MITS New Address

We do not have mail delivery in Kenya, so we don't use street addresses.  Interesting that we now have street signs at Kamulu!

We do have a NEW address at MITS - the nearest village development is Ruai, and there is now a post office there.  So from now please write us at

Made in the Streets
P. O. Box 631
00520 Ruai
Nairobi, Kenya

If you are a sponsor, please resolve to write your MITS teenager more in 2013.  And thanks much for caring about our kids.  We have new things we want to do in 2013, so also please resolve to support these kids as God prospers you.  Thanks, Charles

Sponsors Needed for New Students

 This is Naomi Minayo.  She is one of our new students who had not been to school, so she is in the beginners' class.  We had a closing program for the year 2012 last week.  Esther Muguri, a volunteer teacher who is going on to University in January, presented the award to Naomi for "#3 in Beginners' Class."  We are proud of her for her progress.

She needs someone to be her sponsor.  If you are willing, write me at charles@madeinthestreets.org  -- then send your first check to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood TN 37027 OR go online to our web site www.madeinthestreets.org  click on "How You Can Help" and donate online.  It's $75 a month, payable each month or a whole year at a time, or whatever form you wish.  Naomi will be with us for 3.5 more years.

If you sponsor Naomi, please write her an email, send it to musaokoth@gmail.com and put "For Naomi Minayo" in the subject line.  Later we will post a new Post Office Box on the web site so you can send her a letter or a small package.

There are six others who also need sponsors - Moses Ndungu, Eric Mugoma, Jackline Akasa, John Mwangi (same name as one of our exiting students!), Kelvin Muya Mwangi and Silvester Ouma.  To sponsor one of these, do the same as described with Naomi.

Kamulu Church of Christ: Dec 2

A great Sunday at Kamulu.  It started out with rain.  Only 5 people were at the 9:00 AM Bible class on time, but 18 more came in within a few minutes.  The class studied "Epaphras", a companion of Paul's who is mentioned in Philemon and twice in Colossians.  It was a good experience for the class to share in small groups (a Discovery Bible Study) who it was who taught them grace.   Everyone enjoyed a cup of Java House coffee.

Mbuvi asked me to preach this Sunday, since Darlene and I will travel to USA Saturday for a visit.  I loved getting to preach to this congregation of people who listen carefully, eyes fixed on the speaker!

Afterwards 4 women who have been coming to the women's group were baptized.  Here Francis Mbuvi prepares to baptize Monica.  The picture below shows the 4 with Mauryn (on the right), who leads the women's group and does much of the teaching.  We are grateful for her leadership and for teaching women about grace.

Rain continued through much of the morning, much needed rain for our crops and gardens.

Growing Family

Made in the Streets is a growing family.  Not only do we have new kids coming from the streets to live with us, but we have Team members who get married and have children.  In the early years of MITS, it was Darlene and me with 9 young men and 1 young lady - all teenagers at the time.  Now we have 34 working full-time at MITS and 14 of them are married.  And we have children - Raymond and Trinity, Kelsey, Kehl, Jonathan, Jeremy, Susie, Mark and many others.

Now we have a new member.  Joel and Tira Njue had a baby this week.  A few weeks ago Joel drove someone to the same hospital they used when she was in labor, so they knew exactly how many minutes it would take.  There was no great rush, though, because the doctor sent everyone home at about 10 PM thinking it would be morning.  They did keep Tira there, and Joel had to go back, and Naledi was born at 11:15 PM, Thursday, November 29.  Lovely little girl!  Tira was home two days later and able to come our Christmas reception for the Team today (Sunday).

We fed the Team popcorn, peanuts, "bitings" of broiled meat, carrot sticks, soda, coffee, tea, cupcakes, cookies and candy.  Darlene made lots of icing and they all made a "Christmas Cookie House," a long-standing tradition at MITS.  It even predates MITS by 3 years.

Here is the first picture of Tira and Naledi, which Darlene took on her first visit to "hold the baby."

Negotiation Skills

Take a look at this cart!  It is a visible symbol of a war averted on the streets of Eastleigh.

