Nelson

Dear friends, As many of you know, over the years, we have hosted children from other countries (primarily Haiti) for heart surgery. The kids stayed with us for about 3 months and become very much a part of our family. Nelson, a 12 year old boy we hosted 5 years ago had aortic valve replacement surgery. He lives in a very remote area of Haiti and needed follow up treatment and as a result, my husband visited his community and was astounded by the conditions in which Nelson lives. Nelson was the reason we started working in Pestel, Haiti. Hosting him has completely changed the trajectory of our lives! We found out early this morning that Nelson has been hospitalized. Fortunately, they were able to get him to Port-au-Prince where he has access to some medical care (the care is quite limited but it is much better than what is available in his local community). The testing may be a long, drawn-out process but praise the Lord, he is scheduled to see a cardiologist on Tuesday! We are praying for quick evaluation and if he needs surgery, that he will be able to get an expedited visa to return to the states for surgery. Needless to say, this has been a very emotional day for our family. We have seen God's hand move in some amazing ways and

we invite you to join with us in praying for Nelson. We are so thankful that his mother is able to be at the hospital with Nelson and we pray that God would give their family much comfort during this uncertain time. If you want to hear a bit more about Nelson's story, visit the link below to our organization's website. http://www.thrivingvillages.com/History.aspx Thanks! Jen