News from the Nest

Dear Friends and Family,

It's already February! I spent the last month with Suzy, Tim, Oscar and baby Charlie so I feel like I had an entire month of "Saturdays". It was very hard to leave but we have every confidence that they will settle into a rhythm of their own. Suzy is improving daily despite not getting more than 3 hours of sleep at a stretch and dealing with a very active two year old.

I'm digging out my desk, and trying to find my floor. There have been so many medical donations while I was gone that I'm having to make a path in order to try to process them. I'm hoping to catch up on my "to do" list in the next few days.

We will be doing a container for Haiti this week. The container will be mostly clothing but will have chairs and office supplies as well. Charlie is also working on getting sewing machines for a sewing center that Northwest Haiti Christian Mission wants to set up. The machines have to be hand cranked or treadle machines which makes it a little harder to find.

While I was in New York with Suzy, Charlie refinished my cedar chest which had a very bad water stain and hung a wall sconce in our hallway. I know he really missed me because both of these projects have been on his "to do" list for the past 7 years!

Charlie will be ordained as an elder in our church this week. he will have the shepherding responsibility for about 40 families with the help of 3 deacons. He is also leading a small group Bible Study on Sunday afternoons. We would appreciate your prayers for him as he takes on these new responsibilities.

Speaking of Charlie....say an extra prayer for him on the 15th as it is his birthday. He says it's his first birthday since he just completed one whole life cycle of 60 years according to the Chinese tradition. I'm sure we will celebrate with his favorite food....Chinese take out!