Made In The Streets

That the Blind May See

2012-02-06T20:54:00.003+03:00

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

2012-02-06T20:30:00.002+03:00

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!!!

Our thanks to those who gave towards us going to spend some time talking to 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

2012-02-01T20:58:00.003+03:00

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

2012-01-05T20:36:00.004+03:00

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.

Birthday for Little Ones

2011-12-13T20:36:00.002+03:00

Having teenage moms and babies at Made in the Streets has turned into a wonderful decision. The street guys who come to live at Kamulu get an opportunity to practice gentleness and care, and they are great with the little ones.

Two weeks ago Darlene Coulston invited all the single moms and kids -- and all our Team members who had kids -- to a birthday party for them all. They had fun playing in the yard (we have the only grass yard around here!!), eating cake and playing games. The Moms had as much fun as the kids.

Thanks for everyone who gives to Made in the Streets so that these events are possible - and especially so that young and vulnerable moms can get off the streets and have opportunity for training.

If you have been blessed richly and want to make an end-of-year donation, we are happy to receive it!! Send to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. Happy Holiday!!

Spiritual Life

2011-11-15T10:08:00.002+03:00

One of our goals has been to bring up boys and girls who love the Lord now and after they leave MITS. This Sunday and every other Sunday we have our

students involved in reading scripture as part of their growth in the lord. Peter Simala did the reading this week. Among other things, the church has an outreach program where we buy food stuffs and take to needy community members of Kamulu. Last week we had members take food to some families, among them Pamela who went the furthrest.

She had been referred to this family by another church member called Wachira. Pamela said she had to walk a long distance and was getting frustrated, but when she got there, she found that the family had nothing to eat for the evening. She was happy to see them get happy because otherwise they would have gone hungry that day. She gave them flour, sugar and some cooking oil.
It is one of many blessings that God is allowing the Kamulu church to do.

Francis Mbuvi

Holiday Giving

2011-11-05T11:33:00.002+03:00

Holiday Gifts

Please take a look at the MITS web site made-in-the-streets.org for opportunities for "Holiday Giving". We have trips and special events planned for December. We cannot send our street kids living with us anywhere else for the holidays, and we do take a break from classes. So we fill the time with events as well as more work on the farm!! For those events we do not depend on the budget but on friends who want to give an extra gift outside of their families. You could pay for a retreat for the students, or a day at the park, or presents they can give one another, or a Christmas lunch, or a party for kids still living on the streets, or many other needs.

End of the Year Gifts

This is a great time to contribute to Made in the Streets and get an extra tax break you might need at the end of the year. We are happy to put your gift to work on behalf of street kids. Some of the special things we need to pay for now are

1. Turning our shops along the highway where our kids learn to deal with customers into a "Cracker Barrel" style shop and cafe.

2. Adding new staff to our dorm supervisor group so some of our Team can concentrate on teaching or skills training or other work, instead of having double responsibility. Usual costs for a starting Team member is $160 monthly for salary and benefits. Pay for the first year's salary (about $2,000) and we'll take care of raising funds for subsequent years.

3. The City Council has required us to do some additions to property and some repairs to plumbing, drainage and venting that will cost about $6,000. They want this before they will okay the renewal of our permit with the Children's Department to operate the boarding program.

4. CHALLENGE GRANT -- we hope to finish the $30,000 Challenge Grant by December 31. We are now at approximately $9,000. We want to build a set of 3 classrooms to go with our new chapel. A local church of Christ also meets in the chapel, which we use as a multi-purpose building.

Thank you for all your help. Send funds to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.

Also please look at my personal blog site charles-coulston.blogspot.com for recent post.

