The Call

Many people want to know what happens when we get "the call"...also known as Match Day.

The CCAA will mail the most recent package of referrals to the agencies. Our agency will post on their site (in a password protected area for their clients) that the packet has been mailed. At that point, families who think they could be next (us!) can call our agency to find out if it has arrived...and if so, what dates are included. They also post this information on their web site, but they usually wait until after they have notified the families.

Once they have the packet they will start translating the flies to English. It will take them about 24 hours to complete all the files. Then, they will start calling the families who have referrals. They shut the office down for the day and every employee takes a stack and makes calls to the parents. (I cannot imagine a more wonderful job!) They will stay at the office as long as it takes to reach every parent.

When we get our call they will send us a photo of her over email. Jeff and I are hoping to be able to be together and in front of our computer to take the call. This is when we will see her face for the first time. It will most likely be a photo and information (medical reports, etc) from a few months ago. But they will be able to tell us her age, her name, the area of China she is in among other things. They will FedEx the complete file to us for next day delivery.

After "the call" we will not know exactly when we will travel. It can be anywhere from 4-8 weeks after match day. I can go into more detail on a future post, but there are many things we will have to do between match day and when we travel. There is more paperwork to be done, as well as packing and preparing to travel. It will be a very busy/hectic time....but a lot of fun as well!