"He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8
In 2010 Kristen traveled to Kenya with Compassion International. Through this trip the Lord burdened her heart for the girls in the slums of Kenya. When she saw the slums firsthand, and later heard of the horrible circumstances the girls face, she knew she had to do something to help.
These are just some of the issues these girls face in Kenya (as listed in a Mercy House brochure):
- Annually, 21,000 women are hospitalized from having an illegal, unsafe abortion in Kenya.
- 13,000 Kenya girls are kicked out of school for being pregnant.
- Every 30 minutes a woman is raped in Kenya.
- Mothers often force their daughters into trading sex for food in the slums.
- More than 20,000 children are sex trafficked in Kenya.
Kristen founded the Mercy House to provide a safe place for young moms and their babies. The Mercy House provides prenatal and postnatal care, good nutrition, counseling, education, and Bible teaching. They also teach girls skills, such as jewelry making and sewing. The girls and their babies are given a safe and nurturing home to live in while they learn and heal. There is also a graduate program to continue to care for the girls once they leave The Mercy House.
Last year (in)courage created this video to tell the story of Mercy House. Please take 6 minutes to watch it. I promise it will be well worth your time! If you are reading this in an email, you may need to click over to the blog to view the video.
I love the work that Mercy House is doing. I have been following them through Kristen's blog and through their facebook page. It has been so encouraging to see the moms' smiles grow, to hear stories of how they are coming to know Jesus as Savior, and to see their babies grow and thrive.
Kristen recently spent a week visiting Mercy House. You can read about her trip in these posts on her blog:
- On Exhaustion, Desperation and Finding God
- A Portrait of a Miracle
- The Family Way
- Expecting Grace
- With God All Things Are Possible
- The Domino Effect
- She Opens Her Hand
Would you be interested in helping to support Mercy House and the girls there? Mercy House has an online shop featuring jewelry and other crafts that are handmade by the young mothers! Do you need to stock up on items in your gift closet? Shopping at Mercy House would be a great way to add some unique items to your gift closet and bless the girls at Mercy House in the process. Are you looking for a unique Mother's Day gift? If you order this week, you should receive your items before Mother's Day.
They have a beautiful Mother's Day card.
These Mother/Daughter necklaces are lovely. Are you a mom with a little girl? You can treat yourself for Mother's Day! The necklaces can be purchased as a set or individually.
One of my favorite items is this rolled art with the Africa mat. You can also buy this with a mat in the shape of Haiti, China, or a cross.
If you don't need to go shopping, but want to support the ministry of Mercy House, you can do so here.
Mercy House is offering a $25 gift certificate to one of my readers! To enter the giveaway, please visit the Mercy House Shop. Then come back here and leave a comment to let us know what your favorite item is! A winner will be chosen next week on May 1st.
* This giveaway is now closed.
I love the Harvest color rolled paper necklace! Such a great ministry!!
ReplyDeleteLove Mercy House! My favorite is the Mother's Nest necklace.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful ministry!!! Loved hearing about this. My favorite is definitely the mother/daughter necklace set :-)
ReplyDeleteI especially like the mother's nest pottery necklace. It's so neat to hear of another ministry in Africa, especially as we are preparing to return to Uganda. I love being introduced to new ministries there. Thank you for sharing about Mercy House. It's exciting!
ReplyDeleteI like the barrel bead necklace but then I saw the paper bowl and my mom would really like that!
ReplyDeleteI love the 8 x 10 Cross picture. Very colorful and beautiful!!
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