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We recommend Gift of Love International Adoptions based on the experience of adopting our sweet daughter Selah.  Everyone we dealt with was very helpful and accommodating.  Nelson was a wonderful facilitator and took very good care of us in China.  We really value the benefits of a smaller agency with a personal touch and felt the staff really related to us as a family instead of part of a "group number".  Adoption can be an overwhelming experience, but you are in good hands with Gift of Love!

Dave and Lisa

Adopted Selah in 2006

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Without reservation, we would recommend Gift of Love to anyone considering adopting a child internationally. Every member of the staff is knowledgeable, personable, and genuinely cares for adoptive families. Although we know we were only one of many families going through the adoption process with them, they treated us with as much kindness and attention as if we had been their only clients. Our adoption was not without its challenges, but we could not have asked for a better experience, thanks to the support and assistance of the staff at Gift of Love.

Wendy and Charles
Adopted Quinn in 2005

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Gift of Love is highly organized and helpful. Besides the Binder, the best thing about Gift of Love is that they are very happy for any adoptive parents to call in to the office - about anything!

Diana

Adopted Olivia in 2005

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Our experience with Gift of Love was Excellent. When we received the binder from Gift of Love on the China program with everything we had to do, we were totally overwhelmed. However Monique was able to talk us through the binder over the phone and told us a step by step process of what we needed to do to begin.

Five and one/half months after our paperwork arrived in China, Monique called and asked us if we wanted to see a picture of our daughter. We both were all excited and crying as this was the day we waited for, for so long. Monique was very helpful in this process as well making sure we had the correct documents that we would travel with and helping us with packing suggests, etc.

We began the journey to get our little girl. When we got to Beijing, Nelson handled everything. He had transportation ready to get us to the hotel and at the hotel he had room service bring us some food at midnight as he knew we would be awake and hungry since it is a 13 hour time difference. When we flew to Wuhan where we would get our girls, Nelson made sure that we had the necessary paperwork ready for each step of the process. He took us shopping for formula and diapers and anything else we needed for our girls. The day we got our girls, Nelson was like a mother hen with us and the babies. He made sure to check on us several times that day to make sure both we and the girls were doing well.

Overall our experience with Gift of Love has been very positive, and Nelson was a life saver. Without him, we wouldn't have had the wonderful experience that we had.

Carol and Spencer

Adopted Abby in 2004

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I think there are two reasons that I highly recommend Gift of Love and will continue with Gift of Love for any future adoptions I am able to undertake:

1. Attention to detail: Gift of Love excels at this. It was mentioned to us in China that Gift of Love's attention to detail was beyond other agencies. This came as no surprise to us.

2. The way GOL is always shoulder to shoulder with the parents, through the entire process" from offering comfort during the wait to calling in China to check in - just all the little things that make one feel protected and comfortable

And I guess a third reason is the end result: A wonderful baby girl is mine.

Carmen

Adopted Lily in 2002

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My adoption process took approximately 18 months to complete. This is from my decision to go with Gift of Love International Adoptions, to the return home from China with my daughter. Though at times the process appeared to be very daunting, Gift of Love were available to help me work through the issues. I live in New York City and even with the distance, I rarely felt it was an issue. Monique Zhao, China Program Director, always responded timely either by phone or e-mail. All in all, the process was lengthy, but thanks to the professional staff at Gift of Love, it was not unbearable and when I look at my beautiful daughter, all the difficulties are forgotten.

When my daughter and I arrived home on June 22, 2000, her pediatrician assessed her motor skills and cognitive development to be approximately three months behind her age. At nine and a half months of age she was not crawling, holding her own bottle, etc. By September 1, she had reassessed her development to be right on target with her age group. At twelve months she is beginning to walk, loves to crawl all over and is very expressive. This development progress was without any formal, structured intervention; just day to day; one on one; love, attention and care. Her warm smile, contagious laugh, and her outgoing disposition ensure that she is the center of attention wherever she goes.

I can not express in words what my daughter has added to my life and how thankful I am for the help and support from Gift of Love. I have unending gratitude to Monique Zhao, whose role in the process and the trip itself made my family possible. Her commitment to helping children in finding forever families was always evident in everything she did and it was obvious that all the staff at Gift of Love shared her commitment. They played a pivotal role in making my dream for a daughter into an incredible, wonderful, reality.

Diane

Adopted Maya in 2000

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We heard and decided about Gift of Love through a family of Tim and Kim Fyfe. In November 1998, we began the adoption application process. Monique Zhao is the program director for China. She was guiding us through many - many required paperwork for Chinese government and in United States. During that time we kept our communication with Monique. She provided us the update information and progress from China and other forms we needed to complete. We did home study twice and each time we had a nice, friendly interview.

