"Well Sister Dalley and I have been busy this month with two Christmas parties, getting two missionaries prepared and off, working with Sister Beatrice who received 40,000 shillings of counterfeit money on a business transaction and was facing charges from the business owner. She is putting her papers in for a mission and that could have kept her from going.
"First of all I want to thank all those who donated funds for our Christmas gift program for Christmas.We were so impressed by your willingness to give. We received altogether $885.00 (75,225 shillings) Wow thank you so much, I am impressed by your generosity. I know why it had to be that much.
Beatrice lost the 40,000 shillings ($471.00) and was devastated and said she could not sleep all that week. If you were to compare it to us by what we make and what they make here, it would be like $4,000.00 and that is no exaggeration. Sister Dalley and I offered a very concerned prayer that week on her behalf and felt that we would offer her 30,000 shillings ($353.00) from the money that was donated. We figured that the Nakuru branch could come up with the balance by donations. When we went back up to Nakuru we found that she had negotiated it down to 30,000 and that there was no donations from the branch, which was disappointing but true. So we took her and another brother of the branch over to the police station where they paid it off with witnesses. I do hope that those of you who donated are OK with this decision. We met with her after at her home and just set there with tears in our eyes as she expressed her appreciation for that wonderful gift, the 30,000 shillings. She asked us to please thank you, for we told her if it was not for you, our family and friends, this could not have happened.
SO THANK YOU, WE WILL NEVER KNOW JUST HOW FAR THAT MONEY DID REACH."
"We took the balance of $532.00 and bought enough candy, windup cars, rope to make jump ropes, retractable pens with sticky note pads that they can't afford here, made coloring books along with crayons, CTR rings, apples, gum, suckers and sweeties. Divided them up according to ages into 164 bags with their names on them and had the branch pass them out at the end of the party. They did not open them but just hung onto them as they went home. We thought it strange that they would not open them until they told us why. They do not open their gifts until boxing day the 26 of December. It was a thrill to see them treasure those little gifts even the adults as they don't get many sweets either. I tell you those pens were a treasure for the adults. The $532.00 came out to be about $3.25 per bag, which was a wonderful gift for them. I cannot believe how it all worked out money wise. I can't thank you enough."
~Elder Dalley
Some of the kids at the Christmas party
Our Christmas tree ant the church in Nakuru
"Well its Christmas Eve, the last day I can send Christmas greetings so here they are: Merry Christmas from a beautiful, bright Kenyan summer. Yesterday Dave said he set a personal first: mowing the lawn and making a Christmas tree stand on the same day! We got three "Christmas trees" in Nakuru last Saturday which are actually limbs from a Cyprus tree but they look a bit like real firs and smell good. Dave took some boards he had found in our back storage to make a tree stand for the tree at the Nakuru church. His tools were so flimsy- you an hardly get sturdy things here- and the boards kept splitting. After a frustrating evening of work he finally made a stand that was wobbly to say the least. We figured we could tie it into the corner if we had too. When we took it out of the truck the next morning it was in pieces again. Dave hammered it together again and then found out the lights we had bought wouldn't work. We put the forty gift bags around it but looked kind of empty and forlorn but the little children were so excited as they pointed out the bags with their names on it. I had brought some sheets of paper for the children to color ornaments and make paper chains while their parents had Sunday School. Then the teacher didn't come so they decided to bag Sunday School and go right into our presentation of the Christmas Story. All my plans went out the window so right after Sacrament meeting I hurried and got the kids to color the paper ornaments and cut them out and stapled them onto the tree and with the children's ornaments we finally had a real Christmas tree.
Sister Dalley holding Lilian's baby
"Luke, our group leader there, narrated the Christmas Story. He is a big man with a sonorous voice and a great sense of fun- reminds me our David Jr. in that he owns any room he goes into. His wife, Selline, sat up front dressed as Mary holding her baby for Jesus. He is a nine month old very active child who wonderfully slept the entire time- and their 14 year old son, Pinto, put on Dave's robe and became Joseph. The reading of the birth of Jesus from the scriptures brought the spirit so strongly and as we sang the carols interspersed through out the story of Christ's birth, both Dave and I teared up thinking of the many Christmas Eves we have spent with our family surrounding us reenacting the nativity. Maybe a little homesickness is to be expected. We got through it though and handed out the bags of goodies and presents we had prepared for those wonderful saints. They were so appreciative and the kids loved the candy, gum and the toys and CTR rings. We also had a bag for each family with a bag of Green grams- a high protein lentil bean that they like to cook here -and some popcorn to pop and a small tub of margarine to put on it.
"All in all it worked out great and on the way home we were filled with the spirit of Christmas and then we looked at each other and realized the tree had actually stood on its own! Our miracle tree and additional blessing.
"Today we are having the Christmas Eve party here in Naivasha and the rest of the 164 gift bags are covering the living room floor ready to be taken to the church. Dave's growing expertise in making tree stands is evident in the tree we have ready to take also and we tested the lights and they actually work. Our own little tree is standing in a bucket of rocks and flashing happily on and off for us. Dave is presently with the branch president getting some kuku's- chickens- for a hotel (cafe here) to fry for the food for the party which they will serve along along with chapatiis - a flour tortilla like bread- and soda pop. The party is slated to last until midnight. I hope I last that long.
"So despite the lack of snow or cold we are still immersed in Christmas celebrations. I even made some gingerbread cookies- no cutters for gingerbread men but the spicy smell was Christmasy enough. Merry Christmas and thank you all so much for helping make this a very special Christmas for us and our sweet African Saints."
~Sister Dalley
Dancing at the party, they had a good laugh over us!!
~Edited by Katy Kay~
