Church Life in Kamulu

It was Sunday morning, April 26. As Darlene and I walked to the morning Bible class, it started to rain.  Brian Ochieng, a responsible 16-year-old and one of our students, had already begun setting up the chairs outside for church, which meets in the patio of the Learning Center.  As we started class and our study of Ephesians 5:1-7, it began to rain hard.  Since they could hardly hear a discussion, I broke the 31 people up into small groups and gave them a topic to discuss.  

Brian hurriedly began to get the song books and chairs inside, and I went out to help him, along with another student who arrived.  We set up to have the church meet in the largest inside space we have available.  After class it continued to rain a little, and people dribbled in to worship.  After a few minutes of singing, there were so many people they couldn't fit in the room, so we decided to move outside, since the rain was stopping.  

The boys wanted to sweep all the water away, so the movement of chairs and people was a dance for a while.  Finally we all settled down; there were 104 present in the assembly. The communion leader gave us a challenge: "will you stand by the road and claim Jesus?  Or will you be afraid in this time of opposition to faith by many?"  The one who led the collections of money for the regular "sadaka" (offering) and for the building fund told a story about 3 men who were drinking in a bar, were given free rounds by someone they didn't know who left his briefcase, and whose motivations and greed led to great trouble for all 3.  Interesting!  

After worship, Robin told me his Sunday school class was "full of kids."  His room holds about 45 kids squeezed together on our small chairs.  It was fellowship Sunday, so everyone stayed around for a cup of tea and conversation.  

Normal Life at Made in the Streets

The normal life of Made in the Streets continues.  Chapel was at 8, and we sing songs such as "We love you with the love of the Lord" and "Mansions over the Hilltop".  Most of the Team is in Eastleigh working on the streets -- we are seeking more young moms for the Eastleigh program and identifying new kids on the streets.  

Laurent, our newest Team member, is cooking with his students today, while Joel, Darlene and Millie lead activities with the students at Kamulu.  They cleaned up the property, rearranged the library, read books and will watch a movie in the afternoon.  

We delivered mail after chapel, and Abdi Isaac, Jackie Njoki and Alex Atemai were very happy to get their mail from sponsors!  

John Wambu is building a road - the rainy season is here, we pray.  Skills training continues.  One of our own, Moses Kungu, who finished his training and graduated last month, is cooking lunch together with a few of our kids.  

There is corn in the field, and beans growing, and passion fruit ripening.  

We are blessed in our life together at Made in the Streets.  Thanks for being part of it

Francis Mbuvi Travels

Francis Mbuvi, administrator of Made in the Streets, left Nairobi on British Air last night for Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.  He will be using Darlene's cell phone  805 300-1359, so give him a call about the street kids if you wish.  His schedule is as follows:

April 24-26 South MacArthur Church, Irving, Tx

He teaches the high school class and leads communion in worship.

Contact is Tim Lewis  469 826-2126  

April 26-29 A & M Church, College Station, Tx

He speaks at evening worship and meets with Aggies for Christ to plan their trip to Nairobi.

Contact is Kelly Davidson  979 229-1311

April 29-30 Bammel Road Church, Houston, Tx

He speaks to a Wednesday evening class.

Contact is Jonathan Ross, worship minister

April 30-May 4 Campbell Church, Campbell, Ca

He speaks at Sunday worship and teaches class.

Contact is Garry Bortz  408 489-8570

May 4-8 Pepperdine Lectures

He will attend the Men's Fellowship Dinner and teach a lecture class.  He will be happy to meet with anyone who supports street ministry or who is interested in the future of street kids.

May 9-12 Conejo Valley Church, Thousand Oaks, Ca

He will teach a Sunday morning class and lead communion.

Contact is Andy Wall  805 331-0187

May 12-19 Otter Creek Church, Brentwood, Tn

He will meet with the MITS Board and attend worship at Otter Creek.

Contact is Suzette Wimpy  615 414-0777

If you are interested in talking to Mbuvi about meeting some needs of Made in the Streets in its work with street kids, the current areas of need are:

• Construction of our final Skills Training building for Agriculture and Welding ($17,000)
  
• Funding special interest day trips for our students, all former street kids ($300 per trip)
  
• Funding a shopping trip for the students once per month ($600 per trip; we give each $7)
  
• Building a greenhouse for farm development ($800)
  
•  Buying sweaters for students to go with uniforms (cool weather is approaching in Nairobi)
  

A few other extra-budget needs that Mbuvi can discuss with you.

