Safety in Kenya

Many of you are wondering how we are doing in Nairobi and whether there is danger. In a city of 6 million or more, and with deep poverty and half the people living in slums, there is always a certain amount of danger. Our Kenyan Team that goes onto the streets each day face all manner of situations, but they handle them very well.

As for us foreigners, there may be some risk these days. Our Eastleigh Team has suggested that we not bring visitors to the streets for the time being, until it is clear what will happen. The danger in Kenya is primarily to people living on the border with countries to the North. The Kenyan army has moved into Somalia to drive militants away from the border. One government official said that when the army returns, they will "clean up Eastleigh," which means they will be searching for militia supporters. Our Eastleigh Team feel safe for themselves, but they are concerned about visitors, because they can't always identify who is who on the streets.

The ministry goes on, by God's grace. Our Team is courageous and committed; they don't want to see street kids fall between the cracks and be missed. And the work at Kamulu continues in peace.

A couple of our new boys stole something from a local shop recently, and that creates problems for us. But they have apologized to the owner and worked around his shop to "pay back" for stealing, as well as returned the merchandise. Our team handled the boys very well, and we hope they will "stop stealing" as Ephesians 4 says to the church. Other than that, the problems in the ministry are a minimum.

Back to the security issue, there is heightened security at the shopping center where we usually go. They had the mirrors for under the car, checked the back of the vehicle, and ran a wand over me as I entered the building. Since grenades have gone off in the city, they are highly security conscious. I will plan to make as few trips as possible around the city.

Keep on praying for us. The street kids and the Team need your support, and especially God's support.

Discovery Bible Study and Worship

For one more time we had our morning Bible class at the Learning Center before moving to the Octagon for worship next week. It was half and half of our church members and students and the Legacy Church team. After the introduction, everyone was involved in the Discovery Bible study. Only words of encouragement and love were heard later as they told me how they enjoyed sharing in the small groups.

Worship was also great and Joel listened to Darlene’s advice of our young men doing the leading!!! As the service ended, I saw Joe and Mary Lou McKissick meet with Wachira, Wambu and his wife. Today Wachira and Wambu and Michuki met for about two hours with Joe. Joe told me they will meet again on Saturday morning!!!!

Here is another pic of the groups doing Bible Discovery in the morning class. I forgot to say that in the afternoon three groups from legacy met with our boys, girls and community. The third group did the first aid question and answer time with Matt, Jessica and Shelly. Milly was the interpreter. O

ur single moms were there and Matt said a few other women came and they enjoyed answering their questions. A blessed day indeed.

Eastleigh Report from Jane Njeri

This report will help you to understand much about the street ministry in Eastleigh and other slums in Nairobi. Our 6 Team members there have great dedication and a sense of responsibility. They are also the kind of people who see that there are purposes and connections in all the things that happen in life. They are able to assure the street youth and kids that their lives have purpose and that even the hardships of the streets will turn out to be blessings for them, for God is there.

Eastleigh Report for July to September 2011

I thank God for giving us the strength to continue serving Him at MITS.

MONDAY PROGRAMMES

The street mothers have continued to attend the Monday program together with their young babies. We also thank God because some of them have improved in terms of cleanliness and not sniffing much glue and petrol substances. They have been active in games, songs and Bible study. Thy have also been sharing their life experience and why they came to the streets and bases. Some of them were orphans when they were young and others ran away from home due to mistreatments from their step fathers and mothers.

GIRLS / BOYS PROGRAM

Young boys under fifteen (15) years have been attending Monday & Tuesday programs respectively. Moses and Byron have been teaching different lessons and sometimes the boys are taken to the MYSA playground to play football on Tuesday.

On August 30, 2011, the young boys were taken to visit the Nairobi Arboretum and just by the look on their face it showed that they really enjoyed the trip.

The young girls under the age of fifteen (15) years have been attending the Wednesday program and at least seven girls come every Wednesday. Among the girls we discovered a young mother who comes to the program but leaves the baby with the grandmother. We are working for her intake at Kamulu.

THURSDAY PROGRAM

The older boys have been attending the football games and sometimes we have been having problems, especially with the Kijiji base, either at the field or at the Center. Sometimes they would occupy the whole field by themselves and would not allow any other base to use the field, but they would be the first to line up for food. But I thank God because after holding a meeting with them concerning the game they have changed and they are willing to play with the other bases.

BASE VISITS

The MITS team has continued to visit the bases in and outside Eastleigh. In most of the bases the boys have been respective expect at Mlango base where sometimes the boys and girls are high on drugs. Sometime Kanini, who claims to help them, tells the boys and girls not to listen to people from MITS or not to come to our programs. However they realize that MITS helps them a lot in medication, food, clothes and having shower and toilet. So sometimes they pretend not to bother about MITS, but they later come and tell us what Kanini tells them about MITS. One time she had told the mothers not to come to our Monday program but they don’t adhere to what she tells them.

