Example of CC's "Monthly Korean Update"

So, here's an example of the "update" we get every month from Catholic Charities. This is the most recent one we received: the October 2008 monthly update. As you can see, it's kept intentionally vague, but does help to keep us informed and to know that even though we don't feel like much is happening, there really is quite a lot happening--and we are just waiting for our turn! Read below if you are interested.

Monthly Korean Adopters Update

October 2008

This is the seventh in a series of periodic updates that we will send you regarding the status of adoptions from Korea.

Referrals: We received the assignment of two healthy infants this month (one boy and one girl).

We currently have 19 families waiting for the assignments of children. Sixteen are waiting for the assignment of a child of either gender (which means they will most likely be matched with a boy), and three families are waiting for the assignment of a girl. Families waiting for the assignment of a girl have typically waited 15 months for a match. Families waiting for the assignment of a boy have typically waited 11 months for a match.

Travel/Arrivals: Two families traveled to Korea in September to pick up their children. Holt has temporarily relocated their office as their neighborhood is undergoing government mandated upgrades! They will be able to move back to their neighborhood -- -- but to a newly built and designed building -- in about two years. This gentrification means that their Guest House must now be partially used for office space, and consequently the availability of the Guest House has been limited for our families. This is a loss for our parents, not only financially (because the Guest House costs are about 1/3 that of the local hotels) but also because it limits their opportunities to interact with other adoptive families.

Holt still provides van service for families from the airport to the hotel of their choice, and from the Holt office to the airport on the day of their departure from Korea. Several of our families have taken the opportunity to travel to their children’s cities of birth, and Holt has provided interpreters when they visit the hospital or clinic where their child was born.