A Christmas Miracle Realized!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Christmas went amazingly well and we have you all to thank! About 70 children and 30 mothers were present at the Maria Amor Christmas celebration, and miraculously we had a gift for every one of them. I have never seen so many children so happy with just one gift to call their own. The entire staff of the shelter sends their thanks and gratitude. Most of these children have never received a present on Christmas and this day was a true miracle for them. After a beautiful Christmas mass, and the hours of opening and playing with presents, the shelter ivited us to a wonderful Christmas meal (paid for by another donor) that the women had prepared all day for. Chris and I felt so honored to be there spending Christmas with this joyful group of people. We missed being home this year, but during those moments, sitting, eating, and laughing, there was nowhere else we could have imagined being.

That night, we waited until all the children went to sleep to bring out the final surprise...The Playset. Mike, Missy, Christopher and I spent an obscene amount of time trying to assemble this Little Tykes set, but through the expertise of a doctor, a businessman, a future lawyer, and a strong man with a fist of steel we managed to get the job done.

I came to the shelter two hours after they discovered it the next morning and all of the children were still jumping, climbing, sliding and screaming! Needless to say, they love it.

Christmas truly was amazing this year, thank you all for your prayers, support, donations and encouragement. Also, a special thank you to Mike and Missy, whom which we couldn't have done it without. Their help and and good cheer made it all amazing! And to Janet Phipps, who put hours of work into this celebration and organized a very successful fundraiser at Gateway Christian School. Thank you for making this possible!

We are working on putting together a slideshow of the Chrphotos we can email out, so if you are interested in seeing more photos of all the Christmas action send us a message with your email address!

Much Love and Cheer,
Karina & Christopher Phipps

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