Dear Friends and Partners,

A long time ago in the small town of Bethlehem a huge tidal wave that would rock the basic morals of the earth was unleashed through the birth of a divine child called Jesus Christ. By then, no one knew the extent of his coming to this world and it was hidden for sometime but soon the tidal wave was real and that is why all over the world we celebrate Christmas and it is not all about the gifts and goodies we receive but all about the joy and love that the season brings all around and that is an amazing fact. This has been a Christmas like no other and I can say surely we saw the love of Christ flowing through the visitors and friends who either came or called to wish us a happy Christmas.

Surely 2008 was a tough year after the losing a loving dad and father but through it all we have seen a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We have seen God’s providence and faithfulness through and through. I hope as you read this newsletter you will smile and thank God for He is faithful in all circumstances.

ANGEL TREE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL LITTLE ANGELS IN HURUMA
At first when I heard about it the thought that came to my mind was a tree full of angels and when Mama Lisa told me all about it totally made me amazed about God’s providence. Children all over the world will always be children and that includes the children of Huruma. I remember Mama Zipporah telling them to pray about their Christmas gifts and what they would love to get and they earnestly prayed. Surely God is faithful because the entire congregation of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Arizona came together and gave whatever they could to make sure that every child at Huruma got a present. I wish you were there to see the smile on the children’s faces as they opened their gifts.

The joy and laughter that filled the house was immeasurable and great. The presents were put around the Christmas tree and Mama sang the Christmas carols but evidently all the children’s eyes were on the gifts around the tree and the anticipation was in the air!!! Mama started calling out the children for their presents and the joy that showed on their faces was amazing!!!! Mama had asked the children not to open their presents until everyone had a present but the excitement was great and guess what, most of the children opened their presents before time and there was a lot of “Thank you Jesus in the air!!! The children were so happy as they opened their presents and they showed each other what they had got!!!!

Our prayer is that God will bless Pastor Linn and Lisa Winters and the entire congregation of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship for making our Christmas bright. Surely you showed the love of Christ through your giving and God bless you for your kind and generous hearts. Also we greatly thank Mary L, Shauna and Kalen who tirelessly sat down and wrapped down all the presents and named them so that each child would get a wrapped present, God bless you.

MAMA LISA COMES FOR CHRISTMAS
Pastor Lisa fondly known to the children as Mama Lisa, wrote to me and told me that she was coming for Christmas and I and the children at Huruma were very happy. Mama Lisa together with the wonderful congregation of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship gave Mama Zipporah a shoulder to cry on during the difficult times after losing Papa Isaac. Really Mama needed a friend and a shoulder to cry on and Mama Lisa was such a wonderful friend to her and we thank Jesus for her.

God bless her for her kind heart and offering to spend Christmas and New Year with us. During New Year she brought some pops that would make a noise when they hit the floor and surely they were a hit with the children and one child specifically threw one near me and I sprinted high to acquire a long jump sprint record in Olympics!!! It was a lot of fun and God bless you for loving us in a great and awesome way.

MARY LIZ JAMES
Mary Liz James also fondly called Mary L by the children is a great friend of the Home. This Christmas she decided to spend it at Huruma and she had a wonderful surprise for the children of Huruma in store. At Huruma the girls love watching Mexican or Spanish soap operas and the boys like watching soccer and wrestling but there is one thing in common they all love and it is watching a movie. When Mary L and Mama Zipporah went for shopping she asked Mama what would be the best gift for the children and she said a Television so that all the children can watch a movie from a central point.

I wish you were there to see the faces of the children when the Television was unloaded from the vehicle. It is a really big one and they children were looking forward to seeing it and when it was put in place there were sounds of whoa!!! In the air!!! It was so captivating to see the joy in their faces as they watched movies on the screen. Mary L, God bless you for putting a smile on the hearts of the children and I tell you the Television is quite a hit!!! Now movies can be viewed by all in the dining hall.

MAMA ZIPPORAH HAS A LIVE INTERVIEW ON NATION TELEVISION (NTV)
Getting a slot on national television is quite a hustle especially a live recording. Mama Zipporah came in from the US and before she came in I was contacted that she had a live interview at the national television on the 18th of December. When Mama came in I told her about the awesome news and I said that surely that is God’s intervention because none of us ever contacted the station for an interview. She went for the interview. Calls jammed the telephone as callers requested to talk to her.

