Storms (in life and in Haiti)

Hello all--

Gwenn here this time. Our email list is growing by the day! Exciting stuff.

Wow. These past two (and a half-- oops!) weeks have been a WHIRLWIND. It's been some crazy times for the Mangine's, but we are thankful to the God who holds us firmly.

Well-- we're "in it." We're officially in the "ask" mode. It's hard. I have never been one to ask for help, and so it's definitely a step out of my comfort zone to have to ask, and also to have to receive. As we get in deeper into support raising, the amount of time it takes to try to keep up with all our contacts, answer emails, develop materials, etc. is just growing and growing. Combined with homeschooling, well-- there's a lot around the house here that's not getting done. This morning I was having coffee with some of my best girlfriends and my friend Bonnie said, "Can I come over and clean your house?" I said, "I might take you up on that." (Not actually meaning to take her up on it, but just to appease her.) To which she answered, "I don't believe you actually will." Busted.

I thought about it for a moment-- about how I have been praying for a way to find balance-- then I said, "You know what? I will take you up on it. Things are so crazy right now with support raising and homeschooling, I could really use the help." It's kind of liberating to admit you don't have it all together.

Speaking of homeschool-- I love it. I love it. I love it. I am finding a lot of satisfaction in being Nia and Nico's teacher. It's an incredible joy to watch Nia learn to read and tell time and all sorts of other stuff. And it's been rewarding to hear Nico improve dramatically with his speech since we've been putting concentrated time each day into it. He's also starting to learn some basic preschool type skills-- coloring in the lines (sort of), cutting, basic writing skills. It's been an unexpected source of happiness in my life.

We spoke to our first church last weekend. We traveled up to Chittenango, NY for Nick's 10th high school reunion. It was a blast seeing Nick's brother's family and his old friends. We spoke to the missions committee at Crossroads church in Chittenango on Saturday, and then Nick spoke to the entire congregation during both of the Sunday morning services. The church was very encouraging and we hope to find ways to partner together in the months and years to come.

You will notice travel as a part of our ongoing budget. Rather than long extended furloughs every few years, the Haitian Children's Home offers shorter (3 weeks) furloughs twice a year. Because of the work we are doing there-- raising a family-- this just makes more sense for us. So as we think ahead, we are trying to be as strategic as possible in trying to focus our attention with church support from a couple of selected areas. We'd like to try to find a base of support in North Carolina as this is where our church home is and the majority of my family. And we'd also like to try to make as many contacts as possible in Central New York as that is where Nick's family is. It makes sense to us to try to pursue communities where we will be visiting. We earnestly desire to make a real connection, rather than just being some picture of a missionary family on a bulletin board. (Not that we won't take that kind of support! :)

I believe that we all have in us an intrinsic desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves-- to make a difference. We want to be able to be a voice of reality and a family that connects the "two worlds" that are really just one. It is our desire that our role as houseparents would not stop at raising 23 children as cherished members of a family, but that that would be just the beginning. Our desire is that lives would be changed in the US as well as Haiti because of the Haitian Children's Home. We see our role as one of service to Haiti, AND to the US.

I would be remiss if I did not mention what's happening in Haiti right now as a result of Tropical Storms/Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, and Hanna. I will first say that everyone is safe at the Haitian Children's Home. For whatever reason, God also allowed our building and land to weather the storms and flooding with no major problems. Many of our Haitian staff members lost a significant amount in the storms, including Madame Emeline who lost her roof, and Nixon and Sandra who lost their entire house. My heart aches as I share that it is an absolute nightmare in Haiti right now. Entire cities are under water with thousands of people trapped on 2nd story roofs, hoping the water goes down before they starve. I was watching some of the video footage on the BBC online, and it was so reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina flooding in New Orleans. The difference is that in the US there was some aid on the way (albeit a tad tardy.) There is no organized relief effort in a place like Haiti. Individuals and individual missions are doing as much as they can but it is an absolute disaster right now. Please pray for the country of Haiti. Please pray that they would be spared the next two hurricanes Ike and Josephine. Please pray for provision and for aid. Please pray the land will dry out and water will recede quickly. Please pray that widespread disease and starvation would not become an out-of-control problem as many times happens in situations like this. The Haitian Children's Home is participating in the relief efforts in the community-- helping repair homes and feed people. You can click here to give towards this effort if you feel so called.

Well, I should be wrapping this up. I have probably gone on for long enough now. If you are one of our prayer partners, you can expect your first update around the 15th of September!

A few praises to report:

1. The entire HCH family and home has been safe during the storms.
2. We're starting to see money come in! We're on our way! It's VERY exciting.
3. Fantastic meetings at Crossroads church in Chittenango, NY. A great bunch of people.

A few prayer requests:

1. The ongoing weather situation in Haiti-- especially the potential for more hurricanes in the very near future.
2. The country of Haiti as it's in an extremely desperate situation.
3. Our family as we adjust to the pace of homeschooling and support-raising.
4. Nixon and Sandra (HCH staff members) as they try to put their lives back together after losing their home.
5. Continued provision in our support-raising efforts and that people's hearts will be turned towards the mission God is calling us on.

With a grateful heart--
Gwenn Mangine