Great trip to Happy Life!

Happy Life 2017

Back home from Kenya!

Our team has returned from Kenya with full hearts and wonderful memories of our time at Happy Life Children's Home and Juja Farm School!  It was another great trip this year with a wonderful team. Our hosts at Happy Life were so pleased to have us back and said how thankful they are for our teams from Texas.

We were able to bring 12 large suitcases full of donations this year and were also able to purchase many needed items in Kenya with the generous donations we received including food, medicine, diapers, wipes, school books and supplies, two cook top stoves and a refrigerator for one of the new homes at the Juja Farm school, and a commercial dryer for the Children's home...and more! Thank you to everyone who generously donated and allowed us to bless Happy Life with these much needed items!

2017 Donations 

Stove top for new home at Juja Farm School 

Refrigerator

Lots of diapers!

We all had so much fun feeding and loving on all the precious little babies in the nursery...and playing outside with the older babies and toddlers between feeding times. 

The mothers SO appreciated all the extra helping hands!

It was a special treat to meet baby Cindy!  I was so honored to have one of these precious babies named after me!             

Me and baby Cindy

Feeding baby Cindy

It was an extra blessing to see my sponsored child and little sweetheart Jesse Kay from last year, and little Gideon from 2 years ago.  Gideon came to Happy Life so small and failing to thrive, but is doing much better and is growing and finally learning to walk, thanks to all the loving care of the Happy Life staff! 

Jesse Kay

Gideon

We enjoyed our visit to Happy Life Juja Farm School and playing with the school-aged children for an afternoon.  These beautiful children captured everyone's hearts as they sang songs and had fun taking lots of pictures with us!

It was great to see the progress on the construction of the new Jesse Kay Medical Center and get a tour. What a beautiful facility which will be a huge blessing to Happy Life and the community!  It is close to completion and scheduled to open in November.  

Jesse Kay Medical Center

View from the rooftop of the new Medical Center

We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with this wonderful organization in caring for and loving on these precious orphaned children!

Happy Life Team 2017

Thank you to all who contributed 

to help make this trip possible!!

Leaving for Africa!

Ready to leave for Happy Life!

We are all thankful to be safe and dry after Hurricane Harvey and able to leave as planned for Kenya today!

We are so excited for the opportunity to GO and Serve...and love on all the babies and give the "mothers" a helping hand with caring for all the precious children at Happy Life!

This year we have about 800 pounds of donations...packed and repacked...twice, since we removed some items from our bags to donate locally to help those affected here in the Houston area by Hurricane Harvey.  We have also received over $7000 in cash donations to spend once we arrive in Kenya.  These donations are an added bonus to bring along with us to bless Happy Life!

Happy Life Children's Home is opening a Pediatric Hospital and clinic to serve their community this fall...and we were able to raise enough funds (with the help of Rescue Hope and Medical Bridges) to ship two 40-foot containers filled with gently used medical equipment for the hospital.  These containers left the USA in July and will arrive in Kenya sometime in October.  We are so excited to see this new building when we arrive and glad it will provide more guest rooms to accommodate our larger team size this year!

IF you would like more information about this wonderful ministry, check out their website at: www.happylifechildrenshome.com, and also take a look at recent happenings on their blog at:  http://happylifekenya.blogspot.com

Thank you for partnering with us through your prayers and support...and for going on this journey with us!

Blessings,

The 2017 Happy Life Team

Julie Ewers

Lauren & Shelby Jenkins

Barbara Young

Schelley & Mickey Tucker

Pam Wolfe

Mary & John Kievit

Jill Parmeter

Liz Glass

Cindy Gross

Leaving for Kenya Next Month!

Happy Life 2016

Returning to Happy Life in 3 weeks!

Getting excited about our upcoming trip to Kenya! 
Our team will be leaving on September 5th to volunteer for 10 days at Happy Life Children's Home...I can't wait to return once again and love on all those precious babies!  

We've collected suitcases full of donations to take with us and are raising funds to purchase needed items while in Kenya. Thanks to the generosity of the Missions Department at Woodlands Church, I will have a suitcase full of shoes, diapers and baby wipes to bring along with me to bless the children at Happy Life.

Donations from Woodlands Church
Missions Department

I'm looking forward to seeing little Jesse Kay, my sponsored child.  He was one of the precious babies we met on our last visit.  I'm praying for a very special family to adopt him and give him a forever home.

Jesse Kay 2016

I am so grateful for all those who have partnered with me and the support I've received to help cover the cost of my trip!

