A Gathering of Prayers (Not for Me)

Today is a "pray for 'Jacob'" day.  I know it, I can feel it in my bones.  Today is a day to provide all the details I can about my "Jacob," the Reece's Rainbow child for whom I am Prayer Warrior, in the hopes that someone somewhere will see, hear, and care.  Today is a day to try again.

I'll start from the beginning, with an explanation of Reece's Rainbow and their mission.  Reece's Rainbow is an organization devoted to finding homes for disabled orphans around the world.  They started out working with children with Down Syndrome from Eastern Europe, but in the intervening years they have branched out.  They now work in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, as well as in Eastern Europe; likewise, they try to help every disabled orphan they can.  I have seen children listed with everything from Down Syndrome, spina bifida, and paralysis to HIV, albinism, and the simple presence of an extra digit.

Reece's Rainbow also runs a program called Prayer Warriors, which is where I come in.  In this program, you sign up to "pray a child home," as Reece's Rainbow calls it.  All this means is that every day, for as long as it takes, you pray for your assigned child to "find a family," or for a family to find him or her.  You can choose a child from Reece's Rainbow's endless listings, or you can ask for a random assignment.  I am on my fourth child, and I have gone random every time, because I don't think it is my business to tell God where to send my prayers.

My first "prayer child," as I call them, was a two-year-old boy from Eastern Europe.  The website called him "Grady" (all the children listed have code names for security reasons).  "Grady's" disability was arthrogryposis, a condition affecting the muscles and joints.  I prayed for "Grady" for two months or so; just weeks before his third birthday, a family came for him.

My second "prayer child" was a girl from Russia whom the website first called "Erin," then changed it to "Rheann."  I am not sure how old she was.  "Rheann" had Down Syndrome.  I prayed for her for about a year and a half, until December 2012 when Putin shut down American adoptions from Russia.  Still I kept praying, until Reece's Rainbow reallocated the money in the Russian kids' grant funds (each child on the website has a sort of bank account where money can be donated to help with his or her adoption), because I like to go where my "rocks in the river" have a chance of hitting water and making a difference.

After "Rheann," I was assigned to another sweet girl with Down Syndrome, "Isabella" in Asia.  "Isabella" was six years old when I started praying for her, and she was living in a foster home, not an orphanage.  Within weeks of my being assigned to her, a family came for "Isabella;" I posted about it on this blog in a post entitled "Only the Best News Ever."

Now, as I said above, I am on my fourth "prayer child."  I am praying for a little boy called "Jacob," for whom I have been praying for exactly two years, two months, and seven days.  "Jacob" is in Asia, and he turned five in June.  (I do not know the exact day.)

"Jacob" is a difficult child to pray for.  He has heart problems, and probable Down Syndrome, but it is not certain.  He is described as restless and stubborn; the description also says that he does not like to be held.  Additionally, in all the time I have been praying for him, "Jacob" has not had new pictures, and the ones he has are not exactly flattering.

Even so, I am asking for your help.  I am asking you to offer up a prayer for "Jacob," or even better, to sign up to be a Prayer Warrior with a "prayer child" of your own.  I am asking for monetary donations to cover adoption costs if you feel you can possibly make them.  I am asking, I am crying, I am begging.

And here are "Jacob's" pictures, so you can put a face to a name: