MITS 2015 Graduates

2015 Hope School Graduates who serve at Made in the Streets

We are proud of these nine - James Mwangi, Ken Atsiaya, Eliza Wangari, Olive Njeri,
Nzioka Okendi, Charles Ndonyi, Jane Kiama, Victor Otieno, Robin Ndunda
who graduate December 19 as part of the first class of 14 in
Hope Online School of Leadership
Paul Oduor is on the left - he has done a wonderful work as our Kenyan leader.
Thanks to Darren Wilson for great work on this ministry.
Darlene hosted us with a dinner of hamburgers and a GRADUATION CAKE!
And ROBIN is Valedictorian!

HOPE

HOPE

We are involved with as much as possible, seeking to do as much as we can with our lives.  Not that we do a great deal ourselves, but we serve with some truly wonderful people.  Besides Made in the Streets-Kenya, we are starting to build a Christian Camp in an area just east of Nairobi, where we have 40 acres of mountainous land.  We are also beginning a plan to assist young Ethiopians in Addis Ababa to do a street ministry to the many street children in their city of 8 million. We are friends and supportive of Kenya Widows and Orphans program which operates many orphanages in various counties in Kenya.  We have worked closely with a World Bible School program in Kenya that has touched many lives and opened many new congregations.  We are part of a teaching team that instructs congregations in how to hold Vacation Bible Schools and start Sunday schools (the workers in this program are from Made in the Streets and include former street kids).

One or our most joyful involvements is with the HOPE Online School of Leadership, which we believe has and will have great impact and power in the lives of young Kenyan believers who strive not only to "know" but also to "deliver" goodness and HOPE to others.  Following is an article by Darren Wilson, with a note from Paul Oduor, about the first graduation of HOPE students in December - as well as a look at the current program.  Be blessed as you read....

This time next month, I'll be on a plane headed back to Kenya! I am so excited. This will be my 9th trip since 2008. I'm traveling back this time to attend the first graduation ceremony for HOPE School of Leadership. Many years ago, my good friends Charles and Darlene Coulston planted a seed of an idea in me that will produce its first harvest in December as we graduate our first class of young Kenyan leaders. Its been more work than I anticipated (for me and our students) but it has been well worth it. I couldn't have asked for a better partner than Paul, our Director of Operations in Kenya. He's a dedicated worker and has become a great friend. I fly out of DFW on December 14 and arrive back on the 23rd. Its a short trip this time, but it will be a very special one. The Christmas holidays aren't a particularly easy (or cheap) time to travel, but I am so happy to make the trip for this occasion. The Church of Christ in Childress (Texas) has paid for my plane ticket and taken a great burden off my shoulders. Some of you have also given generously to help make our graduation ceremony an event that will be special and memorable. Thank you, thank you, thank you, all. I'll be sure to take and post lots of photos from the trip. Its going to be an incredible time. Message From Paul Paul does such a good job coordinating, offering encouragement and following up with all of our students. Even through we are an online school, we couldn't do what we do without Paul working on the close, personal relationships with sutudents. He is patient, visionary and wise. He shares this with you all:

It's been two years since HOPE School admitted its first Cohort of 24 students. The journey has been a learning, character development and a discovery period for all of us. Launching into the unknown, the good thing is in the process we have built a community of Christian learners who have embraced servanthood as the ideal model of leadership. We have had our ups and downs, and in the period some dropped out and others remained, in our journey. We believe that it does not matter how fast you finish, but how strong you finish is what counts. Looking forward to our graduation in December and out of the 24 students we started with 14 are on track to graduate. All we can say is ' Thank you for your prayer and support.' We have now 3 Cohorts working towards the 21st Century Christian Leadership Diploma. We have over 60 students in the remaining two cohorts spread all around East Africa. In 2016, we hope to reach all the 47 counties in Kenya, not only to reach the numbers, but to raise a generation of leaders who believe in serving rather than being served, leaders who influence and challenge the 'norm'. Those who lead by example and value people instead of the titles and benefits that come with it. We have made new partnerships and we are looking forward to 2016 where we will stretch our potential and spread the good news beyond our regular scope as they will open new does for us to do exploits. -Paul Oduor Two Weeks To Go We are in the last two weeks of the school term and all of our students continue to amaze. The last weeks of every term are always spent catching up and turning in last minute assignments. I am constantly reminded of and humbled by the great lengths our students go to engage in this type of learning. Even more, however, is that the assignments have such a profound impact on our students' lives. They are working for something much more significant that a passing grade. James, one of our Cohort 1 students who will be graduating next month, sent me a text message earlier this week. Its pretty incredible and reminds me that we're going good work with good people. "Thank you for these HOPE School courses you have given us. I have experienced so much that we read. Its practical and its happening every day. Its happening in the world. I wish everyone in the world can read this Christian Leadership course. These courses have been of great help to me. It has been a great eye opener in my life. I wish you knew what it means to read something and then see yourself in between the lines. Then you see your weaknesses and your personal mistakes. Then above all, you learn ways to correct your own mistakes. Thank you for giving us a pillar to hold on to. Otherwise, we could have given up a long time ago." - James, HOPE School Student Asking For Your Help Each year around the holiday season, I ask family and friends to help fund the HOPE School operating budget for the following year. So far, God has provided in abundance and we've reached our goal every year. We are currently raising funds for our 2016 school year. Our entire operating budget for 2016 is $14,000. That's enough to pay all salaries and support amazing students who want to further their education for an ENTIRE YEAR. If you'd like to support HOPE School for 2016, that would be awesome. If not, please stay in touch and know that I will certainly understand.  If you want to make a donation towards our 2016 HOPE School budget, you can send a check to our parent organization, Made in the Streets. Yes, they are a 501(c)3 organization and your donations are fully tax deductible. Make sure you include a note on the check that your donation is for HOPE School of Leadership. They will be watching for HOPE School donations and will set those aside for us. Mail donations to: Made in the Streets attn: HOPE School of Leadership 409 Franklin Road Brentwood, TN 37027 If you decide to mail a donation, please shoot me an email and let me know. I have some small gifts from Kenya that I'd like to send to donors. I'd be happy to mail one to you as a "thank you" for your support and encouragement.  Thank You! Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying. And thank you for being a friend.  -Darren

Eastleigh Street Program

Each Tuesday morning the Team at Eastleigh hosts a group of 30 or more boys who are up to about 13 years old at the Center at Eastleigh.  Francis Mbuvi usually goes in on Tuesdays to get reports and encourage the Team, and he often spends some of his time with these boys.  He took these pictures at lunch time.  We tried an experiment of going out to bases and teaching, then taking boys/girls to lunch at a local cafe or kiosk.  But the kids seem to like coming to the Center and eating Augustina's home cooking more!!  Surprise!

Equity Base...and More

Following is Francis Mbuvi's report on a visit to four street "bases" followed by pictures and an appeal for help from MITS....to you!

   "We started out by prayer at each of the four bases we visited today. Then we had lessons from James, Terron and Larry. At the Equity base, we met with 16 boys mostly under 18; the youngest we guess was around 8. We couldn't help but feel sorry for them.  As Terron rightly put it, "You need to get yourself at a place where God will use you or bless you". When we arrived, a few of them had just put down their "jombi” (leftover food given them from a food kiosk).  As expected, they welcomed us to eat - sad to say we didn't. Instead we asked them to gather around as we told them various stories of how Jesus loves and wants them to know him. After the closing prayer, James took them to a nearby kiosk for tea.

  Our next stop was at Pumwani Base where we found two ladies, one of them was in our program some years ago but ran away (Khadija) and now has a two year girl and another on the way!!  We wanted to pray with them.  They said they would accompany us to Highrise base so we walked together.  At Highrise, we met with 18, both boys and girls, some young and some old. We did not forget to tell about how Jesus wants them to know him despite where they are. Afterwards James bought them lunch.  We went on to Marie Stopes Base. Here we prayed with and taught two ladies and eight guys!! We later headed back to the Center; after lunch Moses and James went to visit one of the street guys who is admitted at Kenyatta Hospital. To God be the Glory, great things he has done and is doing for his people through us!!  Glad you are part of it!!"

Blessings, Mbuvi

Jombi for All

Listening to friends from MITS

Teaching about Jesus

We do need your help.  We want to have a great holiday time in December for young people and children on the streets and the students at Kamulu.  We need about $5,000 for Christmas parties and dinners, gifts of clothing and shoes and books, and local trips for the students to special places around Nairobi where they have never been.  Please help us out - for more info and to let me know what you want to do, write me at charles@madeinthestreets.org 

Receptions at Coulstons - Aug 23 & 25

This coming Sunday evening at 6:00 and Tuesday evening at 6:00 -- Francis Mbuvi and Moses Okoth will be with the Coulstons.  So...any street ministry friend in the Fort Worth/Dallas area is invited to either of those receptions.  Call or text me at 817 965-3004 for our address.  We are celebrating 20 years of street ministry and you can enjoy hearing Francis and Moses talk about future plans for Made in the Streets.

Here is a great pic of Mbuvi with "our kids" 

Evil and Good - No Fear

Those of you who follow Made in the Streets on Facebook or elsewhere already know about the destruction of the shops we built along the highway.  These shops were on city land, and we have a written agreement with the City Council for use of the highway access area.  But...as with many things, it only takes a bribe to have a city council employee come with thugs to destroy.

You can see the destruction clearly here.

So...there is evil in the world.  But that does not stop the work - ministry to street kids goes on, and we adjust to the new reality.  We can rebuild the shops along the access road on land that belongs to us - the Team will decide about that soon.  If you want to help us with this rebuilding, let us know - charles@madeinthestreets.org

There is also good in the world - an excess of good that comes down from the Father of Lights, who redeems and makes holy and keeps on loving.  This picture shows Charles and Francis Mbuvi with Dereje Aleme and some young men in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Made in the Streets will "export" our style of street ministry.

Dereje on the left, Francis in white, three Ethiopian young men
who have given their lives to Christ.

 In our fundraising campaign to fund both the ministry in Ethiopia and the building of a Christian Camp near Nairobi, we are seeking "the 99."  You know who they are - the 99 are at home with Jesus, they are safe, they have a job and a house and a car, their retirement funds are growing, they are comfortable in their faith.  But...the 99 know where Jesus is - He is out there looking for THE ONE, the homeless and helpless and unredeemed one.  And the 99 want to be out there with Jesus, standing at the giving edge of human need.  We are looking for "99" who have been blessed by God and will give $10,000 each in 2015 and 2016 to further the development of street ministry. 

So...if you have been blessed, you are welcome to take part.  Send to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.  Write us for more info - charles@madeinthestreets.org 

Of Celebration and Memories

On August 1 Made in the Streets celebrates 20 Years of street ministry in Nairobi.  God has raised up many good workers during this time as well as some great young people from the streets.  We have looked at many hundreds of pictures from the Coulstons' first visit to Nairobi in 1990 with Bill and Virda Stevens of Redwood City, CA, down to the recent pictures of the 8 street guys aged 11 to 14 who came to Kamulu on May 20.  Heartaches and joys - and all worthwhile!

Here are some random memories of this year and past years.....

Darlene with Mindy Aleme in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
They will be great friends!

A typical picture in our lives...boys sleeping on the streets and
depending on glue to help them feel better...our mission!

May 2015 - we had all the young boys one day, then all the young girls,
of MITS to our home for popcorn, cake, home-made lattes and games.
The boys ate a kilo of popcorn.

Laurent invited Darlene and me to eat his "final exam" meal
at his training center. He has now been a cook at University
of Nairobi for 11 years. 

An old pic...with my best friend in Kenya - John Wambu - he
worked for me as property manager when I was Principal at
KCITI and is on our Team at MITS.  Here we are looking at
the land we had bought at Kamulu before there was a street
ministry.  We built a fence and grew cucumbers in 1993, and
there were no other buildings around!

One of my all-time favorites...this is what Darlene thinks of Made in the Streets.

Hero of the World

This is one of those feel good days.  A certain organization in the USA is trying to find "the heroes of the world."  Dusty Breeding submitted Made in the Streets own Jackton Onyango Omondi as our "hero," along with part of his story.  And HE WON!  MITS gets a cash award for which we are grateful.  And all of us are thrilled when someone appreciates the work that we do.  Congratulations, Jackton! He is one of my heroes too - the kind of friend and co-worker who is ready to do whatever it is that needs doing!

Jackton has bargained for the car we drive...picked us up when an older car broke down on the highway...came to help us when an axle gave way on the old Peugeot on 2nd Avenue in Eastleigh...kept the MITS bus running...led our sports teams...learned sewing when we needed to start our first skills training in 2002...along with Milly runs our Into the World project (helping our graduates learn to do evangelistic Bible studies in their apartments)...has taken in 2 children neglected by a former street girl who was with us...will clean out the toilet if asked...takes visitors where they need to go...HERO material...

Of Street Kids and Prisons

Larry Conway, who works closely with the Eastleigh MITS Team on the streets in Nairobi, was invited to a prison near Kericho by a former student.  With him went Samuel Mburu, who was brought to Jesus through World Bible School and is a member of the Kamulu Church. We are so proud of the Conways (see picture below) and of World Bible School for the great work done in helping Kenyans begin worship together.  Also note Larry's words about new boys coming out to Kamulu and remember to pray for them - thanks! 

