Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Random People and what is your calling?

I just wanted to say hello to the new people that I have been running into lately!  I know why God has given me this part time job with Scotts, it is to meet all these new people he is putting before me.  I have been praying a lot lately and feel that God will be providing through an awakening of His church.

We are commanded to take care of the widows and orphans, and that doing so is pure religion.  So, what does pure religion mean?  Simply doing as our Father in Heaven does, becoming our Father by adopting us into His glorious family.  Making sure that the widows and orphans are taken care of, first in their physical needs (food, clothing, shelter), second in their emotional needs (love, companionship, friendship), third in their spiritual needs (teaching them the Gospel, introducing them to the creator, sustainer, redeemer, and savior of the world....Jesus!)

Some are called to adopt, some are called to visit, some are called to provide financing to make the others able to do their calling.  We, like so many others adopting, are counting on those who can do the financing to help us out.  To those who have donated, and those who will donate....Thank you!

OH BOY!!!!!  Chipin ended a day early for the drawing....please donate directly to our family sponsor page (it goes through paypal) at http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorgolden ...Last day to enter to win!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Last week for the $5 project! Let's step it up and maybe win $50!!!!

 

Well, this is the last week already!  Project 5 bucks has raised almost $1800 (some was donated directly to our family sponsor page and thus did not show up on the chip in)....and for that, we are so thankful!  We have another 8 weeks or so to raise the rest of the money, so we need to step it up even more and this is where we need your help to spread the word.

  Remember, every day you can earn an entry for spreading the blog through facebook, myspace, your blog, twitter, you also get 2 entries per $5 donation ($20=8 entries, $100=40 entries, etc) up until March 31st.  The winner selected from the entries will receive their choice of a $50 gift card to walmart, outback, target, best buy or olive garden.  See side posting for details! (all donations through the chipin are tax deductable and go directly to paypal)


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Reality of the Situation: Yes, your $5 will help! Please Donate

What you see, is real!  This photo was not taken in an autopsy room, or on the set of a new horror flick...this photo was taken just after custody...from a fellow Reeces Rainbow family that just flew home from an Eastern European country!  This really happens, and it is not uncommon in some areas...not all children are seen as equal, or even people for that matter!



















Behind the puggy little cheeks was a frightening scene!  3yrs old, 11 pounds...body in total shut down!


How can you stop it?  Support those who are adopting, parental education, those who support the orphanages...or for a few, Adoption is the right answer!  We have chose adoption, and we desperately need your help!  We are simply asking for $5 from you...that's all, that's it!  And it would be awesome if you spread the word.

You can donate through the "chipin" box if you want a chance to win a $50 gift card for each donation, or for posting this fund raising challenge (chipin simply goes through paypal and tracks the progress for others to see, it is very safe and secure) or you can go our page at Reece's Rainbow by clicking here (that too goes through paypal but please specify "Golden Family")












please pray for baby Carrington and her new family, she was literally only a day away from death, her body in total shut down...there is a little bit of progress, as of today but she is a long way from safe!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Giveaways and purses!

Ok, only one giveaway right now :) That's the $50 gift card giveaway going on until March 31st. Very easy to enter, you need only share about our 5 buck project (see below) and a link to our site on facebook or your blog! You get your name entered into the drawing each time you post on your site, up to once a day per site!! Share with your friends so they can be entered too. You need only send us an email or facebook message of where you shared it. You can also be entered by donating, 2 entries for every $5 donated. If you donate through the chip-in to the right it is tax deductible (goes right to our FSP at Reece's Rainbow) and there is no need to email us. If you donate directly to our FSP at Reece's Rainbow, please email us with your name and amount donated. The winner gets to choose from Outback Steakhouse, Target, Olive Garden, Walmart, or Best Buy for their $50 gift card.

Now, about the purses! Right now, through March 25th, we are having a Thirty-One fundraiser. Click here to check out all the cute stuff they have :)  And, here it is, for every $31 you spend you get a purse for HALF-OFF!!!! Good time to stock up on birthday/Christmas/Mother's day/just because gifts! (and also a good time to treat yourself to a new purse, or two ;)  )  10% of the total sales are being donated to the boys adoption fund, plus we will earn free product to get some stuff we'll need for the boys, like storage for their toys! So take a look and consider ordering for a good cause!!


Thank you everyone!!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Giving up! A World Wide $5 Orphan Project

We Need You To Donate $5!