During the summer two law enforcement officials from the USA visited us in Nairobi and led a workshop on "Negotiation and Mediation" with our Made in the Streets Team.  They did a great job, and the Team was impressed and happy.

Shortly after the workshop, a street youth who had once been in the MITS program stole a cart from the youth in another base.   They were using the cart to make money, hauling goods for people in Eastleigh.  Of course he sold it quickly, so it was gone.  The young men from that base came and caught him and beat him up.

Then the others at his own base decided to get revenge on the other base.  The problem was escalating fast.

Our Team members learned about the problem and called the guys from both bases to come for a talk at our Center.  Only one base initially came to the meeting, but they finally got with both groups.  They used the new skills they had learned and negotiated a settlement.  The base that lost the cart agreed to accept settlement, receiving another cart, and they agreed not to fight.  The other base agreed to earn money and pay half the cost of a replacement cart. A visitor from Seattle, WA, was with us at the time, and he got involved and was willing to pay for the other half.

So the wronged base got a cart.  The other base agreed not to seek revenge.

What a great thing that our Team can keep on learning new skills that make our ministry better.  This sort of event helps our Team have better relationships with the older guys who control the bases (which they called "masters".  And that relationship makes it easier for us to keep contact with the young boys and girls at the bases, the ones who fit our profile, and whom we can bring to Kamulu to begin a new life.  Thanks, visitors!  Thanks, Team! for a job well done.

Today at MITS

Greetings!   MITS has gotten big enough that no one of us has the ability to know everything that is going on -- that means we must trust one another to do what is best for the ministry - so it's good. Here are a few of the things going on right now.....

1. Francis Mbuvi and I are working on the budget for 2013.  We need to get it to the Board ASAP.  We have to increase the budget -- food costs have risen this year, and costs of transport.  Plus we want our Team members to have an increase in compensation of 10% -- since all their costs are up also! 
2. John Wambu is building new computer rooms for MITS.  We had two break-ins this year and lost 10 laptop computers.  These rooms will be secure -- concrete roof, reinforced steel windows and doors, high quality locks -- and we are making it very difficult to get inside the courtyard of the Learning Center.  
3. We are signing our 16 year olds up for skills training to begin in January.  20 of the Literacy Students are ready for skills.  This year we open up hairdressing (8), auto mechanics (6) and woodworking (6). The other skills - sewing, computers and catering - will begin their second year of studies.  
4. Victor Otieno and I are working on a new plan for skills training in 2013.  For the most part our students study one skill, and then we have all our students do some afternoon work on the farm.  In 2013 we will have the NEW skills students ALSO study agriculture.  They will have regular skills training in the morning 9 to 1 at their respective places.  In the afternoon 2 to 4 they will all be with Victor doing agricultural projects and having classes.  
5. We are also revising our educational schedule with a few tweaks.  Phillip will organize the Literacy Students into 3 home rooms - Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced - each group will have its own classroom.  Teachers will rotate through the home rooms, but each home room will have its "Home Room Teacher."  In addition to the home room teachers, the students will also have a computer teacher, a librarian, a Bible teacher, an English teacher and a math teacher.  
6. Irene Akinyi is finishing up her degree in Counseling and will become the official counselor for MITS as of January.  She will be a counselor in the morning hours and have some teaching duties in the afternoon.  
7. We have visitors from California who are in graduate programs in social entrepreneurship -- that's business with a bent toward doing good in the world.  They are great!  Today they are in Eastleigh with the young boys who come to the Center on Tuesdays.  They are also having a meeting with "masters" of several bases.  
8. God is truly good to us, and we are especially grateful to those in the USA who support this ministry. The generosity and prayers and words of kindness do wonders for our spirits.  

by Charles Coulston

PS:  We took a field trip to Art Caffe in the Village Market Shopping Center.  One of our former students, Mary Waithera, is a cook there, and we wanted our catering students to see her there and experience being waited on and seeing what an upscale restaurant does.  We were not disappointed, with Mary or the food!!

See the pizza!  He ate it!

 The second picture is Mary with Laurent Mogambi, a former student at MITS who has worked the past 8 years at the cafeteria at the University of Nairobi.  He does a great deal of their catering.  He is married to one or our girls (Eliza, who now works at MITS and runs our shops on the highway), and they have Raymond and Trinity.  On Mary's right is Magdalene Wairimu, our catering instructor.

