So, What's Really Going on Here?

When we tell someone (family, friends, colleagues, classmates, etc.) that we are planning on hosting an orphan next summer, questions almost always follow.  What do you mean by "hosting an orphan"?  Where is the orphan from?  How old is he/she?  Is he/she actually living with you?  How long are you hosting?  Why do orphans need hosting?  We've started to expect these questions, so we also want to answer those questions here in case you're reading this and aren't able to catch up with us regularly because you're somewhere far away like California, Alaska, or Australia (there's at least one of you in those example locations! =) )  

Question #1 (What do you mean by "hosting an orphan"?) is a great place to start, not only because it's the first question, but because answering that question will answer other questions in the process.  Hosting is pretty much what it sounds like; this summer an orphan (or if we raise enough funds, a sibling group) from either Latvia, Russia, or Ukraine will stay in our home for 4-5 weeks, typically the last week in June through the end of July.  While they're here we will take them to a local doctor and dentist (and optometrist if necessary) to receive care that would not be readily available to them in their home country.  We will also provide for all of their basic needs, including food, clothes, hygiene products, etc.  Additionally, our goal is to be able to purchase items (coats, scarves, etc.) that the orphan(s) can take home with them. 

So that's the basic gist of what we'll be doing.  Now, some of you may be thinking, "Hey guys, isn't this unfair to the kid(s)?  I mean, you're taking them out of the orphanages, shipping them off to America where they'll get this great experience, and then send them right back to where they came from!  Couldn't some people consider that torture?"  The short answer is, "Yes, that could be torture."  In fact, that was one of our concerns when we first heard about the program.  However, answering another question will hopefully explain why it isn't so in this case.  That question is, "Why do orphans need hosting in the first place?"  As we mentioned in the previous post, many orphanages in Eastern Europe close for a period of time during the summer and around Christmas.  What we didn't mention was where the orphans go while the orphanages close.  At these times, the children are sent away to camp.  What's the big deal about this?  Unfortunately, "camp" for these children does not equate to days filled with making arts and crafts, swimming in a pool/lake/river/ocean, or singing songs by the campfire.  For a child living in an Eastern European orphanage, "camp" means days filled with work, and often times, abuse.  Once we learned about this reality, the "torture" of going to the US when the orphanages close didn't seem so bad after all.  In fact, our mind shifted from "this is something we might want to do" to "this is something we're definitely going to do!" 

Hopefully this cleared up some questions that you may have had.  If you still have questions, we'd be glad to answer them.  Just leave a comment below (it can even be anonymous) and we'll either send you an answer back or work it into a future post.  In the mean time, don't forget to check out New Horizons for Children.

If you'd like to donate and support us in our goal of raising $4,000 go here and click on the donate button (don't forget to indicate that the funds are for King and Casey Jones so that your donation makes it to us).    We are grateful for all financial support as well as prayers and encouragement.  Thank you!

Welcome!

We're glad you stopped by to check out our blog!  If you're reading this, you've likely come into contact with one of us, and we wanted to share more with you about where God is leading us in our lives.  For the past several years God has been calling us to serve Him through missions, and we have been prayerfully considering what He has in store for us.  As you may already know, we also have a passion for children.  In the process of looking for ways to combine our calling with our passion, James 1:27 was brought to our attention through conversations, sermons, and opportunities.  The New Living Translation interprets that passage as, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."  This led us to the title and web address of this blog.  Due to our human nature, we know we cannot succeed in fully accomplishing "pure religion" as defined in James 1:27, but we want to pursue it by caring for orphans.  

The first step in this process for us is to host a child or sibling group from an Eastern European orphanage this summer (2011) when the orphanages in these countries close for the summer.  We are partnering with New Horizons for Children, an organization that seeks to connect children in these orphanages with Christian families in the United States during summer and Christmas breaks.  The next step in our process with them is raising $4,000 to cover the costs associated with bringing the child to the US and helping the child/children get any medical attention (physical, dental checkup, etc.) that they may need.  If you would be interested in helping us in our fundraising efforts, please go here and click on the "Donate" button.  This will connect you to New Horizons' PayPal account.  There you can donate using your own PayPal account or credit card.  Just be sure to indicate that the funds go to King and Casey Jones so it goes to the right place.   

If you're unable to support us financially, we would GREATLY appreciate your support through prayer and encouragement.  This is the beginning of a life-long journey to pursue the command of James 1:27 and any support that is offered to us is an enormous blessing.  

Thanks for checking out the blog and we look forward to keeping you updated!


Starting the Pursuit,


King and Casey

PS - If you have a Gmail/Google account and check other blogs regularly, we would highly recommend using Google Reader.  It will automatically let you know  when each blog is updated, rather than checking each individual blog, and its easy to use.