HCH Mangine Update-- November 19, 2009

Hello all!

I am writing today from the comfort of my beautiful new kitchen table while my kids are working on their afternoon lessons beside me. Thanks to all of you who gave over and above to make this table a great place not just to eat, but to gather for any number of things. I LOVE IT!

We returned from our furlough in the US yesterday and words cannot describe how VERY MUCH we loved coming home. Don’t get me wrong, it was a GREAT trip. We loved seeing so many family members and friends, but to quote Dorothy Gail from the Wizard of Oz, “There is no place like home.” Seriously. It’s great being home. We collapsed into bed last night absolutely exhausted, but SO glad to be back here. Weird huh? It’s only been six months, but our concept of home has changed so much.

We did a lot and saw a lot of people on our trip—spending some time in central NC, some time up in central NY and then also some time on the Outer Banks. Thank you to all of you who made our furlough so wonderful. We appreciate you opening your homes, lending us your cars, preparing us such great food, buying us fun new presents, and just generally loving us well.

A lot of people have been asking us what it was like to be back in the States after Haiti for the past 6 months. The two words that come to mind to describe it are comfortable and overwhelming! It was very nice to enjoy some of the comforts we never realized we took for granted while living in the states—things like being able to brush your teeth with tap water and having machine washed/dried clothing and sheets. And, of course, hot showers. It was also overwhelming to have SO many choices on so many things when we’re used to so few.

We ate A LOT of furlough. In fact today Fritzie said to me, “Mommy Gwenn, ou pi gwo konye a.” (which means, “you’re bigger now.”) True story. All five of us are. And she said it as a compliment, which is hilarious if you ask me.

Our kids thoroughly enjoyed visiting the US—they got to do a lot of fun things. Seeing grandparents and cousins, Monkey Joe’s and Chick fil A… they enjoyed it all. They weren’t particularly looking forward to returning. However, they are also doing very well being home. They were getting tired of being pent up in the house, especially while Tropical Storm Ida visited while we were on the Outer Banks.


Danny met us with our three girls yesterday when he came to pick us up at the airport. It was a long ride with 10 people in the cab of the truck on the way home, but I am SO glad they came. I just kept smiling and exclaiming over and over how glad I was to be home.

Mikey and Georgette (and Nahomie and Esther!) did a fantastic job of running the house in our absence. They were very good to our children, and led well through some tough circumstances, namely the death of our dog, Bigsby. We’re so grateful to them.

Today I got to meet our newest addition, Jean Louis. He’s staying with Nixon and Sandra until we move into our new home on December 1. He’s AWESOME. I love this kid already. He’s got an engaging smile and is a charmer. A very active little boy, I can’t help but dream about the time when we’re able to live on our land in Raymond, where he can run and jump and play to his heart’s content. Someday…

As we settle back into “normal” here at home, it will be anything BUT normal. We’re moving into our new (rented) house in less than two weeks… which is also when our new boys will be coming home to live with us—Jean Louis and Jerry. We’re going to be picking up some extra responsibilities with children’s church and Friday night church during the holidays. We’ll be hiring a new nanny and preparing our home for the Advent/Christmas season.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We need you and you are very much appreciated. As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family, team and staff next week, know that we’re ever-mindful of the way God has used YOU in our lives to bless us and provide for our growing family.

May you experience good times together with your families as you gather and I encourage you to thank our God, without whom nothing is possible.

With a grateful heart,

Gwenn, for all the Mangines
Nick, Gwenn
Nia, Nico, Josiah
Fritzie, Wildarne, Prisca
Jean Louis, Jerry
Nahomie, Francette and Esther

Visiting our friends, Gilliams

Our new house, we move in December 1

My kids, my niece Evie, and my dad

The Mangine cousins

Our three girls with Jean Louis!

Announcement!!! Two new HCH Mangine boys arriving soon!

I am just a little behind with our regular updates! We weren't totally prepared for this crazy pace of the US-- but was busting at the seams to share this news...

Hey y'all! I am so happy to finally be OFFICIALLY announcing some GREAT news! We have two new boys joining our family in early December!

Please meet:

Jean Louis, approximately age 10

And Jerry, approximately age 8!

