A few days ago, I first saw Jack.
Jack likes insects and worms, but not scary movies.
Jack is smart and charming.
Jack likes physical education and the natural world.
Jack likes to sculpt.
Jack is responsible, obedient, and kind.
Jack is HIV+.
Click here to learn more about adoption and HIV.
The more I learned about Jack, the more my heart broke for him. He is eleven years old, born in October of 2000. He lives in one of the many orphanages in Russia, but unlike most of the children there, whose options are either a) to be adopted abroad or b) to be transferred into a mental institution at a young age, and deemed unadoptable, Jack has a different story. Jack is one of the ‘lucky’ ones who will not be institutionalized.
“In Eastern European countries, at around age 16, orphans are forced to leave the orphanage system to enter the world with limited education, minimal support, and sometimes the just-learned knowledge that they have HIV. Within the first five years, almost 90% of these orphans end up in crime, prostitution, drug and alcohol addiction, or commit suicide.
In Russia, 10% – 15% of children who “age out” commit suicide before age 18. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.” Source.
That’s right. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, Jack will age out of his country’s system. He will be ‘released’ to the street. Think about that.
No money.
No medication.
No life skills.
But worst of all? No family.
And this boy desperately wants a family.
He has seen families come for other children. Younger children. Children without HIV.
“What do I need to do for a Mom to come? Do you know where she is? Is she looking for me?”
When I researched what Reece’s Rainbow had to say about the region Jack where Jack currently lives, I found out that the fees and travel costs associated with Jack’s adoption would amount to approximately $33,000.
$33,000 to give this boy hope.
$33,000 to give this boy a family.
$33,000 to give this boy a future.
Jack currently has $3,852.10 in his adoption grant fund. For a mere $29,147.90, we could enable a family to bring Jack home, and give him what he so very strongly longs to have.
Yes, I said mere for a reason.
Does He not own “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10)? $29,147.90 is nothing to Him. A drop in the bucket.
Still unconvinced?
“…for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)
A mustard seed. Do you realize how small that is?
“[Is] this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? [Is it] not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)
“But Jesus looked at [them] and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Matthew 19:26)
All things are possible.
I have contacted some friends and family, as well as the owners of businesses and work-at-home mothers, who might be willing to sponsor an item for a fundraiser for Jack. Happily, I heard back from a few of them, and for every donation that is made to Jack’s adoption grant fund, that person will be entered to win one of the donated items from these sponsors. If you would like to sponsor an additional item for the fundraiser, please contact me via Gmail, where my account is ‘libertydidact’.
You can donate to Jack’s adoption grant and be entered by doing one of three things:
* you can make a tax-deductible donation on Jack’s page on Reece’s Rainbow, then leave a comment on this blog post stating that you have done so (I will be able to verify with Reece’s Rainbow when the winner is drawn), or
* make a tax-deductible donation via Jack’s ChipIn. If you do this, you do NOT need to leave a comment, as ChipIn automatically retains that for me. It will take a couple of days for ChipIn amounts to reflect on the Reece’s Rainbow page, as the Reece’s Rainbow staff has to enter it manually.
Both of these donation formats are supported by PayPal, so your donations are completely secure, in the same way that they would be if you were purchasing an item on Ebay, or ordering from an online store.
* an additional fundraising option was brought to my attention when I was looking for sponsors for this fundraiser. I had a representative from the direct sales company Scentsy contact me, and offer to hold a fundraiser through her Scentsy business. She will be donating the 20% commission that she receives from orders placed through her Scentsy page for Jack’s fundraiser. Representatives for Do You Bake? and Barefoot Books also committed their commissions, as well.
Buy Scentsy and support Jack’s fundraiser! Visit the “Bring Jack Home” Party. (Please note – you need to order through that link specifically, rather than the main Scentsy page, for the order to reflect on Jack’s fundraiser at the end of the fundraising period.)
Buy mixes and treats from Do You Bake? and support Jack’s fundraiser! Visit the “Jack’s Adoption Fundraiser” page. (Please note – you need to order through that link specifically, rather than the main Do You Bake? page, for the order to reflect on Jack’s fundraiser at the end of the fundraising period.)
Buy children’s books, audio books, and gifts from Barefoot Books and support Jack’s fundraiser! Visit the “Bring Jack Home” event page. (Please note – you need to order through that link specifically, rather than the main Barefoot Books page, for the order to reflect on Jack’s fundraiser at the end of the fundraising period. When you are checking out, there should be an ‘event code’ box at the bottom of your order. If everything is linked correctly, the underneath the box, it should say “This purchase is tied to Bring Jack Home.” If it does not say this, the event code to enter in the box is 000-0ect-5618)
You can also earn an extra entry for sharing about this fundraiser on your blog, Facebook wall, Twitter, et cetera. Just leave a separate comment stating that you have done so.
I wasn’t sure, at first, how long I should leave the fundraiser open, but then it came to me. March 19th. The one-year anniversary of when God blessed our family with a son of our own. It is a day of celebration in our family… and I pray that it will be a day of celebration in Jack’s life and in the life of his future family, as well. As such, this fundraiser will continue until Monday, March 19th, 2012, or until Jack’s ransom has been fully raised. Whichever comes first.
