Heri ya Krismasi (Merry Christmas) to you and your loved ones as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. This past week was a busy one with having three separate Christmas gathering for 463 orphans as well as Water with Blessings visits and follow ups. The photo is of a small boy praying in front of the vary large creche here at the church and inside are the figurines which are made of soapstone. There is even an angel hanging upside down tied with a piece of ribbon! The photo album this week has many photos of the children collecting their gifts from the Mission and enjoying a warm bottle of soda and a loaf of bread as their treat! Krismasi njema!

This past week, we held two Water with Blessings trainings, made home visits to the mamas who received a water filter a year ago, and gave away mattresses on Mission Saturday to orphans at Manga and Gekano. The picture is of three young girls enrolled in the orphan education program who were having fun with one of their new mattresses. The children were happy to receive the mattresses as part of their Christmas gift.

This past week we made a trip to Kisumu, made home visits and held follow ups for the Water with Blessings program, finished up the awarding of heifer and housing applicants, gave away mattresses at Mission Saturday and made numerous trips to the new shamba to take in and take pictures of the progress being made. It was a busy week! The photo was taken on one of our home visits. The mama wanted to give us sugar cane but had to slice it into smaller pieces with her panga (machete) in order for it to fit into the car!

We continue to work with the women for the Water with Blessings program doing follow ups and this week gave 23 blankets to women who came to five of the six follow ups. The women were most grateful for the gift. We also received a truckload of 250 mattresses that will be given out as part of the Christmas gift to the orphans in the coming weeks. It was another interesting week here at the Mission! The photo is of a baby that was seen here on the clinic grounds during Mission Saturday.