February 2, 2009 Update

Hello friends!

Things are really starting to crank around here.

Since it's the beginning of the month we wanted to give you all a quick update and let you know where things stood.

At the beginning of the year, we expressed we were looking for an additional 50 new $50 commitments during the months of January and February. Well, like we announced last week, we were given a significant commitment from our home church, Crosspointe. That in and of itself met that goal. But we are happy to report that IN ADDITION to that commitment, we've received almost the equivalent of ELEVEN new $50 monthly commitments since January 1. So that means we're getting closer and closer every day to being fully funded. We're so thankful for the provision. It feels like we have some good momentum, and we're praying that God would continue to provide the rest of what we need. Please take a few moments to join us in praying that would happen.

We've also rolled out another layer of our support-raising efforts recently-- the gathering of supplies. Nick and I had the chance to think through each room of our future home and the kinds of supplies we would need for each. In order to manage that list in the midst of people all around the country who support us, we decided to use a registry. After much drama (that I will not go into right now) we have decided to register for the majority of our needs at Target.

I want to take a few minutes to further explain some ins and outs of this whole registering business. There's SO much that needs to be considered when you're talking about adding 20 kids to your family... sheets, dishes, towels, silverware, pots and pans, underwear, socks, garbage bags, toothbrushes, basic medications and first aid items, extension cords... it a giant list. It makes me appreciate Mama Leann and the job she does SO much!

We know there's a lot there, but every item we can get donated is an item that we do not need to raise funds to purchase.

So-- if you're interested in helping out-- check out the registry!
We're registered in the BABY registry section. (Cause you know, we're getting 20 new kids.)
It's listed under Gwenn Mangine and Nick Mangine. (The registry title is Haitian Children's Home.)
Arrival date listed: April 27, 2009
State: NC

A couple of notes:

• If you buy from Target, PLEASE get a receipt or gift receipt just in case we get duplicates. Target is notorious for being pretty strict about this.
• We can always use gift cards (and we've gotten a bunch so far!) and we'll just use them to purchase off the registry before we go.
• If you wish to donate items and you don't shop at Target, you can look at the registry online and purchase somewhere else. Then once we know you've purchased something somewhere else, we can remove it from the registry.
• If you HAVE some of these items you'd like to donate that are in good condition, we'd love to have them instead of buying new. Just let us know and we can remove them from the registry.
• We don't really care too much about colors with sheets/towels/etc. Just so they are in good shape. (And call us picky, but we'd prefer to have some "girl" type things and some "boy" type things that are age appropriate.) These things generally do not matter in Haiti, but they do kind of matter to us as we want to provide great environments for kids to grow and thrive...)

Changing the subject a bit-- we've made a lot of strides during the past week towards getting our lives packed up for the big move. Our children, Nia, Nico and Josiah, went to Manteo to stay with their Nana and their Auntie Gretchen so we could get some packing done. It was very productive-- here's a pic of all the stuff we went though.Some is now packed, most is for selling. This was an empty garage when we started. We'll keep you posted on our garage sale date! :)

We're looking forward to a big trip at the end of February-- our whole family is heading to Colorado for three weeks to attend Missions Training International. We're excited about this opportunity as we've heard the preparation this provides families is invaluable. We're also excited to see our old friend (and HCH cheerleader!), Andrew Brown. Andrew has been our friend for about 8 years and last year he moved to Colorado. We're thankful to have the opportunity to see him and he's even offered to play "tour guide" when we come out his way.

It's weird, with this trip coming up, and then a trip Gwenn is taking in April to Haiti with her mother, we're in the single digits with how many Sundays we have left at church. We're starting to feel the "bitter" part of the bittersweet situation this journey is as we face the reality of saying goodbye to friends, family and experiences we love here in North Carolina. But we're also very much feeling the "sweet" too. It is our desire to finish well here before we leave.

I have been very long-winded here, so I am going to wrap it up, but I did want to ask you to continue to pray about our housing situation in Haiti-- both during language school in Port Au Prince and as well as our longer-term situation in Jacmel. We're praying that God would lead us to the right place where we can settle in and feel at home.

Thank you for loving us and sharing this journey---
Nick and Gwenn Mangine