Surely God is a good God because we would never have thought in either the near or far future that Mama will talk on National Television and for sure God is faithful. On October and November Mama Zipporah was down after losing her loving husband but there is an African saying that states that the thickest darkness is seen and felt before the dawn. I believe the dawn of Huruma is coming and God will make our light shine to the whole world. It has been so hard on her and we have been all been praying for her. Many times she has crying when she is on her own but we have pleaded with her to stop for God is still in control.

CORPORATE INSURANCE
Three years ago, the Corporate Insurance adopted our home and give us fire and burglary insurance worth 15m. Since they came to know about us they have made it a must that every Christmas we are apart of them. This year for the second time they took us to Mamba village for the whole day where children took part in many programs which are there and later had Lunch with them. The children had a great time playing, eating and having fun and they felt really loved and well thought off. We missed our Dad because he loved the trips to the Mamba village and from the bottom of our hearts we thank Corporate insurance for making our Christmas beautiful.

RUSINGA SCHOOL
Since Rusinga School came to visit us they have been our friends and partners and they spend every Christmas with us. We are really touched by their generosity and they came and brought soda and foodstuffs for the children and they took lunch with us!!! It was great and awesome for the children to eat together with our friends. Surely they have a great heart to come and spend time with us and it was awesome. Our prayer is that God will bless Rusinga School and the love they have shown us is immeasurable and awesome and God bless you.

THE WORLD GOSPEL MISSION
Dr. and Mrs. Johnson are great and personal friends of the Home and they really care for the medical and physical well being of our children especially the ones who are HIV positive. For Christmas they donated six goats to be eaten for the Christmas feast at Huruma! Goat meat is a delicacy in Kenya and during this festive season getting one is quite a hustle and costly. They kind and generous donation ensured that the children had a great Christmas and from the bottom of our hearts we say thank you.

SUPER TWELVE
Mr. and Mrs. James were like the first evangelists who came and saw what Jesus had done and they went praising God to the others of what God had done. Super twelve is a group made up of six married couples and they were identifying an orphanage which they could help and they sent Mr. and Mrs. James and they took the good news and as a group they came to celebrate Christmas with us, they shared the Christmas spirit and joy with us and our prayer is that God to really bless them for their generosity and love.

KISERIAN BUTCHERY ASSOCIATION
This association is formed by young Christian men who know the Lord and they are in the Butchery business. There was a need in their heart to share whatever they got as extra profit to an orphanage and they identified Huruma. Surely this is divine intervention because they followed the call in their hearts to come and visit Huruma. They spent the afternoon with the children and from the bottom of our hearts we say thank you for your love that you showed by coming to share Christmas with us.

THE NAIROBI SAFARI CLUB
Since the Nairobi Safari Club came to know about us they have been sharing the Christmas spirit with us. Jane who is a manager at the Hotel has always had a soft spot for Huruma and we pray God that He blesses her for her kind heart. She organized for the hotel to come and visit the home and they donated foodstuffs, clothes and a bed to the Home and we thank God for their heart of generosity. We are ever grateful when we see fellow Kenyans coming in support of Mama Zipporah and we know that she has many supporters urging her on.

MAMA AND BABA SHIKU FROM HIGHRIDGE
We are ever happy when our friends and partners open their hearts and Homes for our children and spend Christmas with them,. We would love to thank Mama and Baba Shiku for their love and kindness by taking three of our children namely Paul, Miriam and Gakuro for Christmas. Surely you are blessed and may God bless you.

MEDICAL CAMP AT HURUMA
On the 22nd of December the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) together with the nurses from Kenyatta National Hospital came to Huruma Children’s Home and organized a medical camp for the entire community that lives around the area and that includes Ngong and its environs. Also CCK as a group donated foodstuffs to the Home in the spirit of the Christmas season and we than them for making our Christmas bright. Surely your generosity touched the heart of a needy child and from the bottom of our hearts we say thank you and God bless you.

ON-GOING PROJECTS
Through the generosity of Kenya Commercial Bank, we are happy and proud to say that the railings were fully installed in the upper classes. This is a huge achievement because now the school is secure in regards to the upper classes which are in the storey building. Also the stairs are near completion and we thank God for His providence and faithfulness though our friends and partners.