We are grateful to a visitor from Pepperdine University and the Malibu Church of Christ, Hung Le, who graciously paid for our lunch!

Angela's Story

Angela Kimilu (married to Victor Otieno, who manages our crops at the Farm) was still in high school when her parents moved into Nairobi.  She went on to attend Daystar University, getting a degree in community development.  She needed to do an internship at the end of her program.  One day she attended worship in Eastleigh Section II and met Joseph Mwanga, who was working with Made in the Streets.  They talked, and she told him about her need for an internship.  He explained what MITS was doing in Eastleigh and invited her to check it out.  She was not at all sure that she wanted to do this -- she had once been threatened by a street guy with feces in his hands asking for money -- or else! She ran away.  But she came to the Eastleigh Center, and her first day MITS was doing an intake of street youth who would move out to Kamulu in a few days.  She says they were so dirty and smelly and noisy, jumping all over everywhere.   She was doubtful about staying.  Then one of the Team members asked her, "Are you staying? They've run off all the other girls."  She went home and told her parents about it, and her Dad asked if she really wanted to do it.  And she said, "I think so, I think I can."  Her parents agreed and did not try to over-protect her.  At the time she started daily work MITS took in 11 young boys for a one-year experiment with getting kids back in their families.

She quickly brought change to the program.  There was not much organization in the beginning, just the idea of helping these small boys from the streets.  So she wanted the boys first to learn to take care of themselves.  She made a chart with "got up and made bed," "showered," "brushed teeth," "washed hands," "read Bible" and other things on it.  They got stickers for doing their chores.  She would get up at her parents' home very early in order to get into Eastleigh before the boys woke up so she could check all the thing on the chart. Phillip was volunteering (he was just getting out of high school), and Angela and Phillip looked at the very few books that had been left at Eastleigh when the rest of the Team moved out to Kamulu.  They worked out a teaching schedule.  Soon the boys were orderly and learning and all the Team was very happy.  She says they actually wanted to do what she said!

Angela eventually came to Kamulu and taught classes and stayed with the girls.  After two years she left and went to work for an orphanage called Rafiki.  While at MITS-Kamulu she had met Victor, who has worked with MITS since 1999.  They married and moved to Ruai, which is 3 miles from MITS and 4 miles the other way from Rafiki.  After a few years she left the orphanage.  They received a loan from MITS and built a house on a plot given to them by the Coulstons, and their house is just across the driveway from the house the Coulstons built 3 years ago.

Now they have a little girl named Kelcey who is a delight and loves to play and run.  She laughs when she sees Charles and Darlene.  On Sunday afternoon the Coulstons and Tim and Ann Lewis, who are visiting from Irving, Texas, were invited to the Otieno's for afternoon tea, served with mandazi (a doughnut like pastry in a triangle shape).  What a delightful time!  We never underestimate the meaning of both being invited into someone's home and being the one who invites.

The picture is one of the family when Kelcey was a little one, but it shows the delight they have in her.

Chapel at MITS-Kamulu

We are always in process at MITS-Kamulu.  We have 5 new young men as of last week in the residence halls, and we have 15 young men and women in the Exit Program.  There are 50 students in the literacy program and 41 in skills training and Exiting.

We always want these young people to be independent and capable of making their own decisions.  So we leave them free to decide every day to stay at MITS.  We want each one of them to be leaders to the degree they are capable.

So we have begun a new phase in our morning chapel.  On Wednesdays and Fridays we now have a different format.  Our Team meets with them on those days, but only for two songs.  Then announcements are made and the Team exits to have their own development time led by Charles Coulston.  The students are left in the chapel to do their own devotional.  In the beginning we are having them sign up for song-leading, Scripture reading, prayer, sharing a message and a presentation (maybe a solo or a group song, or poetry, etc).  Later we will have certain ones of them develop the whole devotional.

We are proud of these young people who have come out of the worst situation imaginable into a new life.  The picture is of four of the newest street youth to come to Kamulu.  Pray for them that they might take their place as leaders in this country.

