It is with great pleasure that I get to share pictures of one of the first of the Kyrgyz 65 to be home. Caleb Littlejohn now has a family! He has a Mom and Dad, a brother and a loving environment to grow up in! ( He's the handsome little guy with the red shirt and the boo-boo on his forehead.) The Littlejohn's were one of the recipients of a grant from Altynai's Fund and so to all of you that have donated, supported and prayed for Altynai's Fund, thank you!!!! This is what it was all about. I hope that these pictures bring you as much joy as they bring me. Melissa, thank you for allowing me to share the precious pictures of your boys.
Now for an update on Altynai's Fund and the Kyrgyz 65. To date, $27,750 has been donated to Altynai's Fund and a little over $25,000 has been given out in grants. Thus far, three of the waiting adoptions have been completed and if all goes well, there will be more homecomings in a little over a month. Eleven grants have been used thus far and the process continues to move forward.
The financial challenge remains for the waiting parents, especially now that many of these families are going to be required to make FOUR to FIVE trips to Kyrgyzstan to complete the adoptions. This is compared to the two to three trips that they had been told to expect. Of course, the only constant in Kyrgyzstan is change so this is not surprising, however the financial burden is huge. Now that these to be Moms and Dads, have traveled yet again, to bond with their children, the thought of not being able to complete the adoptions remains 100% unacceptable.
On Mother's Day, I gave out all the money that had been donated to Altyani's Fund and I truly thought that my work was done. But that has not been the case. Although I have taken a much needed break from fund raising, almost $2500 has been given in the last month! Trust me, I never, ever expected that! It has been inspiring but I am still at a loss as to how much I should be doing or how much more Altynai's Fund can accomplish. I have had three additional families inquire about applying for grants. At this time, I don't feel that Altynai's Fund can take on the responsibility of helping a new set of families. My goal is to help the initial recipients as much a possible and then if God continues to push the fund forward then I will have faith that He will provide.
Maybe pictures of Caleb playing with his new brother will inspire others to give? Maybe they will inspire someone out there to come up with a new idea that can raise additional funds for these special orphans? Regards, of what Altynai's Fund accomplishes from this point forward, it has far exceed my expectations so thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