Thank you for praying for Mbuvi, for praying for and helping street children.  

Faith on the Streets

Team members of Made in the Streets visit the streets of Eastleigh in Nairobi daily.  They want to meet the new boys and girls who leave home for the streets.  They want to stay in touch with kids they know who live on the streets.  They want to teach all the time so that youth on the streets will always have opportunity to change their lives.  

They often play sports with some of the street kids, and Francis writes the following note after a soccer game one day.  

"On Thursday last week, we had sports with the older boys. When we got back to the centre, Anthony told me that one of the guys -- Francis Njenga -- was ready to be baptized. I spend a few minutes talking to him and then baptized him. He said he wanted to stop using Glue and Marijuana because they were affecting him and because his brother died from over-using them. I encouraged 

him to know this was a decision between him and God. He left happy and we pray for him and the many others out there in the bases. We are also thankful that ONE MORE soul has been won for Christ."

Here is Francis' baptism picture.  Please pray for power in the Spirit for him to make the changes he wants to make.

Visitors to Made in the Streets

At Made in the Streets we are so delighted to have visitors who help us in ministry.  Our theory is that Americans come full of good stuff and we squeeze them like a sponge!!  Then they can go off on safari and feel really good about seeing the animals and living in splendor! 

There are certain experiences we want each one of you to have -- spend time on the streets with kids who sleep there and see what Eastleigh and Mathare Valley are, spend time in our classes and do some training and teaching while with us, and spend time with the Team and students at work and play and in their free time in order to know them well.  Some visitors have great expertise in certain areas, and these can be very helpful to us in development as well.  

Because we have a large number of visitors, there are certain "rules" we need everyone to follow so we can have maximum impact on Team and students and street youth.  

1.  We want groups to arrive on the same flight and depart on the same flight, and we want you to arrive in the morning if you can arrange it.  But arriving at night is still okay. 

2.  Follow the lead of the Team.  Please do not plan something with the students that has not been okayed by the Team or that interferes with what a dorm supervisor or a teacher wants the kids to do.  

3.  Try not to schedule any side trips or other activities that require a Team member to go off-campus when he or she has responsibilities (clear anything with Francis Mbuvi first).

4.  If you have a need to smoke or drink alcohol and you don't think you can absolutely leave it out of your life during the trip, then please do not plan to come.  

5.  Do not talk to the Team or the kids about "visiting America."  They may bring it up, but you do not have to respond.  Especially do not encourage them to desire coming to America.  Do not spend a lot of time talking about the good life in America.  Focus on the kids and the Team and their own futures in Kenya.

6.  We basically have a "no date" rule.  It is common especially for young people to "fall in love" with people they meet in the world who are near their age.  Please focus on the mission!  If two who are dating are coming on the same trip, or engaged people, then we would want to have sessions about dating and marriage with the kids so as to make it a positive influence.

7.  If you are a male, do not go inside the girls' dorm or private area, even if you are a married person staying on the girls' property.  If you want to see a dorm, ask a dorm supervisor to show you.  

8.  Kenyans do not touch and hug as much as Americans (you may have noted recently in American newspapers about problems in schools relating to touch and many have instituted a 'no touch' rule for the students).  So, please restrict hugs to "a quick hug" when you arrive or when you leave to return home.  Kenyans, even our young people, feel more comfortable and proper holding hands with an age mate of the same sex than with the opposite sex.  Since our students have been sexually active and some have been abused, it is better if we leave American styles of affection out of the equation.  

9.  If you are over 30 and a woman, it is important that you wear skirts or dresses (even college age women should when they go into Eastleigh).  Note in the "team and student" blog that our kids' school uniforms have skirts for the girls and slacks for the boys.  Also wear tops with sleeves.  There are important reasons for this; just ask, and we will tell you. 

Thanks for wanting to come, all you MITS Visitors!  You are all MITS VIPs to us and very important to our future.  We can't do it without you, so please come.  Ask, and we will send you our Visitors' Manual as well.  

peace and joy,