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It’s Erin!

Hello, everyone! My name is Erin Gowin and I am fifteen years old. As you probably know, Michael and Suzanne are my parents. I’m so excited to start this blog and communicate with y’all!

Okay, so here’s some stuff about me: I am the second oldest in my family. I love helping others. My favorite color is silver, and my favorite food is fettuccine alfredo (thank you, spell check). I play basketball and the saxophone, and I’m in competitive theater. And, after high school, I plan to attend LCU where I’ll train to be a missionary.

Ever since I went to Ethiopia (twice), I fell in love with everything about Ethiopia. If I had three wishes, the first one would be to go to Ethiopia. And live there forever. The second wish would be not to get airsick. 🙂 Third wish? Never to have to worry about funds for missions that I do. You know that feeling you feel when your grandma drives away and you know you won’t see her for a long time? I feel that every day. Some days, I feel like crying, I miss Ethiopia so much. (Also, I’m a teenage girl.) I love everything about Ethiopia— the food, the wonderful people, the dirt roads with huge potholes, even the smell. I don’t know why; my friends think I’m crazy.

But, here’s the thing: I get to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic this summer! I’m so excited!! I know this trip will prepare me for my calling as a missionary, and it will be incredibly fun! But, these trips cost a lot. So far, between babysitting for a year-and-a-half and detasseling last summer, I have raised about $1000. However, I still have $1000(ish) to go. Any way you want to help would be amazing. As lots of teens say these days, “You do you.” 🙂

I will keep y’all posted on how much I still need. I’ll also post lots of pics from my trip to the Dominican Republic. And, I want to keep this blog going past the trip as well. Ever wondered what it’s like to be a Gowin? I’ll tell you what’s up. 🙂

Thanks so much for supporting me! Y’all rock!

P.S. I say “y’all” a lot. I’m not really country; I don’t know. See why my family thinks I’m weird? 🙂

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Farewell, Karyn Purvis

TCU_Institute_of_Child_Development

Suzanne and I just learned that Karyn Purvis from TCU Institute of Child Development died today. She devoted her life to helping college students, mental health professionals, and parents learn how to connect with, love, and bring healing to children from “hard places.”

After our third adoption, Suzanne and I became trainers in the Empowered To Connect material that was developed from Karyn’s research in child development. It’s been a huge help to us and the families we’ve worked with.

I met and spoke briefly with Karen at two adoption conferences over the past few years. She was the kind of person you’d meet and, instantly, wish she were your grandmother. The world was a far better place for Karyn’s having been here, and generations of families will reap the benefits of her work.

If you parent or work with kids from hard places, please read her book The Connected Child and seek out Empowered to Connect training in your area.

One last thing: here’s a wonderful tribute from Jedd Medefind from the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). The post includes the video below.