Recently I was invited by Eric Chepkwony to speak at the Sunday service for the Kericho prison. Kericho is located in the highlands of Kenya, about 165 miles West of Nairobi. Eric is a former student of mine at the Nairobi Great Commission School. The Nairobi Great Commission School trains church leaders from all over Kenya in a two year program so that they might be better equipped to serve Christ in their churches and to plant new churches. After Eric graduated from the school he returned to his home area and had the dream of working in the local prison sharing the gospel. The prison officials were not very receptive to the idea of him preaching there.  They made it difficult for Eric to get permission to work in the prison by requiring several documents from the Government that were almost impossible to obtain. Eric decided to visit a different prison, located in the town of Kericho, and to use World Bible School correspondence materials there. The prison officials agreed that Eric could visit the prisoners and register students in the WBS courses. After completing the courses and assignments some of the inmates decided they wanted to be baptized and give their lives to Christ. The prison officials told Eric that they noticed the inmates’ behavior was more positive than before and credited the Bible studies and Eric’s influence for their positive behavior change. Eric faced a problem at the prison because there was no baptistery and the inmates could not leave the prison to be baptized.  So he had to build a baptistery inside the prison. The prison officials were impressed with the life change they saw in the inmates. They offered a small place within the prison compound where a baptistery could be built. So far, there have been 141 inmates give their lives to Christ and be baptized. On Sunday, 22 inmates were baptized. It was very humbling to see men in handcuffs come to be baptized under heavy security with armed guards watching over them. The handcuffs were removed so they could be baptized and then immediately the handcuffs were put back on. I saw one of the prisoners in handcuffs holding his New Testament, and I was reminded that the gospel cannot be imprisoned. The gospel is powerful and God calls men everywhere to repent. I experienced a lot of joy on Sunday watching Eric, my former student, as the prison officials greeted him warmly and with respect. Eric is a great example of a servant leader who desires to help others come to Christ and be disciples. I was reminded of the relationship of Paul and Timothy. Timothy began his relationship with Paul as a student of Paul’s ministry and eventually a co-worker. I am encouraged to see former students like Eric graduate from the Nairobi Great Commission School and then go out to make other disciples. Equipping leaders brings me great joy and is important for the growth of the church.

At Made in the Streets we will be rescuing 8 boys from the streets very soon and they will go to Kamulu and begin their lives there as students. It is always a great day when we see boys leave the streets and go to live at Kamulu and get a new start in life. We continue to go out to the streets of Nairobi and share the good news that Jesus loves them and their sins can be forgiven. Thank you for all that you do that makes it possible for the ministry to continue.

Larry Conway

Sadness at Terror

Friends of Made in the Streets will have seen the news about the attack on Garissa University, which took more lives than the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi.  We are all saddened at the loss of young lives, who were preparing at University for a future career.

We do want our friends to know that Garissa is 220 miles from Nairobi, and it takes almost five hours to drive there.  None of our students come from the area around Garissa.

Keep us and our students in mind when you talk with God, as the people behind this attack are angry at Kenya and have the freedom of movement to operate almost anywhere in the country.  We know that God is able, and we know that the future of many street children depend on our presence to help them have a new life -- in Christ, in families, in jobs.

May peace reign! May hope arise!

Charles

MITS Graduates with Joy

Darlene and I are at the Nairobi Java House at Thika Road Mall.  We sat down and ordered coffee and a croissant (life is so much nicer in Nairobi these days - in the 23 years we have been here, we have seen many changes).  Then Francis Ndungu stepped out of the kitchen to greet us with a smile. He began working here about a month ago after graduating from MITS in December.  He says that he is preparing lunches for the employees at Java House.  I ask him if they like his cooking and he says "yes."  He says, "They ask me where I learned to cook like this."

Thanks, Magdalene and others who work with our catering program.  They are doing well, and our graduates are finding happy places to work.  Here is a pic I took of Francis as we talked.  You can also see Darlene's broken arm!  She is doing well and managing most everything by herself now.  I still get to do the dishes and open jars.

Peace and HOPE to all,

charles

GOSPEL IMPACT

Maybe you wonder whether Made in the Streets has impact beyond what happens to street kids.  Below is the answer - the church at Kamulu continues to grow from community involvement. The MITS Team and students have shared their love of God with people outside.  Their story began on the Sunday we began our "3:16" sermons, which started with Genesis 3:16 (read it!).  That day two men married to women in the church happened to come to worship.   Mbuvi talked about growing up in Mathare Valley and his experiences with his parents and the decisions he made about how to live his life once he came to know Jesus.  He was very open and vulnerable as he talked about how Jesus wants men and husbands to live.  One of the visiting men - Amos - stopped off at a small cafe on the way home and bought the family french fries and something else for lunch.  Barbra said later that he had never done that before!  Now...Mbuvi's notes below....

This report comes from Francis Mbuvi, after baptizing Amos Mwangi at Kamulu last Sunday.
  

"It's always a joy when one more soul accepts and commits to follow Jesus. Some people take a short time while others take long listening and learning before making the final move. Such was the case with Amos Mwangi, who is Married to Barbra, a lady who cleans the church. For a long time she has come both to me and the women's group requesting that we pray for her husband who used to be a heavy alcohol drinker. She had almost given up not knowing God was still working in him. Slowly he started coming to church and over time felt convicted. He called me last week and said "the messages you have been preaching have really touched me and I would like to be baptized this coming Sunday".  So we did baptize him, and his family - even his mother - was there to witness, along with the whole church. It was also our Sunday for fellowship tea together. God continues to work wonders and we praise him. Blessings”

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