J127 ADOPTION FOUNDATION
Our Story
Two Months Old: Our story starts way back before The SGG was ever a thought in anyone's mind. It began with a little boy who was left in a closet at two months old. That little boy was me (Owner/CEO of The SGG Patrick Smith). When they found me, it was because they were showing the place to a new and potential renter on Fort Hood Base in Texas. This is all according to the info I was able to locate in my closed adoption file. I laugh with my clients when I tell them I've been showing homes since I was two months old. According to the information I have from my adopted parents, my biological father was documented as going AWOL while in the United States Military and my biological mother left him during that time. I have no knowledge of what happened to her.
Six Months Old: When I was six months old, I was adopted by the only family I have ever known. This led me on a journey to the man I am today. If it were not for my father, mother, sister, and brother then I would not be the hard hitting, no slack, old school, hardworking man I am today. However, my life did not come easily, and I learned very early on how hard life can hit you, especially if you don't have a strong support network around you.
Eight Years Old: I have two siblings that are both related to my mother and father by blood. I like to tell people we are related by love because that's what really matters when you decide to adopt a child. My brother was a young man by the time I hit the age of 8.5 years old. At that time, his six-month-old daughter passed away and it devastated my family. She was the same age I was when I was adopted. It was too much for my family to handle at the time. It rocked the Smith Family to the core.
Buyer's Remorse or Unimaginable Grief ? My family was reeling from the death of my niece, and I do not think a day goes by that I do not think about her. I remember wanting to die. It changed our family and set me on a trajectory that ultimately gave me the building blocks in which I've built my faith on. As my family was attempting to process the loss of my brother's daughter they had, what I used to call, buyer's remorse. I was driven about three hours away and taken to a boy's home. I'll keep the name of the facility private for personal reasons. When we arrived, I was told, "There are cookies in this room" and when I came out of the room my family was gone. I struggled with this for a long time. Why would a family ever do that to their little boy? When I used to explain how this scenario played out, I used the term "buyer's remorse" because it felt like I was a dog that a family picked up from the dog shelter but later regretted buying, so they took me back. This was wrong. Looking back, I see now that they were hurting and just needed help. They needed a support network.
Sometimes the Only Thing a Strong Man Understands is Somebody Stronger: I spent approximately one year in this facility. They divided the kids into three blocks and had three different bunk rooms. These bunks were broken out by age. I was in block C where the younger kids were. Block B was where they kept the kids going through adolescence. Block A was where the kids lived that were almost ready to age out of the system. I learned a lot about the value of strength early on from this experience. I learned that strength is like money. It only makes you more of what you already are. If placed in the wrong hands it can cause great damage. If placed in good hands it can be used to protect, to build, to shield others and to stand in the gap for those who cannot. I also learned that sometimes the only thing a strong man understands is somebody stronger. The staff that was placed in charge of the facility at night would make the children push the bunk beds against the wall and fight for their entertainment. If you lost your fight, then those in charge would have their way with you. Those of us who were stronger would take turns losing fights, so the same kids didn't get it from these facility workers every night. I was fist fighting 14 and 15 year olds by the time I was nine. It taught me about honor and brotherhood early on. I learned how to take things on the chin and it made my shoulders strong. I would lay in my bunk at night and pray to God that he would take me out so I could have rest. I was never the same after having this experience. It was rough. Eventually, this facility was shut down but not before my family came and got me a year later. Years down the road I was telling my wife about some of these stories, and I looked up the facility. I found articles explaining that two children had been murdered there. They were eventually shut down by the United States Government.
Using What God Gives You: After coming home from this facility I never really thought about life the same way. I have had a hard time trusting people and I have to work at it every day. However, as Charles Spurgeon said, " It would be better to be deceived a hundred times than to live a life of suspicion." What you do with your life is contingent upon how you use previous experiences. I believe that they are tools that God uses to move mountains. This is one of the reasons why we chose to name our podcast "Mountains in Leadership." Over the years, I've dedicated my life to using these principals to help others and to change the legacy of men who came before me in my family line. It's a hell of a thing to try and change your family legacy. There are many more chapters related to my life that I'll choose to leave unspoken here because the focus of our J127 initiative is about adoption and redemption. It's about revitalization for children who feel dead inside. Fatherless homes hurt people, and hurt people hurt others. I'm out to show the world that life doesn't have to be like that.
J127 Adoption Foundation: J127AF is a goal set by the owner of The SGG to build a nonprofit organization designed to help pay for at least four to five adoptions a year. We plan to start small in hopes that it will grow from there. Ten percent of all The SGG's profits will go towards this endeavor, and we humbly ask for your support. Our vision is that each of these four or five families would be recognized as a guest of honor at a yearly Christmas event. Ideally, each family that has already been through our adoption program would come back each year to support the new families walking with us through this program. We are planning to partner with local churches who are big enough to host these events and would like to see its members come alongside these families and provide uncommon community. Any donation, small or large, is welcomed as we seek to bring this thing to life in a way that can only be done through hard work and generosity. We are looking to partner with any large corporation and small business owner who might be interested in this work.
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