We will be sharing more soon! Please pray for them as their hearts are getting ready to join our family!

Yay for boys!

Because of our FAITHFUL homechurch family at Crosspointe, these two new boys (and now our girls too) are all FULLY SPONSORED! But not to worry, if you're interested in sponsoring a kid, the Pye's still have some openings. (And we'll have more kids coming after the first of the year!)

November 6, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

As another week comes quickly to a close we are continually thankful for God’s faithful provision, and the knowledge that we have that He is going to continue to provide. It continues to be a time of ups and downs, nevertheless God’s faithfulness is constant and He shows us His favor in big and small ways.
The finances or lack thereof continues to be a stress in our ministry and in our family. We do have hopes that some is just temporary. We have had some mail forwarding issues and we recognize when we made the big move from Florida to North Carolina there would be delays and time needed for those changes to occur. We are hopeful that we are nearing the end of those delays and support will once again steadily come in.
I am so proud of my Haiti team specifically, as I see them doing everything in their power to cut back on day to day expenses for the greater good. In our home, Leann cuts power four hours everyday saving literally a hundred or so dollars a week on diesel. We have enjoyed eating a lot more Haitian meals these days, which is also keeping us closer to home, and spending more time with our kids. This is a big deal for Leann, as she loves to cook and loves American food. She has been a trooper cutting our grocery bill in more than half these last two months saving literally a thousand dollars. We have put off small repairs and cut back our staff as much as we can, putting more responsibilities on the children and Leann. I say all this not to complain but to celebrate and show my appreciation to my wife, children, and staff. It has really been good for us to learn to not take things for granted and be grateful for the small and the big.
We are also so thankful for the leadership team of Joy in Hope, the board, in an expression of gratitude to Leann and me for recognizing the great need for rest and some time away from leading to refocus, rest, and enjoy each other. They, together, sent Leann and me for a week of rest and recreation in the Domincan Republic. They came up with the means for Jennifer Hancock to come in, and Jon even joined her, for a week to care for Riann. Jon was a huge help with some side projects in our home, including building a new table for the Mangines, and fixing some plumbing issues. Mikey and Georgette did a great job caring for the rest of our kids in our home, and Nick and Gwenn once again stepped up to lead the ministry in our absence. It was a great week, and I can’t express in words how blessed and honored we are to serve with such a great team, both in the US, the Board and Joy in Hope employees, and volunteers, the Haiti team pulling together to make this happen. They were able to do this outside of Joy in Hope/Haitian Children’s Home funds.
While we were away there was an accident. Everything is fine but now from what I heard it was pretty touch and go and scary at the time. Toto and Mackenson were horsing around upstairs. As boys tend to do at that age, Toto hit Makenson, so Makenson started to chase Toto. Toto jumped up on the railing of the front porch to go on our bedroom roof and fell off the railing on to the ground in front of our house, an 18 foot fall. He twisted and fell on his wrist and the side of his face. There was instant swelling to his head, and his eye socket looked broken, as well as his wrist. This all happened late in the evening the night after Leann and I left. Teresa counseled Mikey and Nick to take him to a hospital in Port-au-Prince. They did leave quickly. At the hospital they did immediate x-rays, and an exam, and after all the results were back and a doctor looking him over, they realized he just had a minor concussion, bruises, and a black eye. Nothing broken and no perminant damage. Toto returned to school within two days. By the time Leann and I got home, he was playing soccer, jumping around like nothing ever happened. Because of Toto’s dark complexion☺, you can barely even see his black eye. The people that witnessed, heard the fall, and were part of the trauma describe this event as nothing short of a miracle. I have always known that my kids have great favor from their Heavenly Father, just didn’t realize how much. So thankful again for a team ready to react and do everything for our son that I would have done for him while we were absent. We have had two concussions in our home, both while Leann and I were out of the country. To say our boys get a little more risky while we are gone, might be an understatement. ☺
In the midst of all the drama the Mangines hosted a visitor. Gwenn’s mom came down to meet her new grandchildren and just love, be, and encourage the Mangine family. From what I am still hearing it was a great week full of playing, loving, being spoiled, new clothes, baby dolls all around, an immediate connection was made, and the continual life changed caused simply by love continued in Fritzies, Prisca, and Wildene’s lives.