Safety in Kenya

2011-10-31T13:48:00.002+03:00

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

2011-10-18T19:53:00.002+03:00

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

2011-10-14T20:08:00.007+03:00

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

2011-10-11T17:59:00.005+03:00

"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

2011-10-10T18:34:00.009+03:00

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

2011-10-07T19:14:00.006+03:00

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

Prepare for First Chapel

2011-09-26T20:52:00.002+03:00

The Octagon is almost complete, and the Team and students are getting ready for the first chapel to be held in it. The church will also be using this building for meetings. What a great blessing to have this. Cecelia Mwenza, one of our street moms, who studies sewing, is doing the final cleaning for chapel.

Our CHALLENGE GRANT is still going on. And we still need the funds so we can build classrooms to go with the Octagon. MITS deeply appreciates all help given to this project.

Please send checks to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027, or go online at the web site made-in-the-streets.org and donate online.

Send an email to charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org to let us know of your contribution toward the Challenge.

Church at the Bases

2011-09-22T18:08:00.003+03:00

Francis Mbuvi reports:

"Discovery Bible Study

We sent Byron to Isiolo for the CPM (Church Planting Movement) mission where they spent one month evangelizing and making disciples as well as planting churches. It was a great eye opener for him, and he says he learned to be bolder as he visits bases. This week on Monday, there was a reporting time at the Lifeway Mission where they reported on what the Lord did through them during that time.

There are many who have not embraced the Gospel of Jesus in the Bases and other parts of the world. We hope to implement a part of what he learned in building up the church. Thanks for your support and prayers for the work here."

We are continuing in our effort to train our student in what is often called the "Discovery Bible Study" approach to learning Scripture, doing evangelism and encouraging obedience to Christ. Byron went on this trip to gain experience in using the DBS to evangelize and start small churches meeting in homes. Our hope is that our students will leave MITS when they are 18 with the ability and courage to evangelize, to lead DBS and to use their apartments as a place for believers to meet and share Scripture with others.

Base Visits in East Nairobi

2011-09-22T17:41:00.002+03:00

DOONHOLM and SINAI BASES

"Today we had the opportunity to visit Mutindwa Base where we met 8 women with their children. They all come from the Sinai slum where there was a fire tragedy that left over 80 people dead. They had not been directly affected, but they had lost seven of their friends. We encouraged them and prayed with them then went to Doonholm base.

We met 9 boys but only 7 stayed to listen to us. One of them read Psalm 12 for us, and Byron talked about it. Most of them were on glue and we asked them to learn to respect God and not glue. We had a blessed time then prayed before we left."

from Francis Mbuvi

Business Courses

2011-09-22T17:21:00.004+03:00

Francis Mbuvi reports about one of the Bible courses that is part of the "4.30" Business preparation courses that Made in the Streets gives to the students who are in skills training. They are the 4.30 courses because of the time they meet.

"Our 4.30 class has been doing well. We are looking at "Relationships at Work", and yesterday the students did a skit on "conversation and table manners." It was such a good time as they practiced what they had learned. Darlene, thank you for helping put these courses together."

The business courses are very helpful in preparing the students to go into the work force. Since none of them have seen a model of business or work in their childhood, it is important that they have courses and practice in a wide variety of areas. The courses include "How to Get a Job", "How to Keep a Job," "Business Ethics," "Relationships Outside of Work," "Budgeting," "Office Practice," and "Computer Networking."

Bread of Life

2011-09-21T18:51:00.004+03:00

At Doonholm Base we shared the word of God with them, but we also shared some bread with them. Most of the boys are between 12 and 16, and we had pity on them. After the "bread of life" we bought bodily bread to ease their hunger. We thank God for them.

by Francis Mbuvi

Danger Areas

2011-09-13T19:37:00.002+03:00

Many of our friends will have seen the news that a fuel pipeline explosion occurred in Nairobi. The pipeline is gasoline, and the line burst with the fuel running downward into local streams. Many people were attempting to fill containers with fuel when the explosion occurred. Also people had built small houses on the pipeline land over the fuel line. So there was chaos and people severely burned, and many lost their lives.

We have two girls living with us at Kamulu who came from that area. They both have relatives at the local "base" where street kids gather at night. We do not yet have information on whether any of the relatives were hurt.

