Christmas wishes

Greetings!

I want to begin this letter with the warmest and most heart-felt expression of thanks. Last year, through your generous gifts we were able to outfit 40 children with new clothing. The girls received Christmas dresses, while the boys were given shirts and pants. The cost of these clothing sets was $17.50 USD each, and as you look at the photos of those kids, you will see that returned in joy a thousand times over.

Many of these children would likely never receive new clothes, and your provision gave them the ability to enjoy Christmas along with other, more fortunate children who have parents to provide these necessities of life for them.

This past year has been very hard for everyone in Kenya. There is a widespread drought that continues to this day, and many Africans are suffering from starvation because they are unable to raise enough food on their subsistence farms. Often, orphans are being cared for by relatives or other guardians who will treat these children very harshly. Many of the orphans will be worked to the point of exhaustion and because there is not enough food to go around, will be fed last if at all. Many of these children walk miles in their bare feet to attend the Love of Christ school where they are loved, fed and cared for beyond anything they would experience in their homes.

I'm writing you again this year to ask you to please consider these children. Fredrick Mulei is our dear friend who runs the school and orphanage, and he has taken in another 11 children with no hope for a future before Fredrick's care and education. He is now caring for 51 children, most of whom are mistreated and abused by their guardians to the point that Fredrick is looking to raise money enough to build a boarding school to house them permanently. If you are interested in helping with this or sponsoring a child, please contact Sandra or me and we would be happy to tell you about how we go about providing for a couple of these little ones.

I'd like to ask each of you to search your hearts and consider sharing a small portion of our "want" to aid in providing what these little ones truly "need." Like last year, I know that our economy has taken a down turn and we all have had to make concessions and give things up as our own budgets are stretched. We would not ask you to take from what you need to provide for another, but perhaps several of us have $17.50 to provide clothing for these children again this year. $17.50 USD will provide a new shirt and pants for a little boy or a new dress (and maybe even a hat) for a little girl. You can see for yourselves the joy it brought these kids last year in their smiles. The other need that Fredrick has shared with us for the children is that most of them have no shoes. A quality pair of leather shoes costs $18.00 USD, and we would intend to provide them for as many as we're able should we raise more than what's needed for the Christmas clothes.

Warmest regards in Christ Jesus,

--Greg & Sandra