The Mangine family, Nick, Gwenn, Nia, Nico, and Josiah headed to the US for their first official furlough Friday last week. Please keep them in your prayers, as this is NOT a vacation or a time of rest for them. This is visiting family and friends after serving for almost seven months here in Haiti and to continuing to raise support for both their growing family and the ministry as a whole. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to transition and deal in the highs and lows of Haiti. They were successfully granted residency in Haiti, which will make traveling easier for them, and give them many “rights” living here in Haiti. They will return to Haiti on the 18th to prepare to move in two weeks into their next home, where they will be able to grow their family and continue accepting children. Mikey and Georgette again stepped up taking on overseeing their home, and caring for their girls and staff in their absence.

Our kids have been working hard these last two week in exams as they end their first quarter of school. We are expecting to receive their report cards next week sometime, so we will keep you updated on their progress.

We have been actively celebrating our children as always, celebrating the birthdays of Vania, Chachoue, and Slendia. It is always a joy making these days special for our kids, celebrating them, giving gifts, and just loving on them. It is amazing to see these young girls grow. They are so special in their own way, growing into amazing young women.
After 2 years of attending Bible school at the church, Berline graduated last weekend. We are so proud of her and this accomplishment! I jokingly call her Pastor Berline now. She has truly enjoyed digging into the Word during her classes.

Quick update on Nixon and Sandra. They are the couple that oversee our outreach ministries and host our teams. They too have been living the roller coaster of ups and downs with many of our outreach ministries cut back or eliminated in the past few months due to finances. They have been on a long journey to get residency granted for Nixon. This week was a good week. They have been officially granted residency, and are hopeful to be able to travel by Christmas!! There is still some requirements and a few more hoops to jump through. We ask for you to continue keeping Nixon and Sandra in your prayers about this. To encourage Nixon, I am sure he would love hearing from you. You can e-mail him at Nixon@haitianchildrenshome.org
Continuing to serve in Haiti means continual hardships. Please continue keeping us in your prayers. A family we have been ministering to for the past two years, Mdme Lucienne lost one of her sons, FonFon, a six-year old boy. Please remember this family. We still are having major vehicle issues; we are hopeful however of the Mitisbishi being fixed later today. There seems to be many more needs daily then provisions. Our home is still having septic issues (our septic tank is full) and the owner of the home is refusing to do anything about it. We are in need of tires to keep the bus going, and the list goes on. Next month, December, scarily is the most expensive month as we pay our staff two times their salary, required by Haitian law. We are trying to continue to cut back in all ways possible, but still want to make Christmas special for our families, please remember us in these regards.
We do have sponsorships available for all our homes currently; the Pye, Mangine, and Boys home. If you are interested in learning more about this or sponsoring a child please contact Kristi at Kristi@joyinhope.org. We are also continuing to book teams for our various outreaches for 2010-2011. If you are interested, again you can contact Kristi by calling or e-mailing her. If you want to help out with a specific need or send an extra gift, we will be eternally grateful. To learn more about specific needs and wants feel free to contact our home office, the information is below.

Joy in Hope/Haitian Children’s Home
2731 N.C. Highway 55 #251
Cary, N.C. 27519
919 439-7038
E-Mail our Director: Rick@JoyinHope.orgE-mail our Director of operations: Kristi@JoyinHope.org

Praise Reports:
1. For God’s continued faithful provision and strength to get us through each week.
2. Celebrating Vania, Chachoue, and Slendia’s birthday.
3. Having a restful time alone with Leann in the DR. I can’t express how much we needed this time away.4. Toto being perfectly fine after falling off the second story, an 18 foot drop.
5. Nixon and Sandra being able to move forward in Nixon’s US residency paperwork.
6. Children finishing their 1st quarter exams.
7. Denise, Gwenn’s mom, having a great visit at the Mangine’s home.
8. Berline graduated Bible school.

Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for the continued transition of new and changing leadership, as we adjust to each other, adjust to new styles and systems of leadership.
2. Pray for our home and vehicles. We are having problems keeping things going with finances being so tight.3. Pray for provision of finances for the ministry as a whole, as well as individual families and sponsor support.
4. Pray for Nick and Gwenn as they are in the States currently visiting supporters and raise funds.
5. Pray for Nixon and Sandra as they continue moving forward in Nixon’s US residency. They are hoping to be able to go to Texas for Christmas to spend time with Sandra’s family.
6. Pray for Mdm Lucienne and the death of little FonFon.

Berline with her graduating class. Berline is in the center, the non smiling one:

Fonfon, Mdm Lucienne’s son, who passes away:

Boys playing soccer on the land during a holiday:

Leann and I spending some couple time without kids:

HCH Mangine Update-- November 3, 2009

Hello family and friends,

Instead of writing this update from my muggy, mosquito-y living room in Jacmel, I am writing it wrapped up in cozy pajamas and a fleece bathrobe at Nick’s parents house in Raleigh, NC. The whole Mangine 5 is back in the States for our first regularly planned furlough of sorts. We arrived last Friday and we will be visiting different places here in the US until November 18. We’re very thankful to Mikey and Georgette Rigel (our team members in Haiti) who are watching our home, supervising our staff, and loving our three girls—Prisca, Wildarne, and Fritzie.

As I look over our past month, my head spins. It was easily our busiest month in Haiti so far.
October started off with us bringing Prisca, age 7, and Wildarne Pierre, age 6, in to our family. It was a good transition, but an emotional time of goodbyes to their aunt, uncle, grandmother, and cousins they left behind. They have settled in well. We’re loving discovering their personalities. Nia especially. She’s LOVING having three sisters.

The second week of October was our busiest to date—Nick lead his first official team. It was a really great week, and a very special time for us since the team was comprised of many of our old friends from Crosspointe church. The team was the first of its kind—they lead 2 day music camp in Jacmel, visited children at a local orphanage, held a free concert/community feeding event at a local night club, lead a pastor’s conference and took over Friday night English church for one night, giving leaders on the ground a night off! It was a whirlwind week that also included a trip to the beach, a trip to Basin Bleu, a walking tour of Jacmel, a night out at a local restaurant, and most of the team members going home with the flu!

The next week we had more down time and it was something of a time of refreshment for our family as my mother visited for a week. She brought down the first of a WHOLE bunch of the clothes/supplies you donated for our new children. It was SO exciting for our kids to get new clothes. THANK YOU! During that week we were also able to bring our whole family out to the land Joy in Hope owns in Raymond to show Prisca and Wildarne where they will be living once capital expenses are raised for houses. It’s a beautiful piece of land and such a joy to be able to share the dream.

The month closed with preparations for our trip to the states. We were blessed with smooth travel, and we even met some people in the airport who we have the inkling might become long-term friends!

We’re very much enjoying our time here in the States. We’ve enjoyed seeing our family and friends, and we’d be lying if we didn’t fess up that we’re also loving hot showers, machine-washed clothes, and American food. Even so, our hearts miss our home in Haiti… especially our three girls. Please pray for our entire family currently spread over two countries—that this time would pass well on both sides.

Here are some specific things you could be praying for our family over the next few weeks:
· Please pray that our time in the US, while busy, would be refreshing for us. Please pray that God would give us GOOD time with the people we need to catch up with.
· Please pray for safe travels as we drive all over the east coast visiting churches and families.
· Please pray that God would continue to call people to join us in prayer and financial support. Living as a missionary, this is an on-going journey.
· Please pray for our family and our team-members back in Haiti. This has been a challenging month for all of us on-the-ground in Haiti.
· Please pray for the current financial situation of Joy in Hope/Haitian Children’s Home.

We’re always thankful for your support. It’s been an on-going goal of ours to stay in touch on a personal level with you. We’re looking forward to being able to do that on a more one-on-one level. Thank you for all the ways you help us and provide for us.