Street Visit in September 2012

We have this note from Francis Mbuvi -  he is our Administrator, lives at Kamulu and spends each Wednesday working on the streets in Eastleigh.  "This was the second Donholm base  we visited yesterday.  There were fifteen boys who stopped searching in the garbages for charcoal and other things to sell, so they could  listen to what we had to say. Byron and Moses had finished talking  and it was my turn when I noticed that the boys kept using "Kamsii" and not really listening.  I challenged them to do what the people  in Ephesus did when Paul told them about the saving love and power of Jesus. They burned their magic books.   What they did was completely put away their "sniffings"  until Larry and Jane finished sharing!!   We praised God for we know just how addicted they are -  showing yet again that Jesus is more powerful than any other thing.  Be blessed"

MILLIE OMONDI IN THE USA

Millie and Kehl (3 years)

Bari Henry has been an intern at Made in the Streets for a full year.  She and some friends - and her supporting church - arranged for Millie to visit the USA when Bari returned.  Millie and Bari are currently in Brentwood, Tennessee, and will be with the Otter Creek Church until Sunday evening. They will be in the Dallas/Fort Worth area from Sept 10 to 16 - mostly with women's group, including a Wednesday morning (the 12th) class at the Southlake Church, then a visit to the CEC (a ministry to poor families aged 50+), then at the Legacy Church on Wednesday evening.  On Saturday evening the 15th they will be with the Decatur Church, then spend Sunday morning with the Singing Oaks Church in Denton.  Sunday night they will be at Prestoncrest Church.  Monday the 10th they will be with a group of women from the South MacArthur Church in Irving.  On Sept 25 they will go to Malibu, California, and meet with the Malibu Church and the Conejo Church (in Thousand Oaks) during that week.  Millie is a great representative for Made in the Streets, and we are proud of her work.  She handles child care for the street moms at Kamulu, while the moms are in skills training.  Her son was born with hydroencephalus, so she and Jackton understand parental pain - but they count it all joy to have Kehl.  His shunt is working well; he now runs, kicks a soccer ball and knows all the songs!  Millie came from a very large family where her father had several wives, so she did not get family attention and affection.  Now she gets all that and more from Jackton, and they shower it on Kehl.  If you are near any of the places where she will be, you will enjoy getting to know her.  Blessings, charles

Inspection at MITS

The Children's Department of the Kenyan government must approve the operations of homes for children. They are concerned with kids under 15, and about half our street kids living at Kamulu fit there.
Joel Njue, our Student Affairs officer, has dealt with the CD, compiled all
our files and led the way in preparing our property and Team.
When inspection day finally arrived, the suggestion they had for us was "it would be good to put up some more child friendly posters." great that the facilities, care of the kids, menu, learning experience, records and team were all acceptable!
We are grateful for Joel and his dedicated work.

God Blesses Street Ministry

Made in the Streets always has a high level of activity and excitement. ****a parent-teen group from Malibu Church of Christ spent two weeks at Kamulu and Eastleigh. the MITS Team and kids were overjoyed with this group and their obvious joy at being with MITS. They led sports camps, spiritual growth times, visited on the streets of Eastleigh and down in Mathare Valley. They returned to Malibu excited about going again!! ****Steve and Magda Sherman from Otter Creek Church of Christ are there now. They have visited the Mountain View property, spent time with street kids, and led leadership growth workshops with the Team. The Team gives high praise for them. ****some people tore through the roof of our computer training facility and made off with 6 laptop computers. We are sad about that, but they did not take everything. We will replace and continue. Anyone replacing your laptop could consider letting us take it to MITS as people make trips to Nairobi. ****some friends are raising funds with an un-pizza party so our street kids can have pizza. We will make it a training experience so our catering students can practice making pizzas. ****another friend of MITS is sending $30,000 soon so we can make our girls' residence areas less crowded with an added building. The girls will be really excited about that. It will be only two to a room!! ****our girls at Kamulu have finally gotten excited about sports. Jackton organized a girls' soccer team. They lost the first few matches but have started winning. I talked to Jackton a couple days ago, and the girls were in a tournament. They had just won a game and were excited. God works for good in everything, blessing our lives and ministry. View my personal blog at "Coulston of the Streets"

June is a Good Month

So much has happened at Made in the Streets since our last report on May 22.  The Coulstons' family came to visit at the end of May.  What a great help they were.  Their daughter, along with another visitor, led a great seminar on "mediation."  There were applications both to mediation on the streets when conflicts arise with and among street youth and to our Team itself.  The reality is that we are not without conflict and disagreement and hurt feelings, and these seminars were very helpful in providing avenues to solve such problems.   And the grandchildren were helpful too - they read to and played with the babies of street girls, they shared songs and crafts and Bible stories with the students at MITS.  They also had a good time with our animals - chickens and goats and cows and bunnies -- along with chameleons.  And they got a chance to pluck bananas off a stalk, pick green beans and okra and tomatoes and cabbage.

We went to the Kenyan Coast near Malindi with the MITS Team -- thanks to those who provided extra funds for this -- where they enjoyed a holiday as a reward and were part of a seminar to strengthen the Team.  Aggies for Christ (from Texas A&M University) and the MITS Tour Group (mostly from Pepperdine University) stayed with our 82 students while the Team was on the trip, and the students behaved wonderfully for them!  More Soon......

Aggies for Christ with MITS students! 

Of Sadness and Joy

There is sadness in my heart today.  We received word that Berkeley Hackett has ended his sojourn on this world.  Please go to my personal blog for what I have written about our history together.  One of the special things is that it was Berkeley who invited us to move to Nairobi!  And that is joy!  It is hard to imagine a life in which I didn't meet street kids, and find my heart's desire.

Another joy is that Jane Njeri, a girl who has been at MITS for about two years, was baptized Sunday.  And after it was over, one of our newest girls, Nelly Nyawira, came to tell me she wants to be baptized, but she wants to study first.  Lucy "B" Wairimu (she calls herself "B" because we have another Lucy Wairimu) heard Nelly talking to me and she came up to say she wants to study too.  So they will both study with Darlene this week and also with two of our interns who are here (Chris and Aubrey).

When I mentioned the girls to Jackton Omondi, he said there were some of the boys who recently said to him that they are about ready to be baptized.  So...we may have a cascade of baptisms.  It sometimes happens like that with teens - a large group in a short time.  Here's a picture Darlene took today of Lucy and Nelly.  You can't believe how sweet they are!!!

CONTINUING TO BUILD....AN OPPORTUNITY

This picture is of our "Octagon" or the Chapel.  The Kamulu Church also meets there on Sunday, and the women's group meets on Thursday afternoons. Each weekday morning the student body and staff has chapel, with songs and prayer and a short talk by one of the students or staff - and an encouragement from Kulu (that's me, Charles).  I also teach a Sunday morning Bible class there. Recently we did a study of "Named Heroes of the Bible" which followed a series on "Unnamed Heroes".  Now I am doing a class called "Ask Kulu."  We have had some great questions.



It is a wonderful thing to have a good infrastructure for ministry.  We currently have the building out of which we do street ministry in Eastleigh, and we have several buildings at Kamulu.  We have shops along the highway where students get practical experience.  We have a learning center for literacy studies for students 13 to 16; there are 3 buildings in a U-shape with a courtyard; it makes up part of an acre of land.  We have a girls' center on another acre where there is also a World Bible School office and a staff house. The girls' center has 4 residential areas for girls and housing for 3 supervisors, along with rooms for visitors.  We also have a boys' center with 4 residential halls, a kitchen, a house for visitors, a basketball court, a water well, a tower for water supply and a barn for the tractor, along with 3 hen houses and a pen for the cows and goats. The boys' place also has an irrigated area with drip line on about 2 acres and lots of banana trees scattered around.  On the parcel across the road we have the chapel and an orchard (with mango, avocado, orange, mulberry and macadamia).

Across the road the opposite was is our Children's Center where we have day care for the street moms' little ones and another house for visitors.  This property is surrounded by a stone fence.

