Welcome 2018 and to neXtDRAFT Issue 10. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and new year. All our love and blessings to you. I feel excited about 2018 and all it will bring. 

Most of you will know that we spent Christmas without internet and Jerry was terribly sick with fever, vomiting and gastro. I was rushing around wanting to get to a resort to send out Christmas emails and FB messages until I realised that maybe it would be better to just rest and spend the time with Jerry. So I did.

Poor Jerry spent the whole of Christmas Eve vomiting, I was giving him a tablespoon of water every 15 minutes until he could hold it down. With the help of the ladies we managed to have our Christmas party (Jerry lay on a mat outside) while all the kids ran around and chased for candies. I don't have a lot of photos except the heading shot at the top here.

I thought about cancelling the party but in the end was blessed to have Rosemary (the girl on the right in the photo) come to the party. Rosemary is 17 years old and the daughter of one of my sponsored families. Rosemary was just 9 years old, bright and at the top of her class when she had some sort of seizure. 

Unable to take her to hospital because of location and poverty, she was left with brain damage and unable to talk. Rosemary never leaves her house. It's not really a house, it's a bamboo shack with a dirt floor. But on Christmas Eve, wearing a dress my mother sent her from Australia, Rosemary was allowed to attend our Christmas party.

So as tired as we were, it was absolutely worth it.

Annael models her dress. Annael is the lady who cleans our house and helps with the children's lunches each day. Annael is also a relative of Jerry's.

So with Christmas all filed away and the New Year fireworks and explosions (oh it's nothing like Australia here) reducing by the hour I'm ready for a great year of writing and earning enough money to adopt Jerry. 

Thanks everyone, till next week.

Mel xx