This area is along one of the roads on the East side of Nairobi that runs north to south to the airport. We do not go that way to the airport, since the Eastern Bypass was opened on the other side of the airport. It is possible to get around Nairobi without having to go through that area. We are very sad for all the people who have been hurt or suffered loss. It is another of the consequences of living in a city and especially of living with poverty. May our God be comfort to all, and may the work of the church bring about a better world, and a world where people take care of one another.

Jump for Joy

2011-09-07T18:31:00.004+03:00

Made in the Streets has assets! And our most precious asset is the Kenyans who serve street kids with their love, their time, their strengths.

This picture was taken the day Tony Mauldin, an old and dear friend, visited us with a group from Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. They did a great job of teaching our Team about business, about youth ministry and about writing, as well as having some inspirational singing time with all of the MITS family.

Here Joel Njue, who has served in street ministry since 1999, jumps for joy. Joel provide inspirational and steady leadership. He loves to learn, and he is in a business studies program at United States International University, and he passes on what he learns to our students. He is very happy when one of our students achieves an internship or a job, when they find housing and have any success, as he is joyful over his own achievements. He helps all of MITS keep our lives in context, by reminding us often of where we have come from, of our history, of the things we have learned, and of what our objectives are. He has a strong desire for young people to grow up in good things, to be restored to Christ, to confidence, to a good direction for their lives. And he treats all the students with equal kindness - he wants to include all of them in MITS' plans for a good future.

We are proud of the strengths Joel has to offer street ministry, the Team and the students. We think he is in exactly the right place to effect God's wonderful plan for our ministry.

We are grateful for the support of friends of street kids who enable our Team to continue their work. By way of reminder, you can buy the book of street kid stories from the web site www.made-in-the-streets.org . And when God has enabled you to jump for joy and you want to support this work of Christ, look at the web site for details. Be joyful!

Student News and Challenge Grant

2011-08-16T20:25:00.009+03:00

Student News

Brenda Adhiambo is interning at New Life, a place that cares for babies born HIV positive. She loves little ones, so this fits her.

Edward Muhea moved with other older boys into a new dorm at the skills center. In his room by his bed we found together a book he was reading, a Bible and a picture of his sponsors, the Necessary family.

Jacky Imam Ibab is a new student from the Turkana region, near Somalia, center of an extreme drought including Ethiopia and Kenya. 12 million people are affected. It’s in the Kenyan news every night - Jackie was watching last week and saw her relatives on TV. Somehow MITS will help, including taking Jackie up there - about an 11 hour drive. She was herding goats and had never been to school when she ran away, came to Nairobi, and ended up in MITS. As she goes back, she will take the Good News of Jesus to her family. If you want to help in this, send funds to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027 and email me at charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org

Visitors

We are grateful for people who come and help us. Thanks to Iris Welch and her group (Molly, Shelly, Sarah, Jan), who were over the top. Favorite activities were Molly’s science experiments (blowing up things!) and the Living Museum of Bible characters. They also set up some peer counseling activities, tutored students and spent lots of time with the girls in the dorms. If you want to put together a group and visit us in Nairobi in 2012, let me know at the email above.

Challenge Grant

The Kamulu Church (150 people) has been meeting outside 9 years. A friend has given MITS a challenge grant of $30,000. In faith we have begun a chapel (an octagon) plus toilets and a kitchen. Matching funds will provide classrooms and finish the chapel. The church has been saving for years and will buy plastic chairs, Bibles and songbooks. MITS will have daily chapel there, and the church will use the chapel on Sundays. It’s a great time for you to help MITS -- double your money! Please email us if you can and send your funds to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. Include a note saying the gift is for “the challenge grant.”

