Weekly Update

Dear All,

This past week, we had two teams here at the guesthouse.  One was a returning group of 11 that set up medical stations at 3 churches and 1 prison throughout the week.  Their best guess is they saw over 1,000 people!!  At each stop they diagnosed symptoms, distributed medicine and gave our “care bags” with basics like soap/shampoo/toothbrush + paste.  The other team had a story I will not soon forget.  Hours after meeting this team of 2 for the first time, I got to hear how the first part of their time in Haiti was to meet the birth mom of her adoptive daughter for the very first time (along with her dear friend that was photographing this visit).  The love and prayers she poured into the family meeting was evident in the gifts of photos and other special items.  She also shared with me a very moving story of how the big earthquake in 2010 allowed her daughter to come home to the USA just weeks later.  The pieces that God orchestrated and the amazingly selfless people that put these little ones needs above their own, quite literally brought tears to my eyes.  No one knows why God allowed this tragedy to occur, however it was such a sweet story to witness.

Below is an updated picture of Dawine.  It was taken on her birthday so she was dressed up with a big smile on her face for an outing to Epi’dor with Sainte Therese J  Dawine’s full name is Rose Dawine, however she only uses her middle name.  She has a living birth mom that visits a few times of year (they look a lot alike!) and most recently brought a gift of copy books for school.  It was really touching to see Dawine share a copy book with some of the others girls – knowing full well that this was a special gift she had received. In July 2014, Dawine and one other will sit for the government exam so the girls tutor is spending extra time with the two of them each week.  Dawine is bigger than most of her sisters and sometimes even gets teased by them about this.  Next year, I am hoping to spend extra time with her – and ALL the girls - to start teaching healthy habits for eating and exercise.

Another thing we are excited about is signing up for Creole classes!  When we moved here, we did not take the time for dedicated language study, but instead were self-taught with lots of guidance from our Haitian staff members (as well as the 17 girls!), but we feel it is time to “bump up the level” of our ability to speak Creole.  In early December, we will have a week long intensive class that will be specifically designed for us and our learning level.  Stay tuned!

MR. BROWNS CORNER ~ This week has been a busy one for me!  On Monday, my doctor friend Kelly and her Haitian assistant Michael paid me a visit to check why I have been scratching the side of my face so much.  I got a shot and some medicine - also taught Julie/Gerritt and even Jean how I CAN be around Haitians without barking etc.  Also one of the visitors brought me treats J  She was missing her doggy at home, so Julie/Gerritt allowed her to spend some time with me … sure hope she comes back soon!!  Thank you to all the kids who pray for me so I can do a good job to keep everyone at the guesthouse safe.