Still Waiting on Letter

I know my cardiologist wrote a letter for Holt; however, Holt has yet to receive it. So, I called Heartcare Midwest yesterday and left a message requesting they send another copy to Angie. Hopefully it works this time. Thank you so much for those who are praying. In the meantime, I received the following note from Angie and thought you might find it interesting:

September 23, 2008

Greetings Families-

I'm happy to write you with some updates for the Bulgaria Program. Things are progressing very well since we re-opened our Bulgaria Program in April.

I'm excited to report we continue to receive inquiries and applications from families who are specifically interested in adopting the profile of child most in need of families (either gender, older than 3 years with some minor, correctible medical conditions). Currently we have approximately a dozen families in process.

This week we sent our second dossier to Bulgaria . Because this is a new process, we will see if the timeframe of approximately a month of translation and processing prior to submission to the Ministry of Justice is accurate, and will keep you informed for what you may anticipate for when your dossier goes to Bulgaria . We have also received our first I-800A approval and are expecting more to come soon. If you're working on your homestudy and/or I-800A application, you'll be happy to hear we've been experiencing less difficulties in getting those USCIS approvals.

We are continuing to work with Vesta and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to explore opportunities for Holt to develop a Waiting Child Program in Bulgaria . To further this discussion, Abbie Smith, Holt's Waiting Child Program Director and I will be traveling to Bulgaria the end of October to meet with Vesta, the Deputy Minister Ilonka Raichinova at the MOJ, and visit children in the various institutions. I will be sure to send you an update after the trip to share with you what we learn and see there.

We finished the final proof of the Bulgaria Guidebook and just sent it off for printing. We hope to receive those soon and will ship you your very own to help guide you through each step of the process. I have attached some articles which are in the guidebook, and thought some of you may be interested in getting a preview of what is to come.

Also if you're interested in on line resources at Holt, you might want to check out the following links from our Holt Website:
http://www.holtintl.org/forums/ http://www.holtintl.org/ambassadors/

If you would like to talk with me further to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this update or otherwise, please notify me when a good time is for you to set up a phone conversation. This is helpful be sure I schedule enough time to answer all your questions and to be available when we both are able to talk. I look forward to our continued work together.

Warm Regards,
Angie

Angie Wharfield,
LCSW Social Services Director
Europe and Central Asia
Holt International Children's Services x129