CHALLENGE GRANT

2011-08-03T16:59:00.004+03:00

Made in the Streets has been blessed with a challenge grant of $30,000. We need another $30,000 to fulfill the challenge. When we receive from friends the funds, we will also finish the funds needed for our building projects at Kamulu. We will then have full facilities for housing our optimum number of 100 teenagers from the streets of Nairobi. We are grateful for the great support MITS has been given. The Team at Eastleigh serve faithfully, going to the streets every day to find the new kids who have left or lost their homes. The Team at Kamulu love and teach the young people who live with us - literacy education, job skills, life in the student housing - every day. And every day our friends around the world pray for the kids and the Team. And our friends give every month to make it all possible. Thank you! And thank you in advance for helping with the CHALLENGE GRANT. Whatever you desire to give, send it to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Then please send an email to crc@swiftkenya.com so we will know what gifts have come. Be blessed. The picture is a recent one of a young man on an Eastleigh alleyway in Nairobi - just one of the many we want to rescue for a new life.

Bread for the Streets

2011-07-27T22:48:00.003+03:00

Every other Friday the MITS Team from Kamulu goes to Eastleigh to work on the streets for the day. It is a great experience - the Team stays in touch with our key work, and kids on the streets know that MITS cares about them, and that there is a loving God who knows them.

Our catering school does practical cooking each week, and the day before the Friday visit, they bake bread. The rolls smell wonderful, and they are large and tasty.

Here is Florence Moraa, one of our older students, with the bread for this week. How exciting, to bring such pleasure to the kids on the streets. It's a way for our kids to "pay back." And it creates good will.

May you find your own way to create good will for Jesus today.

BASE REPORT by Mbuvi

2011-07-01T20:20:00.001+03:00

The MITS team went out to several bases (a base is a place where street kids gather at night and sleep) telling of God's great love for street youth and his desire that they will one day stay away from sin and follow him.

We know this is a daily struggle, and they are under attack from Satan, but a struggle we will not and should not give up on.

Evans Ouma has become a darling for many and has good stories to encourage them. We are blessed to have such a team visiting bases with Jesus' love everyday. Please keep praying for strength for all.
This was at "Deliverance Base."

GREAT GOOD NEWS

2011-07-01T19:58:00.002+03:00

We are very happy at Made in the Streets. Charles Kimani, who is pictured here as he learns in the wood-working shop, recently flew to Malindi on the Kenyan Coast for surgery. The surgery clinic was organized by BandS Ministries, under the leadership of Dr. John Bailey. Dr. Jerry Smith performed the surgery on a mass under the shoulder that had been revealed in an X-ray after Charles began to suffer pain. Apparently the mass had been there since childhood, but has grown larger lately. The surgeon found the mass to be inoperable, as the mass was interconnected to the scapula, the blood vessels and the muscles. It was also obvious to the doctors that the mass was cancerous, so they took a sample to be analyzed in a lab in Nairobi, since good facilities were not available in Malindi. When Charles returned, we took the sample to the Shah Lab, where we have undergone tests before. Also John Wambu's daughter Mary flew to Malindi with Charles and had surgery, so we took a sample of her tissue in to the lab as well.

When we received the news from the doctors, and before Charles returned, we shared the news with the street kids and the MITS Team, and we all began to pray. We asked for God's help, since this was something the doctors could not do. And we asked for healing. The street kids pray simply and directly and are not afraid to ask God for anything.

Today we received the pathology report -- AND THERE IS NO CANCER - NOW! The diagnosis is angiolipoma with adipose tissue. You can look up lipoma and angiolipoma in Wikipedia - lipomas are generally painless, but angiolipoma are usually quite painful, because of the vascular structure and the interconnectedness.

So Charles will have to live with pain, unless God is willing to take that away too. The kids will be asking for that. But already we are very grateful. And Mary was also free of cancer and should have no residual problems other than not being able to bear children.

Thanks for praying, and for loving our kids. I have always told the kids that I believe God hears the prayers of street kids.