CONCLUSION BY MAMA ZIPPORAH
We want to thank God for his faithfulness because before my husband went to be with the Lord, I, him and the Gospel Dancers were to travel to USA to go and create awareness of our need to build dormitories for our children. We applied for new passport and our pictures were taken and previously we had gone to the Embassy for the visa but they advised us that our Dad’s passport was due for replacement and they gave him an open day for his visa for we were supposed to travel on the 13th of November together. Even though Dad went to be with Lord I had to go to U.S.A. after his burial with one of the Gospel dancers’ who had a passport for we had to speak in Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Chandler Arizona on the 17th November which we did and we glorify the Lord for giving us strength. I want to Thank God for giving us strength and loving people around us who saw we were was okay and made sure we called home everyday.

It was very hard for our children for Dad died only 10 days before their exams. We buried him on 8th of November only one day before the national exam. Our first boy Richard who is very bright got only 313 marks out of 500 hundred of the needed marks. We thank Mama Lisa and Pastor Linn and Dave and Kathy sweet who have sponsored two children in Danana School which is a private school and we still believe we shall get school for each one of them for l promised them and no one is to blame. I still believe there is a hope and a future for them and together we shall climb to greater heights. Because of your [prayers and support you have helped us reach where we are today and thanks to God every day for bringing you us. May God bless you so abaduntantly.

The finishing of the church and construction of new dormitories which will accommodate 400 children will start in January 2009. Thanks for the fundraiser called ‘FLOOD THE DESERT’. Truthfully it did not flood only in Arizona which is desert but flooded in Huruma Children’s Home in Kenya where we have economical drought and children became victims of circumstances. We would love to thank Cornerstone Christian Fellowship for making our dream for better environment for an orphaned child. Thanks for enabling this miracle to happen in our home. . The church will be installed with modern equipments in terms of sound and visuals and it has a balcony. We thank Jesus for His faithfulness and giving us the desires of our heart according to Psalms 18.

We may not be able to mention each and everyone who touched our lives during this Christmas period but from the bottom of our hearts we say thank you. You have been a great support and help through the year of 2008 and we pray that as we embark on 2009 the friendship and love we have towards each other will grow stronger and greater. Surely God is a good God and in every situation he shows us His love and faithfulness. Mama Zipporah

Our Prayer Request

Issues and Situations to thank God for:

• Our Health and God protection for all our children and Staff.
• Your Protection our Friends and Partners
• Provision for food
• Provision for funds for the on going Projects
• Thanking God for making our home to be given the new registration
• Thanking God for you our Partners and the Battalion on Volunteers who come and stay with us in Huruma
• Thank God for the provision of funds to start the building of Church and the dormitories and l believe it will be finished next year when we will dedicate it to the Lord
• Thank God for providing Christmas Gifts for all the children

I want to say for those who would not like to be left out in building the dormitories you are free to give

1) KENYAN DONORS
Contact Mama Zipporah [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ] OR SEND YOUR DONATION TO: Huruma Trust Fund, A/C 1621704 BARCLAYS BANK OF KENYA, KAREN BRANCH, P.O. BOX 24180-00502, NAIROBI

2) USA DONORS (DOLLAR ACCOUNT)
Make checks out to “Cornerstone Church” and annotate on the bottom left in capital letters “HURUMAFUND” AND THEN SEND TO: Cornerstone Church Attn: HURUMA FUND 451 N. Dean Ave,Chandler, Arizona 85226Cornerstone Church , Phone: 480-726-8000 , Fax: 480.726.8001 www.cornerstonechandler.com

For those who want to bank wire funds directly to Huruma you can find the necessary information below. Show the following information to any bank and they will complete the direct bank wire form:

Dollar Account

Huruma Trust Fund
BARCLAYS BANK OF KENYA,
KAREN BRANCH,
P.O. BOX 24180-00502,
NAIROBI.

Euro Account

BARCLAYS BANK OF KENYA,
KAREN BRANCH,
P.O. BOX 24180-00502,
NAIROBI.

4) FOR DONORS IN GERMANY

please contact Sabrina Ensenbach This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

5) FOR DONORS IN CANADA

please contact Donna Mansfield This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NB: For receipts please let us know that you have sent the donations and your address so that we can send it to you; for tax exemption purposes.