HCH Mangine update, April 2010
Hello friends,
For all of you who follow on my blog (www.mangine.org) or on facebook, you know I am frequent writer. I enjoy knowing that I am doing all I can to keep my friends and family “there” in touch with what’s going on “here.” Thanks for being readers. It is great. Also, let me tell you how excellent it was to meet to many people during our sabbatical that told me that you’re followers of the blog. It was actually kind of hilarious because it seems no matter where we went, we had someone “recognize” us—whether it was the mall, the bagel shop or at the park. It was a hoot. We got a kick out of it. So thanks for coming up and introducing yourselves and encouraging us. During a time like this your encouragement has been so key.
All of this to say, I realize that since the quake while I feel like I’ve tried to keep people in the loop in terms of casual communication, I’ve not done a great job with “formal” communication. It’s been hard to talk about things in a more structured way as it requires much more brain energy, something I find myself a bit deficient in lately. So I thought I’d take some time today to give you a formal update somewhat Christmas letter style.
In terms of the Mangine 5, we just returned from a nearly 3 week sabbatical to the states. It was a refreshing time of rest and an excellent opportunity to connect with friends and family with no pressure.
Our Haitian kids seem to be doing well.
Fritzie (15) is really transforming into a beautiful and servant-hearted young woman. She’s matured so much in these past 6 months, really transforming from a little girl to a lovely young lady. She has a happy spirit and we have been praying for ways that we can help get her more connected with children her own age as she’s significantly older than our other children. She’s going to start youth group at church tomorrow. Wow. I have a kid in youth group. !?!
Jean Louis (12) is our comic. He’s a riot, or, a better way to say it is that he THINKS he’s a riot. He’s very conscientious, a hard worker and good in school. He and I have developed a special friendship- I think it’s because we are both energetic (read: loud.) His energy used to drive me a little crazy, but we are learning how to channel it into useful projects for him.
Yves, (12) our newest child has only been with us for about a month or so, and much of that was time we were in the states. However, we’ve been very intentional about giving him individual time both before we left and since we’ve been back. He is our only child who really experienced heavy trauma in the earthquake, having his home fall, his guardians killed and experiencing life as an orphan in a refugee camp. This week Nick and I took him out for a “date” and just talked about what it was like to be in the quake, how he feels these days, how he’s fitting in in the family, etc. It’s really going well. One of the things he likes to do is visit Pinchinat (the local refugee camp) so he can see the family he stayed with after his family was killed. I like to visit Pinchinat too, so I often bring him with me.
Jerry, 8, lives with great fluctuations. He’s endearing and sweet. But he’s also got a very hard, angry side to him. We’ve seen a lot of his tantrums subside, but he still struggles with wild tantrums occasionally. This week we pulled Jerry out of school for the rest of the school year. He’s not been doing well, has been acting out a lot and it’s clear he needs more individual attention. I am going to home school him (with the help of my staff) for the rest of the school year and then give it a go again next school year. Jerry and Yves have become good friends, although being the “little brother,” Jerry often finds himself the butt of Yves and Jean Louis’ pranks. Thankfully, he’s a good sport.
Prisca (7) is great. She likes anything girly and continues to long to be more grown up. One of the main things we want to do in our family is provide a place where children can be children, so in some ways this concerns Nick and I. We’re diligent about reminding her that she’s a child. She does very well in school and shows a lot of imitative with her school work. She’s fun to be around and a great dancer.
Wildarne (6) is our baby girl. Completely opposite from her sister (Prisca), she’s very interested in little girl things. She’s the most likely one to be playing with her doll or with a Barbie. She plays imaginative games both by herself and along with Nia. Wilarne struggles with being truthful at times, but she is making progress. She’s cuddly and adorable and just cute.
Our staff is doing pretty good for the most part, but they have started to express some of the fear and grief they are feeling about the earthquake. Nick and I are trying to figure out ways to love them and provide a place to talk about these things as well as encouraging them to get back to doing pre-quake activities they were interested in like Bible studies, singing with the choir, etc. I continue to do English classes twice weekly with my staff. It’s been a nice time. I used to dread class because it was just this other THING I had to do. But I wanted to do something nice for the staff, so even though I didn’t have a good attitude, I did it anyway. That has changed. Now, I’ve come to enjoy it and it has helped form a better friendship between us. I also think it’s helping me with my Kreyol.
Thank you, as always, for your faithful support. As we get back to normal, we are trying to be extra intentional spend extra time with our family to help replace the time we were extra occupied during the two months following the quake. We are re-learning how to eat Haitian food all the time, sit down with our kids for meals, have regular devotions and just BE A FAMILY together. When you have so many children, just being a family is a full-time job, and I am trying to embrace the stay-at-home part of being a stay-at-home mom. The more I do it, the more I love it. This is not possibly without YOU! So thank you. You are helping these children really, truly experience redemption.
With an ever-grateful heart,
Gwenn for the entire Mangine Crew
Nick, Gwenn, Nia, Nico, Josiah
Fritzie, Prisca, Wildarne, Jean Louis, Jerry, Yves
Nahomie, Esther, Hugues, Anndavid + Felicia
Jean Louis (and Hugues) show us the new shelves they made.
Fritzie and Dev
