step of the way. We were given lists of documents needed for each step. After we completed them, we scanned them in so that the staff at An Open Door could proofread and edit if need be. Once they approved we would then mail in the original documents. At times it may have added a day more to our process, but it sure was worth it when there were no glitches or hang-ups with our I800 or court in Bulgaria.
We read many blogs along the way and were more thankful than ever to An Open Door for there thoroughness and the lack of bumps along the way because of it.
The staff in Georgia along with the staff in Bulgaria were so kind and worked so hard to help bring our son, Andrew home. We are now friends with Cathy Sawyer because of the time we spent with her on the phone. She went above and beyond for us so many times. She even made a special trip to the airport to meet us in person for the first time for our son’s homecoming.
We are now friends with our translator/facilitator, Maria, in Bulgaria as well. She also went above and beyond. She was wise and knew the simple things that would make a difference in our adoption experience like making sure we were the first ones our son saw each of our visits with him and not her.
We cannot express how thankful we are to An Open Door and all their staff for helping us bring our son home. This was not just a job to them and it was obvious. They were excited when we were and worked harder to get paperwork put through when there were deadlines. They were prompt in responding to our many questions. If they did not have an answer they told us and found one as quickly as possible. If we were to ever adopt again, unless God told us otherwise, we would use An Open Door and base all other decisions like country on what they had to offer.
We would highly recommend An Open Door for any of their adoption services.
-Jennifer and Aaron