Future Needs and Dreams

2011-06-20T12:14:00.002+03:00

We are rejoicing that our 10 new kids are fitting in so well at MITS-Kamulu. The Eastleigh Team - praise God for Jane, Moses, Evans, Augustina, Jane and Byron, along with Larry and Hollye Conway - is doing a great work in finding kids and preparing them for change. We will continue to reach out until we have our optimum number of 100 kids living at Kamulu - we will need to intake 14 more.

In order to be highly effective at that number, we need a few things. If you want to help in this, please let us know and send in your funds, earmarked for where you want to help.

1. One new boys' dorm to hold 16 boys and a supervisor. Cost: about $36,000

2. A multi-purpose building to hold up to 250 seated. Cost: about $70,000

3. New Team members for teaching and training - 3 at a cost of about $275 a month each

4. Increase in Kenyan Team salaries to reach a "livable wage" in Nairobi (minimum of $250 monthly) - at a cost of about $4,600 a month.

You could help in multiple ways.

1. Get a congregation or class or small group to do a fundraiser on behalf of a building project.

2. Commit to "sponsor" a Team member -- at $275 a month -- for a year or as long as he/she is with us.

3. Give monthly toward salary increases for the Team.

4. Help MITS get a grant for the building projects or the Team plan.

Thanks for caring. Funds are to be sent to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Write to me at charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org

Street Security

2011-06-13T14:51:00.002+03:00

Some of you have wondered about our security on the streets in the light of news about people who have died recently who were involved in security problems in the world. Larry and Hollye stayed away from the bases for a few days two weeks ago. But now they are back at work in Eastleigh. They are a great encouragement to the team there and good street ministers themselves. Here is a photo from last week - see Larry on the far right in his street hat -- with visitors from Aggies for Christ of Texas A&M University at a baptism at the Eastleigh Center.

Street Ministry at the Bases

2011-06-12T15:35:00.004+03:00

Our Team at Eastleigh continues to go out daily to the bases - to teach Bible, to talk and make friends, to see what new kids have come to the streets, to do first aid, to help solve problems. Here is one of our Team members at Mutindwa Base.

Our whole Team who go to the streets at Eastleigh share the strength of "connectedness." That means they feel a moral need to be connected to people and they see the connections between people and events and can use those connections to be a blessing to people.

We have been through a StrengthsFinder assessment with Kelly Davidson, director of Aggies for Christ at Texas A&M University while some of the AFC students have led a camp for all our kids at Kamulu. What a great week for us all. It was exciting to see the strengths of other Team members in this assessment (which is from a business point of view). The assessment gives us the top 5 strengths -- out of 31 taking the assessment, 20 shared "Responsibility" as a top strength and 19 shared "Learner." That is not a great surprise considering we are working with street kids.

We are already beginning to make some changes in the way we do things as a result of the Strengths assessment. We feel blessed to have had this workshop.

Serving the Lord Jesus

2011-06-10T09:59:00.004+03:00

Eric Wairobi and James Omuga were in Eastleigh last week with some of our Team. They have decided to follow Jesus and to give their lives to him. So, after study, they were baptized at the Eastleigh Center by one of our visitors from Aggies for Christ. They had prayer before the baptism, and others were there with them. There is Larry Conway with his "street hat." And Mauryn Mbuvi is there with her youngest son Jeremy. Mauryn is the wife of our administrator and manager of a very successful World Bible School program that includes orphanages and feeding stations. Eric and James were very happy with their decision. This is one of our primary goals at MITS, to help our kids to know God and to want to obey him.

The AFC Team led a camp for 10 kids from the streets one week -- all of whom have now moved to Kamulu. We are seeking sponsors for these 10. If you are interested, write Tim Lewis at timannlewis@gmail.com and cc: the email to me.

The next week the AFC group led a camp for the kids living at Kamulu while Kelly Davidson led a Team development seminar for our MITS Team. It was a great and lively seminar, with emphasis given to the strengths of each Team member and our inter-relationships. We all felt really good, and we believe it will help guide our work together.

