"NEW HOPE Christian Services was with us every step of the way during the adoption of our daughter who was 17 months at the time of our court date. From the staff at NEW HOPE, to the translators, to the facilitators in Russia, we never felt alone. We were gently guided throughout the entire process. process. It was amazing to see our facilitators in action in Russia. Our happy and healthy daughter is now almost 9 years old, a perfect fit for our family. We will never be able to thank NEW HOPE enough." Ray & Suzanne Nelle
Proud Parents of Carly Nelle
Adopted St. Petersburg, Baby Home #2
Sept. 16, 2003
family stories & testimonials
"We can not say enough wonderful things about our experience using NEW HOPE Christian Services to bring our children home. The roller coaster ride of adoption is not an easy one. We could not have chosen to adopt on three separate occasions if it weren't for the care, love, understanding and expertise of the special people who form this heartfelt agency. We are forever grateful to all of them, including their counterparts across the world. We could not have been in better hands."
Bill & Heidi Lachut
Kylor, Madeline and Isabella
Adopted from St. Petersburg
2001, 2002, 2007
"International adoption is hard but NEW HOPE
made it easy. There are many forms to fill out and lots of things you have to do that you don't understand why, while having the uncertainty
of what your child will be like, but in all these
things and many more, NEW HOPE was there
for me. I'm a single parent, but I never felt alone
through this process. I always had someone to talk with and got my answers right away. Even when I was in Russia, I never felt alone. The staff there made a permanent impression on my life. My daughter was 15 months old when I adopted her in 2008. People do not believe me when I tell them that she was adopted
from Russia because she looks and acts just like me. I don't know how NEW
HOPE did it, but she is the perfect match and fit for me as I am for her. Some say
I saved her life, but I will tell you that she saved me."
Kena Clark
Adopted her daughter London in 2008
"We are so thankful we choose NEW
HOPE twice as our adoption agency.
Dr. David Mexcur and his late wife Mary
provided us with honest and helpful
insight. They truly deserve their strong
reputation for ethical practices. In addition, we are extremely grateful to NEW HOPE's team of Russian coordinators. They guided us through every step from the initial paper work to immigration process. Today we have two wonderful boys that make every day an exciting one. They love each other and their family. We are thrilled that NEW HOPE helped us complete our dream of having a family!"
Nectarios & Artemis Kolovos
Adoption dates: April 2003 and November 2008
"Reed and I were most impressed with NEW HOPE because they were able to help us complete our adoption from start to finish in about 7 months and bring our daughter Klavdia home to our hearts where she belongs! Of course any international adoption is not without its ups and downs, but New Hope minimized the bumps in the roller coaster ride. Klavdia is an amazing little girl that is our dream come true...we can not even imagine not having Klavdia as part of our family; to this we thank NEW HOPE!!!
Because of the positive experience with NEW HOPE,
I (Bethany) have decided to get involved with NEW
HOPE as a Board Member to help orphans and other
prospective adoptive families become as blessed
as we are."
Bethany Cote & Reed Worthen
Adopted Klavdia in May 2010
Hague/Russia-Accredited
Highest Ethical Standards
Post-Adoption Support
"John Sergei, 9 and Charles Vitalij, 8. Jack was adopted from St. Petersburg, Russia and a year and one half later we traveled back to Russia to adopt our second son, Charlie. The boys have been the best of friends ever since. They love that they are from Russia and look forward to visiting their birthplace in the years to come. When Jack was five years old, he explained to his brother the story of their adoptions in his words: 'Once upon a time, there were two babies that were in Russia. One was me and the other one was you, Charlie. I was in a girl’s stomach, her name was Ludmila. Charlie you were in another girl’s stomach, Anna’s. Then we got born to the girls. The girls said, we can’t hold these babies; they belong to Tim and Alisa Karwowski. So they called and Mommy, you said, we’re on our way! And then you and Daddy flew in a big airplane
over the oceans to come get us. And then,
we all got to go on a big airplane to fly
home. The end.'"
Tim and Alisa Karwowski
Adopted in 2002, 2004
"On December 12, 2006 our dreams came true. Our beautiful son came home! New Hope was instrumental in making this happen. Their US and Russian based staff are the best. They were easy to communicate with and walked us through the entire adoption. We can’t begin to tell you how much love, happiness and fulfillment our son has brought to our lives. We will be eternally grateful to New Hope."
