Weekly Update Nov 10

                                                                                                     November 10, 2013

Hello everyone,

So many times Julie and I have asked ourselves “Where do all the school supplies go??” Pens, pencils, erasers, text books, notebooks, etc, they just seem to disappear. This week we learned one possible reason for at least the missing notebook paper. Apparently the girls know how to make and shoot spitballs as was evidenced on Saturday while Marcus the choir instructor was doing his weekly lesson. Fortunately for us it was his hour so it was his job to manage the distraction. Still funny though. At the guesthouse, the road/sidewalk construction continues. The backhoe preparation has reached the edge of our driveway/gate, but the concrete pouring needs to catch up some. We have a contingency plan to park a vehicle on the nearby church grounds in case we cannot get in and out of our gate for a while, but we are really looking forward to a paved street and less dust.

This week we welcomed a team of 11 people from the Pittsburg area. This is the groups second time here at the house so it is nice to see familiar faces return.

We think it is time to do another round of introductions of the girls at the home.

Above is an updated picture of Dorice. She has had a rocky start to the school year. Sometimes we forget that many of the girls come to the orphanage from some pretty rough backgrounds. I don’t know all of Dorice’s story, but lately she has been channeling her inner pre-teen and acting out in a variety of ways including not working diligently on her homework, and getting into trouble with her teacher at school. She has also perfected the disdainful teen-ager eye roll. Dorice is one of our girls with a mother who is still active in her life and visits every couple of months. Sometimes we recruit the mom to remind Dorice what a great opportunity she has here to live in the home, go to good schools, and build her hopes for the future. However, she needs to take advantage of the opportunities. No one else can do it for her. Dorice has a quick thinking brain and can be both very funny and very clever. Our hope is she will soon move into a more mature phase of her life where she takes responsibility for her actions and sees the connection between work put in today, and rewards reaped in the future. Please pray for Dorice to make good choices and for us to be a good influence in her life. 

Blessings from Haiti 

G&J