At our Skills Center, on another parcel, we have 2 staff houses, a building for agriculture and maintenance, a boys' residential hall, another water well and two buildings where we do skills training in hairdressing, catering, woodworking and sewing.

We are working to build up an infrastructure that will enable the Kenyan Team and our supporters in the USA to continue doing street ministry as long as there is need in Nairobi and Kenya.  There are only a few more buildings that we want to construct, then we are finished, since the Team wants to have a maximum of 100 students at any one time (we have 78 just now).

We want to build a structure for the sewing program and allow the woodworking to expand into the whole building where both are now. This sewing building will have a classroom as well as skills area.  We already have the funds for this building and hope to begin it before the end of 2012.

We also want to build one more residential hall for girls, which we will attach to the current property for access.  It needs to have the same security wall and house 16 girls and a supervisor.  The cost will about $35,000.

We also want to build classrooms near the Chapel that can be used by both Made in the Streets and the Sunday school.  These 3 rooms will cost about $25,000.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A GOOD FRIEND OF MADE IN THE STREETS HAS ANNOUNCED A $30,000 MATCHING GRANT FOR US.  If we match his offer, then we have the amount of money needed to build all the structures that we think we will ever need at Kamulu.  After that it is only our dream for a Christian Camp at our Mountain View property -- which we can talk about later!!!

When you are ready to help us, we will, as one of my Kenyan friends once said, "be happy to receive it with open hands...and open hearts."  We are grateful for all our friends who love the idea of making a new life for street kids.  And we are grateful to have the kind of facilities that enable us to serve them well.

What is success?

Priscah Kerubo is baptized by Francis Mbuvi
in December 2011. Not long after this she
ran away.  The team allowed her back, but she
ran again.  Then they decided not to allow
her to return.  Sometimes we think success at MITS
is having kids finish our skills program and get an ID card
and a job and apartment.  But read Joel's story about
how it ended up for Priscah.  It is great success when
a family comes together. 

The light at the end of the tunnel

When Priscah Kerubo took off from MITS, our hearts were heavy and sad.  We could not understand why a young lady who was doing well would want to go away from a place where she got very good care.

This week I met her parents and they were happy to see me. The parents have been struggling to provide for their family.The mother said that initially before Priscah came to MITS she would normally not stay at home for more than one week and she would always come back late at night drunk and high, leaving the mother guessing and wondering what might have happened this time to her oldest daughter with all the evils that take place in Nairobi. It always made her stressful and wished that she died. They really love her so much and it was painful to see her waste her life.

This week when I met the father and the mum, they were happy to tell me that  they are very grateful to MITS for all the help we have given them with Priscah. They happily reported that Priscah now stays at home and helps out with work in the house, and that she is willing to go to cooking school and learn something new that will help her. The parents say that, "it’s like having a brand new daughter".  They had never imagined that their daughter would transform to this. They will be forever grateful for our help and patience with Priscah. This reminded me that in the midst of all the discouragement and pain that we go through, these children are transformed and given new hope and they also listen to the advices that we give them, and Priscah's story is a testimony that we are influencing their future in a positive way. Parents like Priscah’s parents are happy that even though poverty has brought a lot of difficulty, there is still hope  and opportunity for their children, so the MITS family should continue with the work and never never give up!

NATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE

2012 NATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE FOR CHURCHES OF CHRIST

The Kamulu Church of Christ and Made in the Streets were hosts for this year's youth conference.

Young people came from the Kenyan Coast, from Kisumu by Lake Victoria, from Kisii in South Nyanza, from Meru near Mount Kenya and other places in Kenya. 

MITS Students Cooked for Youth Conference

Students made more than 1,000 chapati for the first day of the conference

Young people enjoyed singing together - 253 were registered

Alex Atema - a former MITS student who is currently attending the Great Commission School (he intends to
preach and be a helper to other street youth)

On Sunday morning, the youth conference engaged in a Discovery Bible Study -
they were encouraged to learn to do this at home, inviting other youth in
to study Scripture and thus build up the church. 

Gifts from Sponsors

We are always so happy when a sponsor is able to send a gift to one of the students. When Darlene and I returned to Nairobi this time, we brought several gifts to students. Here we are giving out the gifts in chapel, and everyone was happy.