MaryAnn and Bob Hoffelder
New Hope for Children is a proud supporter of the Joint Council.
Our Mission Statement
New Hope for Children, a registered DBA of New Hope Christian Services, is a Hague-accredited, Russia-accredited, licensed non-profit adoption agency existing to provide HOPE to orphaned children in Russia by finding their forever families throughout the USA with the highest of ethical standards. We are committed to building the strongest of families by providing emotional support and guidance through the entire adoption process, including post-adoption. Learn more
"We already had two wonderful daughters who we had adopted from Russia as babies when we decided to expand our family. We wanted to go back to Russia to adopt and we decided to adopt an older child this time. The road to international adoption is not always an easy one, and we experienced our ups and downs along the way. Through it all, we were supported by NEW HOPE's adoption team in America.
"Last June we traveled to St. Petersburg with our older daughters to bring home Tamara, an adorable four year-old who has made our lives complete. The NEW HOPE team in Russia was wonderful and they helped us every step of the way. Being in Russia as a family and sharing our daughters' herigtage was a special experience.
"Tamara has now been home seven months. She is the happiest five year-old you could ever want to meet. Her teachers at preschool call her, "the ray of sunshine". Tamara has come so far since she arrived home. She now speaks fluent English and has all her kindergarten rediness skills for next year! She attends dance class
and gymnastics and loves any type of
music. She has many friends and her
big sisters adore her. Tamara has
brought so much love and joy to our
family. We know that she is the perfect
child for us and that she was meant to
complete our family."
Susan Leipman & John Roberge
Adopted Tamara in June 2011
"Our 'Back to Russia' trip was fantastic! We adopted our son Alex six years ago from Baby Home No. 6 in St. Petersburg. He is now 7 1/2 and thoroughly enjoyed this trip. That may seem young to travel such a distance, but we felt that it was important to show Alex his birth culture and allow him to create his own memories of Russia rather than rely on what we have told him. We feel that this will help him cope with the inevitable questions that will arise as he gets older. We spent a week in St. Petersburg with an experienced, patient tour guide who took us to the usual tourist spots (the Hermitage, Peterhoff, etc.), but this time we learned so much more about the city because we had time and were not distracted by the adoption process. We also spent two days with Natasha and met Galina again. It was wonderful to see their familiar faces again. Natasha even called Victor to tell him that we were in town and he met us at our hotel and talked to us for a long time even though he no longer works in the adoption business. He was very relaxed this time around and quite candid with us. He answered lots of questions about adoption laws and practices in Russia. We even learned that his daughter and our son were born in the
same hospital! Natasha showed us that very place, so now we have photographs of where Alex was born.
We also visited No. 6 and peeked inside even though all of the babies were at the summer home north of
the city. On another day, Natasha took us to No. 6's summer baby home and this turned out to be our
favorite day of the trip. We adopted our son in April, so we had never visited this property. It was like
camp--full of trees, birds, bugs, flowers and most importantly, fresh air. And it was only 200 yards from the
Gulf of Finland. These children get to go to the beach! We had no idea they had such an opportunity. The
caregivers remembered Alex and one of them greeted him by his first and last Russian name with no
prompting from anyone, which triggered lots of tears. This same caregiver kissed him twice and was
overjoyed to have the photobook of his life that we left with them. It was apparent to us that those women
have little to no idea what happens to these children once they leave. Giving them peace about just one
child was worth all the travel, jet lag and expense of this trip. We firmly believe that our son will remember
that day as well.
"We highly recommend taking your children back to Russia at any age. To hear the language, eat the
food, walk the streets, experience the scale and magnificence of St. Petersburg, see where they lived
and meet the people who helped them into their life in America is priceless. We now finally have photos
of those people and learned much more about our child's early life. It is a trip that is almost as important
for the parent as the child. We had lots of questions answered and know so much more. Make the
sacrifice and go. You will not regret it."
Jay, Jennifer and Alex Langdale
Return Trip to Russia with other New Hope families, Summer 2012
