Hello everyone from everyone here at Mercy Rescue Trust. Since the last news letter we have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas thanks to the Ta Nash Project, probably the best yet!! The children were able to enjoy Christmas stockings and presents for the first time and they were very happy. We had chicken, chapattis, rice etc cooking throughout the day until people were almost bursting from eating so much. We also had a Christmas tree which Bill and Jimmy managed to put up and decorate, not without some of the little ones trying to pull it down from time to time though. We had so much food to go around that we were able to invite a few of the street kids from town to come and enjoy some food at our place for Christmas and they really enjoyed. Bill had some clothes that he no longer needed and gave them some new clothes to wear as theirs were very worn and dirty. It was good that not only we were able to give the children here a lovely Christmas but also bless other children who usually have nothing to look forward to. The day was full of fun and smiles and the children even now still talk about wanting another Christmas soon!

The children are now back at school after their long Easter break and they are all doing very well. Moses has now finished his second term of new school thanks to a new sponsor who is now supporting his education. We have eleven children now going to school. He was very excited as he tried on his school uniform for the first time the night before the first day. He is adjusting and says he enjoys school very much. Moses has a lot of energy and I’m sure play time, PE and lunch are his favourite parts of the school day so far. The other children are coming home with homework every day and our preschool teacher here goes through it with them before she goes home in the evening. They are adding and subtracting now and I’m always so surprised with how much they are learning. Filda graduated from 3^rd term of kindergarten to standard 1 1^st term before breaking for Christmas which was a very proud moment for her and us. The Graduation ceremony was great and we were able to get it recorded by someone on DVD and the children love to watch it sometimes before going to bed. I’m always so great full for the education sponsorship which Kelly was able to raise. Without it, most of these children would not be experiencing school and making new friends outside of the centre.

We had a wonderful visit from Clare and Mr. Frantic in January and were able to spend some good quality time plus get lots of things done. Frantic was able to use his gift of music to put together some video clips while he was here and the children thought it was absolutely fabulous. They are still singing Mercy Mercy Some of you may know that Sara, one of our members of staff here was taken quite sick last year and had to have immediate surgery which made us all worry. The surgery went well and they are still waiting for some test results. She had been off work for quite some time in recovery but I’m happy to say now she is back with us since the beginning of Jan and boy had we missed her!! The children were delighted to see her face back in the centre and she had missed them so much.

Before Christmas we met a dear couple from Nairobi that wished to foster, eventually adopt a young baby girl. They instantly fell in love with little Emma Mercy who was just a few months old and wished to take her right there that minute. We referred them to the Children Department so they could move in the direction of fostering her and it all went smoothly. Within a couple of weeks we were able to hand little Emma Mercy over to her new parents. We have heard from them and they tell us she is doing great and growing every day. We look forward to their visit so we can see how she is doing. Also soon after Christmas we were able to finally hand over little Angie to her new foster parents, Martin and Catherine. It had been a long wait but when the day finally arrived all were happy and we will keep close and let you know how she is doing as we live fairly close to them. Before Christmas also we had to say our goodbyes to Eugene who has been with us for a few years now. His Mother was now able to take him and support him which we had always wanted for him but we didn’t realize it would take so long. We have obviously grown very close to Eugene over the years so it was quite a lot harder releasing him. He has taken a while to adjust and misses us very much but he has improved. We have had to give it some time before Mama Eugene coming with him for a visit as it might confuse him but we do really look forward to seeing him soon.

In January we had a little boy come to us and his name is David and he is roughly 2 years old. The children’s Department brought him to us through another home which was unable to keep him there. He originally had been abandoned at the District Hospital by the mother. He is a very active little boy with much to say. He keeps making us laugh! The first thing he said to me was “Habari Mzungu,” which means how are you white person? It had everybody in hysterics! Now mostly he calls me Madam which is what he is probably used to. He is also very loving and I’m already very fond of him. We hope he settles in with us well but we think he is already feeling comfortable now.

We are happy to have Lillian who is back from maternity for the last few months. She and her beautiful baby girl are doing very well. We are now awaiting the arrival of Eva’s baby!

Sally and I were able to go and visit Bella Bella (who is now Genesis) at her new home with her new Mama and Baba. Bella Bella was fostered out while Sally and Mick were here in October and because I hadn’t met them as I was in England, I wanted to go and pay a visit to see how they were all doing. I was really happy to see their home and to see how much they adored this little girl. Although she had been sick with malaria, it was apparent how happy she was with the Mother and Father. She did not want Sally and me to hold her and kept always looking for the parents. She is almost walking and has grown big. I enjoyed my time there and we are going to keep close in touch with the family. The Mama also gave us one of their chickens for the babies to eat which they will enjoy on Saturday!

Our little ones here are doing very well. Teacher Anne does some work and activities with the young preschoolers and keeps them very active throughout the day. We have babies walking now which is fun especially as you spend most of your time running after them....they are into everything!! We have the three trouble makers....David Nandwas, Joy and Jacob Abraham....very naughty but extremely lovely! They spend all their time together finding what kind of mischief they can get into. Their usual favourite is getting into the soil and rubbing it all over each other....fun!! But most of all they are happy and secure which is the main thing. Little Grace has started trying to crawl and little Prince William is not far behind her. Little Paul is doing well but the Doctor would like for me to go with Sally tomorrow as he has a few concerns in regards to his development but I will know more tomorrow. Please pray for him.

Some of you may know that we were hoping to reunite Maggie with her father few months back but unfortunately he has disappeared and we do not know how to find him. We are not sure why this is but we still wish for this to happen as his story really touched us.

The people I would like to say thank you to from Kitale are...

Kitale Printers for giving us a kind donation of things before Christmas like biscuits, porridge flour, juice etc and some lovely clothes for the children

Bill and Patricia for donating lots and lots of formula milk for the babies, it has taken us very far!

Merry Christmas Tree Fund for the donation of food for the children.

From all of us here at Mercy Rescue Trust, we say we love you, we appreciate you and we thank God for you! Thank you for everything.

Naomi and Bill