The Welch Family
We are just a simple family who is answering God's call. Terrell and Kristen have been married for 17 years and are raising three children. Kristen writes the parenting blog, We are THAT family and author of her first book, Don't Make Me Come Up There March 2011.

In March of 2010, she traveled to Kenya, Africa, with Compassion International, the world's largest child sponsorship program, to blog their relief efforts in the slums of Nairobi. She was especially burdened visiting the Mathare Valley, one of Africa's largest slums. Just days after returning home, Kristen read a heartbreaking article by CNN about the large number of backstreet abortions by girls forced into prostitution to feed their families.

Maureen Owino
While in Kenya, Kristen met Maureen, one of Compassion's leadership students, a former sponsored child. Maureen is single, 25 years old and will graduate from the University of Nairobi in December 2010. She speaks 5 languages and traveled to the Unites States in the summer of 2010 on behalf of Compassion International to speak to thousands of students at Student Life Camps. Her moving life story led to the sponsorship of more than a thousand impoverished children.

She has since become a very dear friend of the Welch family. Just weeks after returning from Africa, Kristen emailed Maureen and asked if she knew of any ministries reaching out or offering an alternative to the young girls having backstreet abortions. She didn't know of any.

Maureen partnered with Terrell and Kristen to pray specifically about these precious girls. Four months later, God spoke to Maureen's heart and birthed a vision to help these girls. When Maureen emailed Kristen with this news, both knew that God was beginning a good work. The Welch family lives in America and plan to mobilize people to give with the help of supportive friends, family and blog readers.  Maureen is in Kenya with the language, education, leadership skills and the heart to be the hands of feet of Jesus.

In the summer of 2010, The Mercy Maternity House was formed to support the work Maureen will be doing. Maureen is the full-time as the Executive Director of Rehema House (word for mercy in Swahili) in Kenya. While she works in Africa, The Welch family raises money and awareness while supporting Maureen and her staff.

Maureen completed training in Ethiopia in early 2011 and moved into the maternity home in April 2011. She hired staff in May of 2011 and welcomed our first girls that month.

As of Marcy 2012, we have 7 girls, 4 babies and a handful of staff members. We give glory to God for all that He has done and we covet your prayers.

If you'd like to hear Maureen's powerful testimony of how she was rescued from poverty, please click here.