Jack tells me that one of the big challenges of helping orphans in the Philippines is redefining the term “orphan.” In the US, there are only a handful of actual orphans and the vast majority are cared for by relatives, foster parents, or relatively well-funded children’s homes.

In the Philippines, it is a very different story. There are unusually high adult mortality rates from opportunistic diseases like tuberculosis, which are virtually unheard of in the US. When you combine this with the trappings of extreme poverty like drug-use and crime, you get a situation that overwhelms the normal government and non-profit systems that exist to handle traditional “orphans”.

This is Joy-Joy, age 7

This is Joy-Joy, she’s 7 and she’s not a traditional “orphan”…

Joy-joy’s mother is a drug-addict who drifts around Manilla, picking pockets to support her habit.  She has 9 brothers and sisters who are scattered all over town. For the first few years of her life, he lived with her father, but now he has been in jail for several years.

So, Joy-Joy drifts too.

There’s not any family or foster-care program for her to go to and the overwhelmed government agency that is tasked with the care of these kids is little more than a kennel… A couple that abuses crystal-meth lets her sleep on their floor…

She has worms and lice and is malnourished… She has never been to school…

Joy-Joy needs a sponsor. For $40/month, you can provide food, clothing, a home with caring parents, school supplies and medical care. 

If you are interested in supporting the ministry of LifeChange Philippines to these kids through prayer or financial means, you can contact Jack Fairweather via email or by phone at (720)384-5820.

When I talked to Jack Fairweather last week, I asked him about the kids that he and his wife, Tammy, are serving in the Philippines.

Twenty minutes into the interview, I start feeling like we need to change course… We’ve talked a lot about “people living in poverty” and “street kids” but I know that Jack spent four months building relationships with them… He has stories…

All missionaries have stories…

So I ask Jack to tell me about 2 of the street kids that he works with. I give him a numerical limit because I know how missionaries are with their stories… And I haven’t had lunch yet.

Raffy, age 6

He begins without hesitating. I want to tell you about Raffy… He’s the first child that we took in and he’s sort of the “poster child” for us right now… There are tens of thousands of kids in the same predicament as Raffy…

Jack goes on to recount the night he met Raffy. He was out in Manilla with a Filipino friend, riding around in a taxi and trying to identify kids who had no parents. They stopped in a place where there was a group of homeless people standing around and began asking questions. Soon, a woman introduced them to Raffy.

Raffy had been living on the streets alone for months… 6 years old and only 20 lbs. His mother had died of tuberculosis and his father was in jail.

So, Jack identified him to be involved with a missions group that was coming in March.

During the 2 weeks that the team from Colorado ministered alongside Jack, he continued to build a relationship with Raffy. It became more and more difficult to leave the little boy on the street at night.

But because Jack and Tammy knew that they were coming back to the US for several month in May, they planned on NOT taking in any kids until they returned to set up a permanent home there.

Finally, Jack’s heart couldn’t do it anymore. One night, when we were taking him back to sleep on the street, I just knew in my spirit that I couldn’t leave him there… Jack asked one of the ladies standing around about how Raffy got food at night and she told him that most nights, Raffy cried himself to sleep, alone and hungry…

Raffy lives with Jack and Tammy now.

At the doctor’s office, Raffy was diagnosed with malnutrition, worms, lice and tuberculosis. He had a 104 degree fever and perforated eardrums with seeping infections in both ears. Raffy had never been to school and had severely delayed language development.

Jack tells me that today, Raffy is gaining weight, he’s taking medication that will clear up his tuberculosis and he’s enrolled in school. I happen to also know that Jack personally visited with Raffy’s father in prison.

Remind you of anythimg?

“For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”
                                                                                        -Jesus, Matthew 25:35-36, The Bible

Raffy has a sponsor. An American family here in Colorado sponsors him at a cost of $40/month. Raffy will get food, clothing, a home with caring parents, school supplies and medical care.

Tomorrow, we’ll feature Jack’s story about Joy-Joy, a little girl with a similar story.

If you are interested in supporting Jack’s ministry to these kids through prayer or financial means, you can contact him via email or by phone at (720)384-5820.