$26,000 is a lot of money!  I know what you are thinking, "Joel....you're crazy!", and you're right!  When you see $26,000;  you think the price of a new car, a good start to a nest egg, a good down payment on the average house, your kids college or something to that effect. But I, being the math whiz I am, did the math for you :)

What could $26,000 buy?
52,000 Hershey Bars (2 for $1 now at Walmart) Yummy!
26,000 McDoubles (an artery just closed down thinking about it)
17,000 20oz sodas from a gas station
6190 stops at Starbucks (their average ticket sale is about $4.20) I got a buzz from writing that!!!!
3600 lunches not off the dollar menu
2 chances for these boys to have a family

What would I have to give up?
1 lunch out
1 stop at Starbucks and a Hershey bar
4 stops to get a 20oz soda from the Kwiki Mart
1 pack of cigarettes
2/3 of a 12 pack of beer
2 McDoubles and 3 shots of Pepto
Subway....think $5 toward the boys


How this works is simple, $26,000 is impossible for most people to give....but $5 really does make a huge impact from a large number of people!  We need 5000 people to donate $5 each, and that is where you come in.  Since we don't know 5000 people, we are asking you (the reader of this masterfully crafted blog post...see, almost $5 worth of entertainment right there),  to donate $5 then ask all your friends to donate $5 too!  They don't even have to be friends, especially if you are intimidating or don't do your hair that day!


We have had roughly 5000 people visit the blog over the past few months, seeing a huge number for the total amount we need to raise.  I can't tell you the number of people who have said "I just wish I could give something" but they don't give anything.  I think it might be embarrassment, or just a simple lack of understanding to think how far a small gift can go.  If everyone who has visited the blog simply give $5, we would almost be at our goal.  If everyone packed a lunch for a day, or bought a 12 pack of soda and didn't get one at the gas station for a week, or skipped Starbucks for a day, or bought one less pack of cigarettes in a week, or even took their teenager and shook them upside down for a few minutes....I bet $5 of change would fall out of their pockets, or their ipod(ok, maybe not but it would be fun to watch....and a mess to clean up), or even hold their ipod ransom...they'll find $5!

What we are asking for is $5 donations.  That's right, just a piece of paper with Abe Lincoln's face on it or a credit card donation for $5 (or more if you have it).  After you give, we ask that you go and shake down some friends, coworkers, fellow students, PTA members, NRA members (not if they are packin'), drinking buddies, March Madness bracket buddies,  facebook friends.....and share our story, then ask them to donate $5 too!  We are also looking for people willing to go out and pledge their time to collect at malls, churches, intersections, banks, local business, etc....  We need help people, and we need it soon!

Click on the Chip in Link below to donate!  (and remember it is tax deductible)




Donate now, and after you shake down your friends...as often as you like!

Thank you again for helping these two little fellas,

Joel Golden


If the chip-in above is not working you can make your tax-deductible donation at reecesrainbow.org/sponsorgolden  Just email us with your name and donation amount so you can be entered into the $50 gift card giveaway!! Thank you so very much!!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Possibly Losing a Child???? a post by a hurting dad

Many now know that something is pushing us to go harder for these little fellas, the fundraising effort has increased, the amount of facebook pleas, and our prayer life has risen to a new level.  Many, until now, do not know the reason for this....I hope this explains it for you!

We received an email Monday asking how the paperwork was coming because of some possible changes in adoption law in the country we are going through.  Well, the good news is our paperwork is submitted to USCIS (although it is estimated at 2.5 months), but then funding came up!  We have raised around $11,000 of the 36,000 or so needed to fully fund the adoption, this amount caused some concern because of a possible shortening of the time frame to get the boys.  We planned on a huge job that fell through that we were planning on funding the majority of adoption with.  During these emails, it was asked if we thought it wise to release on of the boys!!!!!!!!!!!  That's when the horror hit!

Rachel and I had talked about, and prayed about, how our hearts would be if one of the boys was already adopted or if we were only allowed to adopt one....and we were content with whatever God leads us to.  We were not prepared for this, however.  My heart sank.

See, we consider these boys our own, the adoption is just a formality.  We pray for these two little fellas daily and have set their room up, have the toddler shower planned and have many friends and family praying and helping financially.  The thought of losing one of the would be hard, but we would overcome...if that is God's will.