Our hearts are grateful,
Gwenn for the Entire Mangine Clan
Nick, Gwenn
Nia, Nico, Josiah
Fritzie, Prisca, Wildarne
Nahomie, Esther and Francette

CONTACT INFO WHILE WE’RE IN THE STATES:
Phone: 919-412-0139
Email: nick@haitianchildrenshome.org
gwenn@haitianchildrenshome.org


Prisca and Wildarne saying goodbye to their aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Prisca and Wildarne's first night home-- pictured with all the Mangine kiddos.
(Left to Right: Nico, Wildarne, Josiah, Nia, Fritzie, Prisca.)

Preparing food for 600 during the team from Crosspointe.

My mom, Denise, visits and brings surprises for ALL the kids (and staff too!)

Fritzie is EXCITED about the new clothes!


Our whole family standing in front of where our house will be in Raymond one day. (Sorry for all the squinting-- it was REALLY sunny!)

Letter from Rick Smith, the new Joy in Hope Director

Hey all--

One more quick thing. I wanted to send out a quick note from our new Joy in Hope Director, Rick Smith. Our office is in the process of transitioning to Cary, NC. Details below.

Thanks for your support!

-The Mangine Family

************

Greetings from North Carolina!

Please pardon my interruption of a regular family email but I feel it is important to communicate what has been going on this past month.

We are currently finishing up the transition of Haitian Children’s Home, a ministry of Joy in Hope from Florida to North Carolina. Things have been going well this week as Jennifer and Jon Hancock packed up the office in Florida and drove everything to Cary. As you maybe aware, Jennifer is transitioning off of Joy in Hope staff so that she and Jon can begin preparations to be house parents in Haiti. This is an exciting time for their family and I appreciate all they have done for Joy in Hope for the past couple of years.

While I am talking about the new offices of Joy in Hope, we have some new contact information for you.

Our new mailing address is:

Joy in Hope

2731 NC Hwy 55

#251

Cary, NC 27519

Our new office phone number is 919-439-7038. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

Now that you have the new address and phone number, I’d also like to introduce you to the new Director of Operations of Joy in Hope, Kristi Daugherty. Kristi will be working out of the new Cary office and will be coordinating all operations for Joy in Hope. She will be very busy over the next few weeks as she leaves her current job and also is on her way to Haiti for a short-term trip. She will be fully onboard after October 19^th and can be reached at the Joy in Hope office or kristi@joyinhope.org.

Lastly, while it maybe uncomfortable to talk about, you will find that I don’t shy away from tough conversations – especially where it comes to finances.

I would like to thank everyone for your faithfulness to this organization in the past. Joy in Hope wouldn’t be the Light and Hope of Haiti without the sacrifices of many of you. The reality of the situation is that the economic factors of the past year have caught up with Joy in Hope and, especially over the past 6 months, we have seen a dramatic reduction in support for the ministry. The team in Haiti has had to make tough decisions in regards to finances – either deferring necessary purchases or using emergency funds to buy food, fuel and other items. At this point of the year, Joy in Hope is approximately $40,000 behind where it should be financially.

I say this because I know as a supporter of Joy in Hope, you want to know what it currently going on. Many of you are very faithful with the commitments you have made to the children and families of Haiti and I thank you for continuing to fund the journey we have all been called to. For some of you, maybe it’s a matter of catching up your monthly commitment. For others, you maybe able to do a little more to help. It’s an individual decision but I feel it is important to let everyone know the situation and be frank and honest in regards to finances.

Lastly you can send all checks to the new Joy in Hope address listed above or if it is more convenient, you can donate online at http://www.joyinhope.org/donate.asp.

I am looking forward to meeting everyone eventually – whether it’s in Haiti or in the US or Canada. I am always available and can be reached at the Joy in Hope offices in Cary or by email at rick@joyinhope.org. Please feel free to contact Kristi or myself anytime for any reason.

Grace and Peace,

Rick Smith

Director

Joy in Hope

HCH Mangine Child Sponsorships NOW OPEN!

Fritzie, Prisca and Wildarne are all available for sponsorship! If you're interested, read on for some answers to Frequently Asked Questions...

