Jacob Finkbonner's nametag still sits at his usual place at the table full of kindergartners in Laurie Murphy's classroom at Assumption Catholic School, where his classmates await his return from the hospital.
They know Jacob, who just turned 6, is very sick, said Murphy. She's shared with the kids requests from Jacob's mom, Elsa, to pray for the boy's vital organs and eyesight as the youngster undergoes daily treatment at Children's Hospital in Seattle for a deadly bacterial infection in his face.
"I ask every day, 'Who remembered to pray for Jake before going to bed?' " Murphy said. "They all raise their hands."
For 5- and 6-year-olds, Murphy said, prayers are more than just articulated hopes - they have real power to heal.
"I really think they don't believe at this point anything bad is going to happen to him," she said. "He's going to get well, he's going to come back. That's just what they're focused on."
Jacob is in critical condition at Children's Hospital in Seattle, undergoing daily surgeries to remove areas infected by necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but serious bacterial infection that threatens his life. He's also spending time each day in a hyperbaric chamber at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.
The boy's condition remains "very critical," Murphy said, but his parents are hopeful.
Murphy visited her student in the intensive care unit Saturday. She held his hand and told him how much his classmates miss him.
"Even though he was sedated," she said, "they think it's possible he might hear."
Assumption students and their families have joined hundreds of others throughout Whatcom County praying and raising money for the Finkbonners. Co-workers of Jacob's father, Don, at BP Cherry Point Refinery helped organize a comedy benefit Sunday featuring Ryan Stiles. Friends also put together a spaghetti dinner benefit Friday night. And Ferndale's Papa Murphy's Pizza is donating all sales profits from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today.
At Assumption, kids and parents have raised at least $2,000 for the Finkbonners. About $500 came from doughnut sales to parents dropping off children in the morning. And a small basket sits at the school's front desk filled with checks for the family.
They've also started keeping a map with pins marking places where friends and family of Assumption kids are also praying for Jacob in places like Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Corvallis, Ore., Florida and Nogales, Mexico.
Parents put up the map "so kids, especially little kids, could see, 'Wow, prayer is an amazing thing,' " said Annette Bagley, whose kindergarten son, Ben, is missing one of his favorite recess friends these days.
Parents of Jacob's classroom buddies are making orange ribbons that the kids can wear - and other people can buy - to show their support for Jacob.
"We want to keep him so alive in our thoughts, as well as help them with their bills," said Noreen Chrysler, whose daughter, Hailey, is a classmate of Jacob's.
Chrysler, as well as several other parents, have visited the Finkbonners in Seattle. They're overwhelmed by community support, including notes from people they don't even know, Chrysler said.
"From the beginning," Chrysler said, "the only thing they've ever wanted is people's prayers."