Mercy's baby got a doll (they are very new at MITS).

Lydia receives a journal.

Edward will enjoy all the Laker stuff!

Clinton receives a book of

photos with his picture on

the front!!

Moses Gicharu Reports from Eastleigh

JANUARY MONTHLY REPORT

MOSES GICHARU

During the Month of January my fellow team members and I started working on the documents required for intake process of both boys and girls. I was compliing case histories for the potential teenage boys and girls to be admitted to MITS boarding program. We conducted home visits for street boys and girls who had relatives so as to find out more information from any parents or guardians available about the reasons for the teenagers running away.

Some didn’t want to visit their homes because of the fear of being beaten up by their parents or guardians or because their physical appearances was not appealing - dirty and untidy. We discussed as a team how to solve the issues of the boys and girls who were attending the program but their situation or cases were not fit to be considered as very needy since, at least they had a place to sleep at home. Their problem was maybe lack of school uniform, writing materials and other minor needs. We decided once again to give opportunities to be admitted at M.I.T.S. boarding program to those kids who were sleeping on the streets. We helped others as we could to reintegrate to their homes and assisted in buying necessities required e.g. Emmanuel Sifa, a class six leave out pupil from ST. Elizabeth school at Lunga Lunga, Maureen from Kamulu Kwa Ruben while others from Mathare slum we advised their parents or guardians on what to do in order to ensure that their children continue with their studies.

The teenagers we admitted at Kamulu farm were consistently attending the Eastleigh program for the past eight to ten months. There were sixteen students (10 boys and 6 girls) who were admitted at M.I.T.S Kamulu center on 31^st of January 2012. One of the girls tested positive on the pregnancy test. Shamim was about two weeks pregnant. She had accompanied other friends to the program at Eastleigh center, and when the Eastleigh team visited Mutindwa base we found only that she had been living on different bases for the last five years. Shamim is a hardworking and intelligent girl and it was God’s plan for her to be admitted at the Kamulu farm.

That the Blind May See

Until the 19th of January 2012, Geofrey had lived a normal life in the streets (n.b., as normal as that can be!!! You see how our Team thinks - life on the streets is not awful, but is part of God's plan to make something greater of the kids who end up there!!!). He had been used to hauling garbage from peoples' houses where he could get his money and possibly his daily food. But on the morning of the 20th, the unexpected happened "niliamka nikaona Giza" ("I woke up and saw darkness"). He was to go to his usual area and start his routine only that he could not see. Efforts to wash his face proved futile, and his friends helped him get to where he wanted. When we visited him yesterday at "Rounda" base, he was holding a tin with milk. When Byron spoke and asked if he knew who we were, he said "Najua ni odijo lakini sikuoni" ("I know it's the teacher but I can't see you"). He narrated to us how Evans had taken him to Kenyatta Hospital and how later he was chased from there. He had the hospital papers which on the top read "Urgent Please". Larry, Jane Njeri and I taught all the other youth there especially to be thankful, and we made plans to take Geofrey to hospital on Sunday. We hope it will be something the Doctors can rectify before it's too late.
Please keep him in your prayers as we continue to trust that God will work a miracle for him.

Time with God

This report is from Francis Mbuvi:

One of our greatest desires is to see our students develop a closer relationship with Jesus. Our classes, chapel and Church have provided the basis for it and we continue to seek other ways to lead them to God. We took a trip to one of our properties called Mountain view and asked each student and team member available to spend time in prayer.

Each person spent time either talking to God aloud or in their hearts, but whichever way they did it, it was more time with God. When we met together, Jackton read some scriptures and encouraged us to leave the burdens to Jesus. Just like we loved praying we also loved the lunch. On our way home, we saw some giraffes and Thompson gazelles!!! How great is our God!!!

Note from Charles Coulston: The property at Mountain View is 40 acres and is located near the top of a mountainous area about 40 minutes drive from Kamulu. Part of it is rock and a cliff face and part has grass and scrub trees growing. There is a spring on the property that may provide enough water for groups. We dream that one day we will build a camp for youth and others to use for retreats and seminars and "time with God." Please pray that this can become a reality one day. We will need to have a water tank, solar or generator power, kitchen and residence areas, as well as a sports field. This has been done many times before by people committed to have a place for youth to grow in spirit and in relationships, so we know we can do this, with God's blessing.