On May 28, 2000, we were so excited to hear about our referral from China with pictures of our daughter we were waiting for. We will never forget that moment. Monique continued to help prepare us for travel approval and travel plans to China and updated information needed before we left the US. Our big event was on June 5, 2000, when we went to China with our group to meet and get our daughter, Krystle and caregivers from the orphanage in Wuzhou, China. Once again, Monique was there to meet us in China. She walked us through step by step with necessary paperwork and procedures for Chinese and the US. Because Monique is able to speak and write Chinese, her knowledge of the orphanage facilities, the adoption process she was able to thoroughly prepare us. The result was that our group went all the procedures smoothly. Monique even set up touring and sightseeing, such as boating on the beautiful Li River, Yangshuo, Guilin, and a daily plan for the adoption procedures.

We were home on June 22, 2000 with our daughter Krystle. Since then, Krystle has adjusted well and is making good progress on her development and motor skills. She is lovely and adds joy to our family. We completed the post-adoption visits and are now waiting to finalize her adoption in Iowa court.

We are very grateful that Gift of Love was able to send a good representative, Monique, to travel with us in China.

Minh and Nea

Adopted Krystle in 2000

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At the time we started our adoption we had no idea what was all involved. Without Gift of Love this would have been an impossible task for us. Gift of Love took us by the hand and walked us through the whole process with overwhelming professionalism and a very personal touch. Each step was taken one by one and we were kept up to date and informed of every detail.
 
Our trip to China was filled with many memories to be cherished for a lifetime. Special friendships were created in a short period of time and all with a common bond. Our daughter Holly is growing into a very bright and beautiful young girl. Holly was brought to us with the help of some very special people and for this we give thanks.
 
Brian and Hope

Adopted Holly in 2000

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When we decided to adopt we didn't know where to turn. A good friend told us about Gift of Love and how they helped her adopt her daughter from China. After going to our first meeting with Gift of Love we knew they were the agency we wanted to go with. They were able to tell us everything we wanted to know. Gift of Love helped us through the entire adoption process here and during our trip to China. When we were done we had a beautiful daughter from China. Two years later, Gift of Love helped us with our second adoption from China. Now we have two beautiful and healthy children from China. Gift of Love helped our dreams come true. Our family is complete and it wouldn't have happened without Gift of Love."

Al and Shelly

Adopted Jamie in 1999

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If I had to sum up the adoption process in just a few sentences I would have to say that the process is somewhat time-consuming. It has emotional ups and downs, but the end result is worth all the paperwork and waiting. Our situation was a little unusual, because we started the adoption process, found out we were expecting, had a little girl, and then picked up the process where we left off.

Anna was 13 months old when we adopted her from China. I don't feel like we had any transitional problems what-so-ever. She was brought to us at the hotel in China and came right to us. At her medical appointment when we returned to the United States she met all developmental activities for an average 13 month old, except maybe in language, which is understandable. She has since caught up in terms of language development. She is an active, happy, well adjusted 22 month old little girl.

Gift of Love was helpful throughout our whole process. They kept us informed as much as they possibly could. I appreciate the fact that they are a small agency with their client's welfare in mind. They continue to keep in touch once you have adopted your child and to keep you in touch with other people who have also adopted. I have visited with people who used a larger agency and they said that, at times, it was hard to get in contact with their agency."

Virgil and Shelly

Adopted Anna in 1999

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We wholeheartedly recommend Gift of Love Internal Adoptions. They were extremely helpful to us in all stages of our adoption process - from the initial informational meeting, through the pre-adoption paperwork, waiting period, the actual trip to China and finally the post-placement follow-up. Monique Zhao's expertise in the Chinese language, culture and customs was invaluable on our trip to China. We were all well-prepared for our trip and our paperwork for both the Chinese and US governments was in order. Our daughter was healthy and well cared for when we received her in China. She continues to be healthy and happy and has adjusted well to her new home. We would like to thank everyone at Gift of Love for making our adoption a positive experience.

