In an effort to show our appreciation for everything that you have done for us, we are writing this letter to thank everyone with EAC and hopefully inform anyone who reads this of our great experience.

It began on January 22, 2005 at an EAC conference that just happened to be close enough for us to attend. Being slightly overwhelmed with the number of different agencies, we decided to go with the one that felt right. On that day we listened to Pat Whyte and not only did we decide on EAC, but we completely changed directions and signed up to go to Guatemala. I always tell people that Pat Whyte did not try to sell anyone on anything but just spoke with a genuine concern to help people accomplish their goals of adopting a child. With the help of our consultant, Marti Gonzalez, and the entire Guatemalan department, we quickly finished our paperwork and received our referral in April.

This is when Lisa called and we saw pictures of our little girl at 3 weeks old and of course, accepted the referral. At this point, Marti told us an approximate time table for the next events and amazingly everything happened on or before the time that Marti had informed us. When Marti had asked us if we wanted to visit, we responded with, “of course, why would you ask?” She told us that it would be tough to leave. We went for our visit in June and everything changed.

Our trip was great and meeting the foster mother, Teresa, reassured us that our baby was loved and taken care of perfectly. EAC did a tremendous job handling things for us, but it was probably the best and worst thing we have ever been through. After our visit, a day seemed like months and although everything was still on schedule or ahead, it was not fast enough. We found ourselves calling Marti on a regular basis for no apparent reason.

Then in September we received two phone calls that again changed everything. First Marti called to tell us the adoption was official and we would soon be traveling to get our little girl. Then we got the call to go get her and again everything went perfect and Kate Crabtree was ours forever.

Again, we cannot thank you enough for everything you did and although everything did go as you said it would; it wasn’t until we started talking to people who had chosen other agencies while in Guatemala that we realized how fortunate we really were. We also want to extend a special thanks to everyone that helped us during our visits. The team we had during our visits to Guatemala was exceptional from Lauren helping with travel arrangements to Tori helping us with everything to Hector who coordinates the adoption process and Cynthia, Claudia, Juan Carlos and Anna who took us to the grocery, shopping, and most importantly helped with the US Embassy while in Guatemala.

In closing, we can never thank EAC and everyone mentioned enough for helping us bring our daughter home. We will never forget what you have done for us.

Thanks,
Jeff and Becky

Editor's Note: Comments and opinions made in all stories may not reflect the current climate of adoptions in the foreign countries. While EAC does their best to maintain the highest level of care during your adoption, we cannot guarantee the exact experience.

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