Below you will find the items and/or gift certificates donated by our fundraiser’s sponsors. I am very grateful to those of you who have chosen to help Jack move closer to finding his family!
1. A $20 discount code to Kid Cozy, maker of the Classic Kid Cozy and Kid Cozy II. Studies have shown that in the event of a crash, coats and snowsuits an compress, allowing your child to slip from the safety of their carseat. Kid Cozy seeks to remedy this by offering you an alternative: an inventive item that allows you to safely keep your child warm and cozy during the winter!
2. A matted 11″x14″ print from Nan Schefcick Photography. Prints to select from will be listed on her Facebook page during the next week. Want to get an idea of what will be available? You can view her pre-existing albums here.
3. A colorful bracelet donated by Haley at Living Life in God’s Grace.This bracelet is made with seed beads and Fireline thread, with a button closure. It measures 3/4″ wide by 6″ long when fastened.
4. A monochrome bracelet donated by Haley at Living Life in God’s Grace. This bracelet is made with seed beads and Fireline thread, with a button closure. It measures 3/4″ wide by 6″ long when fastened.
I am still waiting for the final details on a couple of other sponsored items, and I’ll be adding those retroactively to this post, so be sure to check back and take a look at them!
Are you interested in sponsoring an additional item for the fundraiser? Feel free to contact my gmail account, ‘libertydidact’ and let me know!
I am so *very* honored to be taking part in this fundraiser. I hope to be able to make a big contribution!
WOO HOO!! You go!! Love that someone is yelling for my sweet Jack!!!
We inquired about Jack a few months ago but learned that we wouldn’t qualify (and couldn’t afford) to adopt him. Since then, we have made a commitment to prayed for him every day as his prayer warrior through reeces rainbow. I was beginning to feel discouraged that a family wouldn’t be found for him. Coming across your blog and fundraiser has renewed my hope that God is working to place him in a family!
Sara, would you be willing to share the Scentsy link tonight with everyone you know? The fundraiser ends tomorrow and I would love to be able to close it with a donation towards Jack.
https://doesyourhousesmellgood.scentsy.us
“Bring Jack Home”
I will most definately do that
Hi, I am so glad to have found this (via Project Hopeful). I initially saw Jack on Reece’s Rainbow on Sunday, and have thought of little else since. I am VERY interested in adopting him, and my husband is getting there. Anyway, I am just drinking in these other pictures of him- he is so precious! I pray pray pray that our family may adopt him, but regardless if it’s us or someone else- thank you so much for fundraising for him! Is there some way you can email me or I email you… I’d love to discuss further any insight you have into his situation. Thank you! Joy.
P.S. Sara- would love to talk to you. I’m sorry that it didn’t work out for you. That must have been very disappointing. Thank you for praying for Jack. I cannot describe how much I would like to be his mom. I am thinking about him all the time. I have added St. Petersburg to my phone’s time zone set so I can always see (without doing the math
) what time it is for him, and think and pray about what he might be doing during that part of his day. We have two (younger) biological daughters. My husband and I have always planned on adopting (we’ve been married 11 years), and now that we feel that we’re done having bio-kids, we discussed recently how soon we would pursue adoption. My husband said that he thought when our younger daughter was in kindergarten would be a good time (she is 2.5). I was okay with that until Sunday night. I have been looking at Reece’s Rainbow kids for over a month. God has slowly been cracking my heart open to the idea of a special-needs adoption. The kids on RR are all so precious, beautiful, and heart-breaking, but there wasn’t one (nor was I exactly looking for one) that said, “It’s me! Come get me!”. With Jack, that’s how I feel. Now there is urgency. Oh, and we don’t have a homestudy or anything yet. I actually don’t know that much about the process of adopting from Russia. I always thought we’d go the route of African adoption. Anyway, I know about the three visits, the $33K, but not so much else. Anyone who can point me in the next step, I’d greatly appreciate it! Just kind of jumping in head-first on this! I did send an email into Reece’s Rainbow for more info on Jack. Just waiting to hear back. I think they’ve had a busy day with World Down Syndrome Day.
P.P.S. Pretty unrelated, but Hannah, I was a cloth-diapering mama, too. I’m one of those Crunchy Christians.
And my dad is a tea-partier. 
One more thing- prayers for my husband’s heart are appreciated. He wants to adopt but understandably is concerned about the practical (money!) side of things. I know that God will make a way for us if this is what he’s calling us to do… but my husband hasn’t had the benefit of reading all of the adoption blogs with miraculous stories of financial providence, like I have. Anyway, prayers appreciated! Thank you!
Joy,
I just saw your reply. I hope you got connected with RR for more info about Jack. It took them a while to get back to us too. The reasons we didn’t qualify were money and my husband isn’t old enough (not more than 15 yrs older than Jack). Honestly it just wasn’t the right timing for us. We pray for Jack to find a family, every, every day. Morning and night. I’m not that familiar with Russia because my experience has always been with China and that was when my parents adopted 8 years ago. I definatly feel God’s calling for us to adopt but my husband says we need to wait until we can buy a house next year. Still I check RR frequently and read adoption blogs as well. May God bless you in your journey !