More Skills Practice at MITS

2011-05-10T17:35:00.001+03:00

Opportunity comes at our own skills shops, such as the small salon we operate along the highway in Kamulu. Titus (Pius) Musyoki trained six months at the Pioneer college. Titus had worked hard to prove that it was worth it. I (photographer Mbuvi) caught up with him working on Cecelia so professionally. Joel will be helping him get an attachment (internship) soon.

Skills Student Practice

2011-05-10T17:32:00.001+03:00

Duncan is learning beauty and hairdressing. The photographer found him working on a client doing massage and nails. He was ao happy to practice what he has been learning.

Kamulu Sunday from Mbuvi

2011-05-10T17:18:00.009+03:00

Hi, Sunday was great. Our morning class was on

"Mothers Day" and we did the lesson on Mary.

Great discussions of what each person thought

about their mothers.

Risper shared how she dropped out of school

and her dad said she should be married!!!

Her mum fought for her and she was able

to finish primary school.

Loads of great things from others. Samuel

shared of how his mum brought up 11 of them

without a father in the house.
At church, Joel Njue led us in songs,

Francis Cugia in giving and Lord's Table.

I did the sermon--urging people to take action

and represent Christ.
The Praise team and Florence Moraa had a song.

What a Blessing!!!!

Security Concerns

2011-05-03T03:11:00.004+03:00

With heightened security alerts around the world for Americans, you are concerned about Made in the Streets and our visitors.

We have decided that Larry will not go to Eastleigh for a time. And our Team members who have been seen a lot with visitors to MITS have been asked to either not go out in Eastleigh and Mathare Valley or to be very careful. Please be in prayer for our Team that must continue to carry out ministry regardless of risk - kids on the streets are always at risk, so we need to be there for them.

As far as visitors are concerned - since our boarding center is away from city center, there is little concern. We need to be careful about the places we go in the city. Other than that, we can carry on with business as usual.

This picture of a girl named Lydia at a base filled with garbage shows you a reason why our ministry must go on; the church must not fail in its mission to be with and near the poorest of the poor in the world.

REMEMBER THE POOR!

peace and joy, charles

Francis Mbuvi Reports

2011-05-02T02:39:00.002+03:00

I hope your Sunday was a blessed one. We went to morning class and discussed 1 Corinthians 10:31 -- and it was a good time. We had two groups. Anthony Owino came too. In church, Alex Atemai led us in Lord's table and did wonderful. Ken Wambugu led us in giving and Joel led us in songs. Praise team had a song -- very nice.

Yesterday George Mwenda was in the cells at Ruai police station for some hours because our neighbor's child alleged he beat him along with other students (note: this neighbor is one who has been very angry at our boys when the soccer ball has been accidentally kicked over into his yard, yelling and cursing at the boys, so there is a history). The neighbor lied to Moses and Jackton that we could discuss it. Then he did not even report to the police station after George was arrested (note: George has never caused any trouble at MITS with the teachers or other students, so this behavior is unusual). The neighbor chased John Wambu from his place telling him he was arrogant. We paid bail for George and he is with us. Today he told Jackton that he wants us to remove the goal post on the side next to his place or relocate the soccer field. I will be responding to him tomorrow. Suggestions will be appreciated.

We asked ourselves in class-- how can we bring Glory to God in this situation and maybe lead someone to salvation?

Thanks, Charles and Darlene, for teaching us to trust in God. Have a blessed day. Lots of love from here.

The skills boys moved to the new dorm and they love it there.

Mbuvi

Note: We have had an amazing small number of incidents with boys from the streets getting angry, fighting or even having an argument with anyone outside of MITS. We are sorry for this incident and hopeful that God will make something good come out of it, for George, for the neighbor and for Moses and Jackton, leaders who handled the situation with grace. Mbuvi says they did a great job. Please pray for our neighbor's heart and life.

The photo is one that Mbuvi sent of some of our students singing to the church.