What is the cost to sponsor a child?
The short answer is $32/month. The long answer is $160/month. Here’s how it all works out. The cost of care for each child per month is $160. We understand that not everyone is able to afford that kind of monthly payment, so we have structured our program so that each child has five $32/month sponsors. It is the Haitian Children’s Home policy that 100% of your money goes directly to meeting the needs of your child. It supplies him or her with food, clothing and shoes, education, salaries for the nannies who care for them, medical treatment, and housing costs including utilities, building maintenance, and various home upgrades. We find it’s a good way to do things. Not only does it give more individuals the opportunity to participate in giving, it lessons the financial strain on the Haitian Children’s Home should a sponsor determine that he or she is no longer able to participate in the sponsorship program.

Expense Breakdown
Cost per month per child
Housing $32.00
Food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. $40.00
Nanny Salary $8.00
Tutor $1.75
Housekeeper $1.75
Tuition $12.50
Electricity $12.50
Propane (for cooking) $7.50
Water $9.00
Building Maintenance $2.50
Medical $5.00
School Supplies (Uniforms, school books, admission fees…) $9.00
Staff Bonuses (Mandated by Haitian Law) $1.25
Birthdays (party for your child on his or her birthday) $1.04
Christmas $4.17
Clothing $5.00
Emergency fund (major medical or facility emergencies, etc.) $7.04

Total-- $160.00

Is my participation in this program tax-deductible?
Yes! You will receive a receipt every January to use for tax purposes for the previous calendar year.

How often will I receive updates on my child?
You will receive three email updates per year. You will also receive an annual “snail mail” update with a photo and a copy of your child’s report card each year. It's one of our biggest goals to improve communication with child sponsors over the upcoming year.

Can I write letters to my child? Will he or she write me back?
Absolutely! We encourage you to be in contact with your child. Our children LOVE getting mail! Feel free to send letters and we encourage you to send photos of your family. We encourage our children to write back. Because of translating/lack of mail service, it may take several weeks to receive these replies. You can also send an email to your child by emailing the houseparents.

I would prefer to pay one lump sum annually rather than monthly—is that an option?
Yes! We can set it up monthly, semi-annually, or annually.

Can I send gifts to my child?
You already are! As you can see above, part of our monthly budget for each child is a birthday and Christmas fund. Because our children live in close proximity to one another, we try to handle gift-giving occasions with a certain amount of equity. We give each child a party on his or her birthday with cake for everyone, homemade cards from all of their “brothers and sisters” in the orphanage, and a small gift. On Christmas, we have a similar party and each child gets 3 gifts: a pair of new shoes, one clothing item and one small toy. Additionally, we have an end-of-school party each year where we celebrate graduation to the next grade. We want these children to know that they are valued as a member of our Haitian Children’s Home family, and we believe that celebrating them individually on special occasions teaches them important lessons on how families function. In addition to this, you can send letters with flat gifts like stickers, paper dolls, temporary tattoos, photos, etc. Finally, you are always welcome to send community gifts that can be shared by all of the children in the orphanage. Popular items include soccer balls, inflatable rafts for the beach, hair beads, elastics and snaps, and craft supplies like string and beads to make jewelry. In order to pay for customs and shipping (from our US address to Haiti), for all parcels sent, please include a check for $3 per pound made out to Haitian Children’s Home.

What happens if I am no longer financially able to sponsor my child?
We understand that family dynamics change. Please just let us know and we will work to find a new sponsor for your child, no questions asked! You are still welcome to write letters to your child and stay in contact.

What happens if I miss a payment?
We understand that there are times when things get a little tighter financially; however, we are counting on sponsorship commitments to meet your child’s needs. If you miss a payment, simply resume the next month. If you are able to make two payments at once the next month, that would be great, but if not, that’s okay, just pick up with the new month.

Can I visit my child?
The Haitian Children’s Home offers short-term mission trips to Jacmel to work on various projects in and near the orphanage. Check out our Mission Trips page for more information on scheduling a trip.

How long do the children stay at the Haitian Children’s Home?
We’ve committed to caring and providing for these children through the completion of their high school education. However, high school education in Haiti is not like high school education in the United States. We believe that our children will leave high school with the tools they need to support themselves and contribute to the community. The typical child in our care will complete high school in their mid-20’s.

Can I pay by electronic debit?
Yes, we can help you set up a regular subscription with Paypal.

How do I ask more questions or sign up?
Email me: gwenn@haitianchildrenshome.org ! Looking forward to hearing from you.

