August 25, 2010
Greetings All,
Welcome to our Christmas letter 2010. We’re sending it early this year because, well, let me catch you up on the rest of the year first.
Nathan finished 2nd grade, Ryan finished Kindergarten, and Randy finished his 5th year of teaching grades 7&8 at Bethany Charter School. Spring Break found us on a bona-fide family vacation road-trip to Eastern Oregon. We visited friends in Bend and drove to John Day and the Fossil beds.
In July, Randy’s sister, Elisa stopped by for a week-long visit. We took a trip to the beach and other restful activities. She surprised Nicole and me with tickets to visit her for two weeks in Malawi, Africa. That was quite an adventure for us! The boys stayed with family and friends and had adventures of their own. We enjoyed seeing where Elisa lives and works. We also took time to travel around Malawi for a few days visiting Lilwonde Game park (complete with an elephant experience) and spending 2 nights at Lake Malawi in a very peaceful lakeside bungalow (I got to SCUBA dive!).
Two days after our return from Malawi, the phone rang with a request for me to help administrate the Medical College at the Mission Hospital we had just visited. This came with a two-year commitment and a family move. After much prayer and consideration, Nicole and I decided that it is worth the risk and we should just go! I will be helping with the college and Nicole will be busy homeschooling the boys.
We plan to fly out the 7th of October (tickets are in the works this week). If you would like to be included in our email newsletter list, let us know! We will set up a blog (thebrownsaga.blogspot.com) and photo website as well if you want to follow along on our adventure.
Many of you have already heard this news and have asked if you can help in any way. The organization sponsoring us is Adventist Health International (AHI), headquartered in Loma Linda, California. They administer hospitals and clinics in 21 countries worldwide. Our biggest challenge is launching a family of five for a whole year in two suitcases each. We’ll be setting up a household in Malawi with what we can fit in a few suitcases and purchase there. As volunteers, we will receive a stipend to help cover living expenses. If you would like to help us get set up and maintain our family needs, you may donate directly to us at any time or to Adventist Health International (Contact us for the mailing addresses)
We crave your prayers as we embark on this journey – and for the year to come!
Blessings to you,
Randle, Nicole and Nathan, Ryan, Trevor Brown