You see, losing one of the boys would be almost like a death of a child to us....hard, but knowing they would be adopted by another family would make it easier...being saved from a mental institution is knowledge that would help us through this.  Many parents lose children, and although hard...they move on in life, getting by day by day until the pain lessens to where they can cope again.  But to choose which child to lose is a different matter.  How can you choose which child, that you already love so much, to not save?  How does one go about that?  Going in their stead is not an option, and while someone else might adopt them....maybe they won't...(they have both been there for 2 or 3 years and no one has yet).

My plea to you is this...PRAY!  If you don't believe in Jesus, pray anyway that He would help us through.  I also ask that you give, give till it hurts.  We wish we had more money, I don't like to ask for help at all...but we need the help and need your money to help these boys get home.  If you can make a donation, please do!  They are tax deductable if you go through our family sponsor page at www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorgolden   We are also looking for someone, or a group of people that could loan us part or all what we need, intrest free for a year.  We will be receiving the adoption credit for these boys which would fully cover the loan ($13,000 each).

Thank you for reading, be a blessing that you were meant to be...

Joel Golden

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

HELP!!!

We've been told that due to some possible changes in the boys' country that we need to get our adoption process on the fast track! What this means for us is that we need to stay on top of USCIS to get our approval through, finish getting the last couple docs for our dossier, and raise $26,000. So we are asking for you help, no, we are begging! We need HELP from EVERYONE!! We need your prayers, fasting, and donations! We also need you to share this need with everyone you know and for them to share it with everyone they know! I know we can do it! We need to do it to rescue these two sweet, adorable orphans!! We are asking you to do anything and everything you can, even if it is just putting up a jar at work for change. But please, if you know of any businesses that make donations like this, please contact them on the boys behalf. All donations made through our chip-ins or to our FSP at Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible. Please, please, please help these orphans!! We are not asking you to do anything we are not. We are saving everything we can, trying to pick up extra work, doing fundraisers, sending out letters, etc. And yes, we are asking that you give till it hurts to save these boys. But what a blessing to be a part of such a miracle!! Help these boys be adopted into a family just as God adopted us into His! Give them a chance to grow and learn and thrive!! PLEASE BE A PART OF THIS MIRACLE!!


Thank you!!
__________________________________________________________________________________

PS     Just another suggestion, if you know of anyone willing to do a 0% loan that we can pay back when our adoption tax credit goes through.....you would be an amazing blessing!

Thank you,

Joel Golden

Monday, March 7, 2011

Chip-In

As you all know, it can get pretty costly adopting internationally. While families are able to provide for the children, coming up with the large amount of money needed quickly to go rescue their children can prove to be a challenge. So many of you have donated and prayed for donations already for these little guys and we can't thank you enough!! But as you see by looking at our little choo choo train, we still have a ways to go. So we have set up two chip-ins, one for each little blessing. Right now the chip-ins are for their Visas and Medicals so they can come home after the adoption. We are asking that you please consider donating towards these, either Jackson's or Caleb's or both! As we get these goals met, we will put up others, as there are other things we need funds for. Please see below for the estimates of how much money will be needed for what for this adoption process. I can't wait to see how God grows their adoption fund by reaching one goal at a time!!

The chip-ins go directly to our Reece's Rainbow page so donations made through them are tax-deductible.

Thank you!!


Visa and Medical:    550 each
Passport:                 600 each
Flight home:             1000 each
Facilitator fee:          8500 each
Parents flights:          4000
food/lodging in EE:   6000
travel in EE:             2000

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Proverbs Thirty-One Fundraiser!!

And our new fundraiser is....Thirty-One gifts! A business that started based upon Proverbs 31. The consultant is donating, from her commission, 10% of the total party towards the boys adoption fund!! And we will also be able to earn free product to use for the boys, such as totes and bins for storing toys, diapers, bath stuff, etc. Please take a look and consider purchasing something to help these boys! Every $31 spent means you can order a purse at 1/2 off!! Please make sure you order from the link below for it to count for the boys! If you'd like to help but don't see anything you want/need, then consider buying something for the boys from their wish list (contact Tanisha for info). That way they get a gift, and the 10%!! Or if you'd rather not do that, then consider just donating cash to our FSP on Reece's Rainbow!!
Thank you!!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/shop/eventhome.aspx?eventId=E537985&from=MYEVENTS

Let's make that choo choo MOVE!!!