Paul and Patricia Mulcahy

Adopted Grace in 1999

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"After making the decision to adopt we started looking for the right agency. Word of mouth is the most reliable source and we were eventually led to Gift of Love International Adoptions. Until then, we had not thought about adopting internationally. After the decision was made to adopt in China we began the months of preparation to adopt. Gift of Love was there for us in every way, from doing all of the paperwork, to wonderful get-togethers to meet other people at various stages in the process, answering question after question about adopting, traveling, Chinese culture, and a variety of other subjects. I have to say, we were very prepared when we left for China. We had received regular packet

s of information regarding our travel and adoption.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have a staff member that was familiar with the language and customs to accompany us in our travel. We learned so much about China while there and were able to experience so much more with the staff member along. After coming home, we were given help on our finalization and naturalization process. We are still in touch with the agency for support and just to share our excitement about all the new things our little girls are doing. Gift of Love International Adoptions is not just an agency to us, but part of our family. "Thank you Gift of Love for helping bring us together with our daughters."

Doug and Reah

Adopted Emily and Rachel in 1996 and 1999

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We began our adoption process with Gift of Love in January 1997. Kim traveled to China in May of 1998 to get our daughter Tori. It was an exciting and challenging experience. Gift of Love was always there for us, to help us over the rough spots, and to share our joys.

Gift of Love has been a great adoption agency. The staff and the other adoptive families began to feel like a big extended family for us and our daughters. We continue to get together and share the struggles and victories of raising adopted children.

Tim and Kim

Adopted Tori in 1998

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We appreciate the moral support and expertise that Gift of Love provided to us during the lengthy and sometimes complex process of a Chinese adoption. Our questions were answered in a timely fashion and the travel and medical issues classes held prior to our trip provided invaluable information. We had already adopted our first daughter from China and felt that we "knew the ropes". However, the process had changed dramatically (for the better) since 1993. We still needed reassurance from time to time and had many questions.

Mary traveled to China with her sister-in-law, while Howard stayed home with our older daughter. The trip was wonderful and well-planned by Gift of Love. Sarah's adoption was completed the first morning Mary was in China, which gave her the opportunity to spend the entire time in China with her. During this time, Gift of Love arranged shopping, a tour of a new hospital and a ceramics factory outside of Guangzhou. The group also had the opportunity to spend part of an afternoon with children from the town's school and tour an area farm home. Having the opportunity to experience these aspects of our daughter's culture was very important.

As a result of our confidence in and success with Gift of Love, Mary now works part-time in the office and Howard is a member of the Board of Directors.

Howard and Mary

Adopted Sarah in 1998

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I highly recommend Gift of Love's China adoption program directed by Monique Zhao. Monique worked with the program founders, Jean Kaung and Bill Chen, and in 1998 helped lead the group trip that united me with my daughter. Adopting Eliza is the best decision I ever made. At age 2 ½ now, she is a healthy, happy, growing toddler who is the joy of my life. I thank Monique and Jean and Bill for their expert, professional and personal guidance through the entire process."

Amy

Adopted Eliza in 1998

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Gift of Love took us through the adoption process step by step with compassion and kindness. When we became frightened or negative, Gift of Love was there to talk us through those tough times.

We particularly liked dealing with a local agency with an office just a few minutes away and not some large, out-of-state agency with an 800 number and no familiar faces.

We thank Gift of Love every day for our beautiful Olivia.

Bernard, Ava, Aaron, Samantha, and Sabrina

Adopted Olivia in 1998

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From personal experience we know that adoption, like pregnancy, is stressful even when everything goes right. What we appreciate most about the staff at Gift of Love is their willingness to talk to us and to answer even our most minor questions with kindness and patience. This may seem unimportant, but it isn't Waiting parents have so much time to worry and wonder, it is reassuring to know that they are only a phone call away."

Kurt and Barbara

Adopted Ruby in 1998

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We investigated international adoptions as a means for completing our family. Some good friends of ours, who adopted from Russia, recommended Gift of Love. From the first meeting, we feel we have been part of a larger "family". Lifelong friendships were made in our China travel group.

Dorian has blossomed into a bright, delightful, beautiful girl. We hold Gift of Love close to our hearts and have repeatedly recommended them to friends and acquaintances."

Dave and RoAnne

Adopted Dorian in 1996

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The decision to adopt and the adoption process that follows is very emotional and at times, stressful! We researched the adoption agencies that specialized in international adoptions and chose Gift of Love. We were never disappointed in our decision. Gift of Love was very good about explaining what needed to be done and what was happening every step of the way. If we had questions, they were quick to answer and find answers. Our whole experience was very good!

What has also made us happy is that once we got home with our little girl, their involvement with us did not stop. They helped us throughout the process of legally adopting and naturalizing our daughter. Our daughter is now four and our involvement with Gift of Love still continues. We happily receive periodic mailings from them and participate in holiday parties and other events throughout the year. This is not only beneficial for us, but also for our daughter."

Troy and Pam

Adopted Courtney in 1996

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