BASE MASTERS' MEETINGS

A Base Masters meeting was held on July 6 at MITS Centre Eastleigh. The meeting was attended by nine (9) base masters and the following topics were discussed.

1. Leadership

2. Entrepreneurship

3. Dug abuse

4. Business.

The leadership topic was covered by Evans. He told them the importance and duties of a leader especially in the bases. He emphasized that they should lead by example and lead others to do good things.

Byron covered the topic on savings whereby he gave them an example of the young boys who save their money at MITS Center. Some have saved evenKsh 1000 and so on. Kiki from Kijiji said that they have formed a group like a merry-go-round. Each member contributes Ksh 1000 each month and they give the whole amount of money to one person. He said each person gets around Ksh 7000 per month. He said they get their money by selling pigs food which they get from the cafes around Eastleigh.

Mbuvi advised them to register the group and obtain a certificate from the Chief, the D.O. or the Ward Manager of the area. He also congratulated them for having the good idea of forming a group and he advised them to share with other bases.

Another meeting was held on Sept 7 at the same venue. This time we had ten participants from different bases. The first topic was again about leadership which was facilitated by Francis Mbuvi. He started by telling them that good leadership can only be attained by leaders who fear God. When you fear God you can be able to lead others in the right way and the right directions like the biblical leaders e.g. David and others.

The next was facilitated by Byron about conflict resolution. He said that the leaders should know how to lead others especially when people have conflicts and solve it instead of leaving them to fight and cause injuries to one another. People at the bases should keep themselves busy to avoid conflicts. The base masters should make sure that everybody goes out to search to avoid idleness and unnecessary conflicts. He said that the bases should have rules to govern the people in the bases e.g. the ten commandments. When the base master finds it difficult to solve the problems maybe he should involve other people and MITS.

The topic on Drug abuse was facilitated by Deborah who was on attachment at MITS. She advised the base leaders that if they could control themselves on abusing drugs, then the other boys and girls will be able to do the same. She said that there are so many dangers when one abuses drugs; e.g. lung cancer through tobacco, weight loss and memory loss. Loss of sight and hearing and so on.

The other topic was about HIV/ AIDS and STI which was facilitated by Jane. She started by telling them that we have received from various people that there is a lot of raping and sodomising in the bases and especially at Mlango Kubwa Base. Many young boys and girls are being raped at night and therefore HIV/AIDS is very high in that base. Most of them have been coming to MITS Centre for help and we have

transported others to their rural area and we also have referred others to Blue house for medication. Simon from Kijiji informed us that, if one of the people in his base is found raping or sodomising others, he gets beaten and chased away from that base completely.

CHURCH MEETINGS

People from the bases have continued to attend the Sunday services at MITS Centre Eastleigh every Sunday. The attending has been good so far with 20-30 people and Sunday school which is 12-15 children and more. Elijah Mwaura, his wife Jane Wanja and their daughter Margaret Nyambura from Liliput base posed for a photograph at the end of the service.

On 11th September, the Sunday school children visited the Bomas of Kenya together with their teacher Gloria Makena and Jackton as their driver. The children enjoyed playing in the playground, dances and visiting the villages of different tribes at the Bomas of Kenya.

by Jane Njeri

SAD REALITY

"No man is an island," or so many of us have heard. Not only that, but some people are magnets, who attract love and friendship. Titus Kioko is such a person. He lived on the Eastleigh streets in Nairobi from a young age. He got along well with older guys on the streets and was favored by them, partly because he would do things they wanted. As a result, he had some control over kids his own age, and he was well treated - for the streets. He go the nickname "kibaba" or "little father" as a result of this.

Many visitors from the USA, as well as the Team of Made in the Streets, like Titus a lot. We have many pictures of Titus with visitors. He is featured on the cover of the MITS brochure that we give out so people will understand our ministry, seated on an old tire in front of the MITS building in Eastleigh, stoned on glue. In spite of his constant glue usage, and his penchant for stealing, he was well liked.

He eventually came to live with MITS at Kamulu in the boys' residence hall. He cleaned up really nicely, learned to speak English very well, and would sometimes do translation for visitors. The Team at Kamulu began to think of him as a potential leader, maybe as one who would some day work at MITS. He had natural leadership abilities that everyone thought could be sharpened so that he would be a skilled leader. His prayers were beautiful; after the local Member of Parliament forcibly seized land from MITS, he prayed regularly for the salvation of that man. One of our visitors remembers talking to Titus about preaching, and Titus

seemed very interested. He chose to study auto mechanics at MITS, but he continued to lead prayer and participate in spiritual events.