Teach a Kid to Fish

A few years ago Ben Mwami, MITS Team member who is responsible for landscaping, the animals (cows, chickens, goats) and the FISH ponds at MITS, consulted with the Fisheries people about growing talapia. He has helped several of our students from the streets to learn how to care for fish in an open pond. This week the Team pulled about 100 fish out of the first pond - so finally our kids will eat the fruit of their labor. Mbuvi reports that there are about 1,000 fish growing in our second and larger pond, so we have added nutritional and tasty food for the future. We want to teach our kids as much as possible about as many subjects as possible so they have great opportunities when they leave MITS at 18. We could have any number of fish ponds on the land that we have. And they taste good!

Street Ministry: Our Way of Rescue

We say on the masthead of our web site that our task is to "rescue street children from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya" But what does that mean? What do we actually do? What is our goal and how do we go about it?

For many years when people have asked about my favorite books, I have said, "Generation to Generation by Edwin Friedman. It's a book on counseling using what is called "family systems theory", and it has lots of case studies. I was in a thrift store last week and I noticed a little book called Friedman's Fables; I immediately thought of my favorite book, so I looked at it. And it was by the same author!! It is full of stories which are great for discussion topics. The first story is called "The Bridge," and it is all about the way we look at street ministry.

In "The Bridge" a man has discovered that it is time for him to realize his destiny, to move his life toward what he was created for, and so he begins his journey toward the goal of his dreams. He comes to a bridge and sees a man approaching from the opposite direction. The man is swinging a rope and has one end tied around his waist. When they meet, the man with the rope hands our man one end, asks him to hold it for him, and jumps off the bridge.

Our man searches for a way to rescue him, but the rope is long enough that he cannot directly pull the man up. There is no place to tie the rope, and he cannot swing the man to safety. And the man will not roll himself up the rope; he simply calls out to our man to hold on to the rope "or I'll be lost." The time is fast approaching when the opportunity to fulfill his destiny will be lost. He tries every possible argument to get the man to help himself to safety, but to no avail.

In the end our man turns loose of the rope and goes on to seek his destiny.

How does this play out in street ministry? We are engaged in rescue, in seeking out 13 to 14 year olds and inviting them to live at Kamulu, where we have a literacy school, residence halls for boys and girls, a farm and a skills training center -- and where, with love and teaching, we prepare young people to be successful in faith, in life and in jobs. How does it work?

One goal we have is to have the kids be responsible for their own lives, to make good decisions and do for themselves all they can. We provide what they cannot -- housing, food, teaching, training, affection, and more. They must decide to come and decide to stay - every day. They must stop some things, like glue and sexual activity and lying. They must work on the farm, attend classes and struggle to learn, get along with one another in the residence halls and more.

They must do what the man on the rope is urged to do in the story -- they must "roll themselves up the rope" thus making themselves "rescuable." They do that by attending programs at the Eastleigh Center, beginning to change behaviors even as they are on the streets, agreeing to come to Kamulu and staying even through difficult times (if they run away, they cannot return if we do not find them on the first day away), and by following the program. The program includes daily chapel, worship on Sunday, Bible studies, literacy studies (in English, Math and Computers), skills training (we have several options - sewing, cooking, computers, auto mechanics, woodworking, hairdressing, agriculture and masonry) and more.

We also help the youth remain independent by having the boys cook their own breakfast and lunch in their residence halls and the girls do the same. We also have them be responsible for their own studies if they are planning to take the national 8th grade exams while with us. When they are ready to exit at 18 years and older, they are to, with our help, find a place to live and an internship or a job and then stay with it. They are also responsible to begin a Discovery Bible Study group in the apartment where they go to live. And always our students have the daily responsibility to decide that they want to stay with us. That is hard for some, as they have a history of running from place to place.

It is never easy letting go of the rope and allowing young people to sink back into the streets, back into homelessness and hopelessness. But helping them be responsible for their own lives is even more important.