Do you attend a special Christmas concert or play each year? Christmas provides a unique opportunity for our programs in countries where the story of Jesus' birth is not as well known. Read on for insight into these special Christmas performances and what they mean in different countries.

Click to read more ...

Your sponsored child may live halfway around the world, but you have more in common than you think in terms of Christmas traditions... especially food! We even included some recipes if you'd like to try something different this year!

Click to read more ...

In the coming weeks you should receive a Christmas card from your sponsored child, and on it will be Christmas wishes in their own hand. We love this time of year because you can see the anticipation of Christmas in the children's heartfelt wishes. 

But very few of the children in our programs speak English -- so what do their Christmas wishes look like?

In most of the countries in which we work, the language spoken does not use a Latin or Roman alphabet such as what we use in English or what many of the countries in Africa or Central America use above. 

Yet the result is just as beautiful. Several countries, such as the Philippines and India, have regions that use different languages or dialects, which are represented below.

And then there's the Middle East, where Christ and the Christmas season was born. What wonderful wishes!

It's a bit early to wish you a Merry Christmas, but we can't help getting in the spirit! 

Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan. If you sponsor a child with a Muslim background, what does that mean for daily life?

Click to read more ...

One sponsor shares how committing to help a young Muslim girl changed the way she wrote letters... click here to read more.

No doubt you have seen the disturbing images and stories: the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 60 years is devastating areas in northeast Kenya, southeast Ethiopia, and Somalia. (Click here for a map.)

Thousands of Somali refugees are fleeing the drought-ravaged region and humanitarian organizations are struggling to meet the desperate need posed by chronic malnutrition, especially in children.

Although our projects in Kenya and Ethiopia are some distance from the hardest-hit areas in Somalia, the entire region is struggling as the price of basic food stuffs rises dramatically.

Many of the communities we serve depend on herding animals for their income and survival; as the drought worsens, it is more difficult for flocks to find proper pasture. Some communities in northern Kenya have seen an increase in dangerous and violent raids to steal livestock.

Mission of Mercy has been monitoring the the prolonged drought in several regions in Kenya. Thanks to the resources available in our Children's Crisis Fund, we have provided over
1 million protein-enriched rice meals to ensure the children in our programs could eat. We are also providing clean sources of water.

Together with several international partners, we are coordinating the delivery of more food packets. Our staff in Kenya and Ethiopia continue to check the health of the children, who are often the most vulnerable in times of great need. Our health care workers are trained to evaluate the nutrition needs of the children, utilizing Medical Mercy assessment tools and a “rapid rescue” program for those at great risk.

Please join us in prayer for the people in this region:

• That humanitarian organizations already on the ground will have the means and supplies to respond.
• That the needed materials, medicine, and food would flow unhindered from the organizations, through the governments and customs, and into the hands of the people who need it most.
• That the donation of additional food packets for Mission of Mercy projects would go quickly, and that our partner organizations would be blessed.
• That the global Church would respond to these desperate situations.
• That the communities we serve are protected in terms of the health of the families as well as safety from raiding livestock thieves.

If you are interested in helping us meet the needs in this increasingly desperate region, please consider giving to our Children’s Crisis Fund, which provides for the acute health needs of children as well as nutritional aids like the rice packs our children call Manna.

Homes in Sub-Saharan Africa reflect an ingenuity fitting of their sparse environment. Could you build a home out of mud, sticks, and tin?

Click to read more ...

How does your sponsored child celebrate Easter? Some of the traditions are more familiar than you'd think...

Click to read more ...

What difference does sponsorship make? Dr. Beyda shares another post about Medical Mercy's time in the Weliso area, about the visible difference between sponsored children and others int he community, and how a family welcomed them into their home.

Click to read more ...

Another short update from Dr. Beyda as the Medical Mercy team wraps up its clinics in Ethiopia. Just how good are the newly trained Health Care Workers?

Click to read more ...

Medical Mercy continues to serve the children in several of our Ethiopia projects through their clinics this week.

For a glimpse of a clinic, here are some images from their time in the community of Zeway.

With several clinics in Weliso and Addis Ababa ahead of them, the team continues to ask for prayer. Thank you for joining us in lifting them up to our God who cares so deeply for His children! 

A short text update from Dr. Beyda:

Zeway Day 2 of clinic: Still no internet or phone data service. Maybe we'll have service tomorrow as we head north thru Addis Ababa towards Weliso.

Today was a little different. Children and adult patients, and many were HIV positive. Sickness prevailed, hope scarce. The Health Care Workers did well, seeing the limits of what we could do and what should be done. More to come once we have internet, but for now all is as expected and the team is doing well.

David

Medical Mercy's efforts in Zeway are much needed. A major highway cuts through this community; the high rate of HIV infections makes it plain that more than marketable goods travel this route.

Please pray for this community, that those who were treated today can know that God cares deeply for them, that a physical and emotional healing is realized through the work of the clinic and the child development center staff. Please continue to pray for the Medical Mercy team as they travel to Weliso, another city south of Addis Ababa.

Dr. Beyda was able to send a small post this evening (morning in Ethiopia) about their time so far:

It's about 4:30 am here in the small community of Zeway. Sleep is elusive. I can't help thinking of the 150 children we saw yesterday, many of whom were orphans, some with TB, more with suspected HIV, a few malnourished, and all living in poverty. But all were smiling. Big smiles. Happy to be alive.

I am envious of their attitude, their acceptance of the life they live and the hope they have. I wonder how we would be if we lived their life? With the earthquake in Japan, we are awakened once again to our vulnerability. With what we are seeing here in Ethiopia, we are awakened once again to the blessings we've been given. In a few hours we'll be back in clinic giving of ourselves, thankful for the chance, but realizing how vulnerable we are as well.

In all things give thanks,

David

We hope to post another update from the team soon. In the meantime, know that your support plays a large role in bringing smiles to those little faces. Thank you!

Cell phone and internet service is limited where Medical Mercy is serving in Ethiopia, but Dr. Beyda and the team have texted us about the first day of clinics. God is faithful!

Click to read more ...

On Thursday we asked for prayer regarding our Medical Mercy team and a last-minute change in visa requirements. Dr. Beyda gives us an update on their arrival and how much of their medical supplies got through customs...

Click to read more ...

Urgent prayer needed for the Medical Mercy team that leaves for Ethiopia tomorrow. Dr. Beyda spells out the situation with several specific (time-sensitive) requests. Will you pray with us?

Click to read more ...

Four quarters. A leather ball. A rectangular court with a hoop on each end. Think you know this game? It's sweeping the globe but it's not what you'd expect...

Click to read more ...

His knees tucked underneath him, the little boy pulled himself along the floor with his hands, trying in vain to reach a soccer ball across the room.
 
His mother’s question was simple: Can you help a disabled child?

Click to read more ...

This week we’ve been talking about the importance of education and how we can help. So how is your sponsored child's education supported at the project level?

Click to read more ...

If you sponsor a child, especially a boy, odds are you’ve read that his favorite sport is football. Is that the same as soccer? Why do we call it soccer, anyway?

Click to read more ...