PS-- I *think* that there are currently sponsorships in the Pye home too... Email me for more info! It's our goal to have ALL HCH children FULLY sponsored.

Prisca, age 7

Wildarne, age 6

Fritzie, age 15

HCH Mangine Update-- October 2, 2009

Hello friends!

Things don’t always go the way you plan. That’s a universal truth, but one that seems to be true much more often than not here in Haiti. We’ve been battling DAILY problems with electricity. If it’s not a problem with our power getting cut, it’s a problem with our inverter, or our generator, or … it amazes me how something that should be so simple, can be so complicated here sometimes.

In my most recent update, I told you about Prisca and Wildarne Pierre, the newest HCH Mangine kids who were scheduled to move in with us in December, after we move to a bigger house. As I said earlier, things don’t always go the way you plan. And as the situation with Prisca and Wildarne began to develop, we could see that it was getting increasingly tricky. They were living with their uncle, whose family began to experience increased difficulty caring for them—job struggles, landlord problems, run-ins with the law… and on it goes. We became concerned for the stability of Prisca and Wildarne’s immediate situation. And so the short story is this—they are moving in with us on Sunday! Yes, this Sunday! We’re excited and all hurried in a hundred different directions as we prepare to add two more to our numbers!

Our family has embraced these girls already as they’ve been coming over every day for a meal for the past three weeks. They are comfortable in our house and we are all comfortable with them. We hope that will make this transition a bit easier for all of us—but please keep our entire family in your prayers as we adjust.

We have sponsorship openings for ALL three of our girls! I will include some detailed info about sponsorship in another post today.

We have one additional need. We realized the other day that we don’t have a large enough table to fit our whole family now that Prisca and Wildarne are moving in. We’ve been holding out on getting a new one as we’ve been waiting for a team to come in to build one, and save us some money. However, we really feel that it’s important that we have enough space for our whole family (of 10 people) to be able to sit down for a meal together. Therefore, we’d like to go ahead and hire someone to build a table and benches large enough for our family. This will cost approximately $300. Please email me at gwenn@haitianchildrenshome.org if you’re interested in helping meet this need. If we had 6 people donate $50 or 12 people donate $25—we’d be there!

All three HCH girls are doing well in school. Met Frantzo (their teacher) is very pleased with the progress they are making and says they all work hard. He’s an excellent teacher, and we’re extremely grateful God made a way for us to hire him! Frantzo’s wife, Anise, has worked for the HCH Pye family for many, many years and is expecting her first child, a son, later this month. One of my recent “side” projects is taking Anise to her midwife appointments. I love it. Her midwife, Sarah, is a new friend of mine here in Jacmel and she’s been teaching me a ton. Last week I was able to find the baby’s heart tones without her help. It’s SO cool. Anise is due in three weeks and I am praying that she delivers before we leave for furlough 4 weeks from today. I really want to be able to attend the birth.

Nick has been busy trying to fill the “assistant to the regional manager” shoes while the Pye’s have been in the states for the past two weeks. I think he’s doing a great job, but I think we’ll both be glad when Danny arrives home and reclaims his job. : ) He’s also preaching at Friday church for the next two weeks and working to coordinate the next team, coming in a week from tomorrow. This is our first “official” team we’re leading and we’re pumped because it’s a team from our home church containing several members of our former small group. They will be doing a music camp in Jacmel, a pastor’s conference, and working with a popular, local band, “So Nice” to put on a big concert/community feeding.

I always say this, but I continue to mean it wholeheartedly, so it bears repeating. THANK YOU to all of you who give sacrificially so that we get the honor of living this life. It is not always easy—in fact many times it has stretched me farther than I thought I could stretch. But it is such a GOOD life. It’s indescribably good to be able to walk in the purpose for which we were created. Thank you.

With very grateful hearts,
Gwenn, for the entire Mangine family
Nick, Gwenn, Nia, Nico, Josiah
Fritzie, Prisca, Wildarne
Nahomie and Esther

Sarah, a local midwife, allows Anise to listen to her baby's heartbeat.

Nia, Prisca, Fritzie and Wildarne

Nick with Josiah and Nico