But as Titus grew older, especially as he approached eighteen, his former ways began to come out again. He began to steal again, and he began to encourage boys to run away any time they expressed displeasure with something. Various Team members counseled with him, and various disciplines were used to encourage change. After he reached 18, our Team attempted to help him find work. But when he left us, he went back to live on the streets in Eastleigh.

Last week, Titus snatched a cell phone from a Somali living in Eastleigh. As he ran away, a policeman, whom Titus had not noticed, pulled his gun and fired. Titus is with us no more, and we are sad. But we also know a great reality. Titus was given opportunity to make something good of his life, and God was there for him. We at MITS are so glad to be on that front line where people are given opportunity, and choice. We are left with sweet memories of someone we love, with sadness for someone we lost, and with renewed determination to give at least one more young person the chance for a new life.

Kamulu Reports from Francis Mbuvi

The Legacy Church of Christ from the Fort Worth area are visiting MITS with a group of 15. The Team reports that they have done a wonderful work, beyond what we envisioned. A group from the Golf Course Road Church in Midland, TX, came for a short visit along with their visit to the World Bible School projects in Kenya. They also gave great encouragement to the students and Team. Francis Mbuvi reports:

ON AUTO MECHANICS

Another visitor from Golf Course Road Church was named Jeff. He is a mechanic and panel beater, and he helped Charles and the boys revive our pickup. He had a lot of things to teach them, and he said he wants to come back.

ON HOME VISITS AT KAMULU

During Wednesday's home visits, Wambugu, Samantha, Hudson and I visited Jenifer and her family. One of her cousins, whom she is taking care of, had triplets. After the caesarean she was paralysed on her left side and can hardly do anything. We encouraged them

to remain faithful and hope in Christ to take care of their needs. We also visited another lady called Mweni. Sam and Hudson did great.

ON SALON TRAINING

Pam hicks is from Golf Course Road Church. She was here with a group, and they spent some time looking at what we do. She had hoped to see the Coulstons. She got a chance to do manicure and pedicure and also braid her hair!!!

ON TEA HOUSE CONVERSION

Painting has been going on at our cafe. Kayla, George and Blake from Legacy Church have been doing great. Magdalene and the catering students have been learning one new thing every day. Here Hudson is painting Red on one side of the cafe wall. (NOTE: we are converting the Tea House into a “Cracker Barrel” type of store, with one room dedicated to selling what is made at MITS and an opening into the cafe from that room.)

ON Sunday AND JAMES MWANGI

Our class went well today. We had 14 people; after a small introduction, they discovered what the Bible had to say from Acts 10. James Mwangi led us in Lord’s table and giving and he gave a bit of his life story and how Jesus had saved him through MITS. I think the training at Leadership Training Institute is helping him. After the sermon, Agnes and the praise team had a song. We praise God for his word today that everyone belongs to him and that he has no boundaries to his love.

Legacy Church Visit

ON THE BASES

The Legacy Church team has been so busy. We can't believe it's already Thursday. When they came in, we arranged for five of them to visit Eastleigh on Monday while the others taught. They came back and reported how they had seen God at work. One of them said it was amazing that the guys in the bases would be so happy to see the MITS team. Then they shared Bible verses with them and prayed together. Everything is going on well and we thank God.

AT KAMULU

As scheduled the evening visits to families in Kamulu have been busy with six groups going around the community meeting, praying and encouraging both church members and others. It has been a blessed time. Among other

s, we went with Sherry to visit Wachira (a church member in a wheelchair who runs a local retail business) and as usual he was jovial and welcomed us so well. We had a long time just having fellowship and he told us hIs story of how he got shot. He had a lot to share and we also encouraged him and prayed with him. Other groups had other places and families to visit. We also invited people to church with some brochures that Moses had made.

SKILLS TRAINING

Robin, Nzioka and Charles have been making beds and cabinets and crafts among other items. Apart from the constant power losses, they are doing well. I found them making these crosses and the finishing they put on it is just so soft.

Thanks to you for your love of the work here.

Goodbye, Francis Mbuvi

SPONSOR A STUDENT

"We have one visitor from Legacy who is so interested in sponsoring one of our kids. Ashley Lehl wants to know which student she could sponsor and how to go about doing this. I will show her our website today, but I told her she could discuss this with Charles once he gets here. She is excited about this.

HOME VISITS

The home visits are going on great...the visitors are excited about it and so is the team. We split into groups and went to different sides of MITS properties. Some community members have asked us to re-visit them and pray for them and family. Another lady just gave birth to triplets, and she asked us to go back out and to help her place her newborns in Gods' hands.

PROPERTY WORK

We planted trees today around the octagon and other parts of the properties. We still have to figure out how to get all the red soil around the octagon!

Peace, Moses Okoth