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Do your research to find good agency with track record in Guatemalan adoptions. Not fast, but ethical and completed adoptions. Know that there are things out of your agencies control. They cannot know every detail of your case, either. Know that your case will depend on which lawyer/social worker/judge/official your case is assigned to. As well, those people's work ethic/holidays/family circumstances will all effect how fast your case moves through the system. Factor in holidays and the slow, uncertain process called PGN. But know that if you did your research and chose an agency that knows how to complete legal adoptions in Guatemala, it is just a matter of time before you too will be blessed with a child in need of a family. Some cases seem to move fast, others take the normal 9mo to one year, and still others might be held up because of extraordinary circumstances. You just never know which track your case will take.

Our three adoptions took 14mo, 18mo, and over two years. Our kids were 4yrs, 4yrs, and 10yrs when they came home, not infants. The last one took much longer because we were waiting for abandonment and the Hague entered into it. We're doing it one more time, so it's certainly something anyone can live through, if they are committed to a child.