If you would like to make a donation to help purchase needed items for Happy Life, please make your check payable to Happy Life Children's Home and mail no later than August 25th to: 

Cindy Gross

21031 Gold Candlestick Dr.

Hockley, TX  77447

Thank you for your prayers and support as we GO and be the hands and feet of Jesus...and a blessing to the staff and children at Happy Life!

Blessings!

Cindy

Africa Update

Our team leaves for Kenya in just 3 months!

Our team keeps growing…and there are now 11 of us going on this mission trip in September, our largest team yet!  We are busy preparing and raising funds for our trip, and are all looking forward to an awesome time serving and being the Lord’s hands and feet to the staff and all the children at HappyLife!

We had a lovely visit this month from Peter and Faith Ndungu, the Kenyan Directors of HappyLife Children’s Home in Nairobi. They came to Texas to met with local churches and develop new relationships, and raise awareness and support for their ministry to the abandoned children of Kenya.  I had the privilege of connecting them with our Missions pastor at Woodlands Church while they were here in the Houston area.  

Visit from HappyLife Directors, 
Peter and Faith Ndungu

                                                                                                   

Meeting with Missions pastor 
at Woodlands Church

One of our Team Leaders, hosted a fundraising dinner for HappyLife at her home. Peter and Faith had the opportunity to share about their ministry and Child Sponsorship Program, and the new Pediatric Hospital they are building adjacent to the Children’s Home in the community of Roysambu just outside of Nairobi. 

It was a great evening for all!

         

Peter, Faith with Julie & Schelley, 
our Team Leaders and Dinner Hosts 

With Peter and Faith at Benefit Dinner

I want to thank everyone who has donated toward my trip!  My airline ticket and ground transportation fees have been paid for through your generous donations!

*I still need approximately $650 to cover the remainder of my costs for this trip. Any funds received over and above this amount will go toward purchasing needed clothing and supplies for the Children’s home.

If you would like to partner with me on this mission trip through your financial support, please make your tax-deductible donation check out to HappyLife Children’s Home, with my name in the memo line, and mail your check to me by June 10th to:

Cindy Gross

4018 Coltwood Dr.

Spring, TX 77388

I am so grateful for your prayers and support as I prepare for this mission trip!  I can't wait to go love on all those precious babies again!!

Love and blessings,

Cindy

Volunteer at Happy Life    

By Sara Kamini, Happy Life Administrator 

“I recently sat with a couple that has always wanted to come and visit us but said they could not because they thought we charge a fee, it honestly broke my heart.”  “There is so much to do at Happy Life that money cannot buy…holding a baby, loving on them, talking to our teenagers, and now that our school is becoming bigger, we need counselors who can volunteer their services.”  “We need all the help we can get and everybody is welcome to visit as often as they like.”

Visit: happylifechildrenshome.com

HappyLife 2016

Kenya 2017

Returning to Happy Life this year!

I'm thrilled to share the news that we are returning to Kenya to serve at Happy Life Children's Home this September! Our team will be traveling from Houston to Nairobi on September 5th and will spend 10 days volunteering at Happy Life, helping feed and care for all the precious orphans there. We also plan to visit the children at Happy Life Christian School in Juja again this year and take the children on another field trip. It's such a blessing and privilege to come alongside Happy Life's loving and dedicated staff and give these precious children a little extra love and attention!

Our Team at Happy Life in 2016... 

                                                               

      

We will be collecting donations of clothing, shoes, and supplies to take along with us for the children, along with cash donations to purchase items locally in Nairobi for the Children's Home and School. Last year we brought extra suitcases filled with over 600 lbs of donations, and we hope to be able to bring as much again this year and bless the children and staff at Happy Life!

2016 Donations

I'm so excited for this opportunity to return once again and love on all the precious children at Happy Life!

I'm raising funds to cover the cost of this mission trip. The cost including airfare, visa, transportation, accommodation, meals and expenses will be approximately $1,750.00. My goal is to have my airline ticket covered and fees to Happy Life paid by the beginning of March.

If you would like to partner with me by giving a tax-deductible donation, please make your check payable to Happy Life Children's Home with my name in the memo line, or make your check payable to me, and mail checks to:

Cindy Gross

4018 Coltwood Dr.

Spring, TX  77388

I am so grateful to everyone who has partnered with me as I've served with this wonderful organization over the past two years, and would be SO blessed to have you partner with me this year to help make this trip possible!  

Happy Life 2016

To learn more about Happy Life and the difference they 

are making in these orphaned children's lives....

check out their website @ happylifechildrenshome.com 

or view their blog @ happylifekenya.blogspot.com

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father 
means caring for orphans and widows in their distress."

~James 1:27~