Sponsoring Street Youth to MITS

2011-04-28T01:01:00.003+03:00

We are making a change in the way we handle sign-ups to be sponsors. From now on, Tim Lewis, who serves the street ministry in many ways, will take on keeping up relationships between students and sponsors. He will also be the one to sign up sponsors.

If you are interested in sponsoring one of the 9 new students in 2011 who do not yet have a sponsor, please write to Tim at

timannlewis@gmail.com

When you ask to be a sponsor, he will send you a name and a picture. Then you can immediately begin sending sponsorship funds in the amount of $75 monthly to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Please send a note with your first check noting it is for sponsoring, and it helps if you give the name of your student. If you prefer to give another way, such as ONLINE (see the web site at www.made-in-the-streets.org ) or if you prefer to give a year at a time, or all at once, do so.

Soon after that you will receive from the Team in Nairobi some information about the student. From time to time you will receive a more current picture, an email or a letter from your student. From Tim or the Team you will receive major updates about your student's progress at MITS. If your student is 13 when entering MITS, you will be sponsoring for about 5 1/2 years. When a student reaches 18, we help him/her get a national identity card, when

sometimes takes 6 or more months. Meanwhile we help the student get in an internship at a business, get an apartment with another departing student, and remain involved in church life. About 3 months after a student gets a full-time job and begins receiving pay, we stop our support. So support can be needed 6 months or so after the planned time, depending on how long it takes for a student to become settled in life outside MITS.

Here is one of our new students who does not have a sponsor. Her name is Damaris, and this picture was taken the day she and two other girls came to Kamulu. She already looks different; if you sponsor her, you will get a new picture. Be blessed.

Easter Report from Mbuvi

2011-04-28T00:37:00.002+03:00

Hope you had a blessed Easter Sunday. Our class had two groups (of 12 and 10) with discussions on Rev. 3:1-5 and Eph 4:29. There was a great discussion on whether the church is alive or dead. Some, like Alex and Risper believe that there are areas we are alive, such as singing and the sermon. They also saw areas that need awakening -- reaching out to others and youth programs.
In church, Ken Atsiaya (a farm worker) and another youth led us in giving and Lord's Table. Our sermon came from Philippians with an emphasis on the empty life, the empty cross and the empty tomb which show how much God gave for us in our emptiness so we can be filled with life, hope, forgiveness and salvation.

We had songs from Agnes and the praise team. We also had some older members come in after the kids left for Sunday school. We then had over 100 people in worship. We praise God for loving us this much.

Street Kid Base Report

2011-04-18T00:51:00.003+03:00

Sometimes we have no choice but to report things that break our hearts. We know they break the heart of God also and that Jesus has tears for the struggles of small children, helpless to prevent what happens to them. This report from Francis Mbuvi came from his visit to a street kid base on Friday last week.

"We have always known the bases and streets in general are a hard place to be in, let alone growing up there. It is a struggle for the young boys and girls as well as for the youth. I have seen some of the greatest horrors over a period of time but nothing prepared me for what I was to see yesterday. A young boy, malnourished, alone, dirty , no food , full of lice, fleas and with wet clothes that only half covered him!!!!! This young boy is actually 11 months, can not talk or walk and at the " mawaya" base. I was praying for him as the team evangelized to the women in this base. I had to do something, I bought milk for him and the others there. I know this is not enough, but I also knew I relieved his pain for that time. We left him eating his "dirty" ugali (they corn meal mush eaten by Kenyans, dirty means it was picked out of the garbage). He cried because some older guys started a fight which involved broken bottles and pieces of metal!!! We were all sad as we left, for both the child and the young man who was beaten. We truth both their lives and ours too, strongly in God's able hands. The reality of life in the bases, forced on us. Remember to keep the team and those in the bases in your prayers." Mbuvi.

Be in prayer for us, that we might some day be able to develop a ministry that can take in small ones and rear them in God's great love. Meantime, we will seek to find someone who can take in this child and care for him. Our Team feels great compassion for the small ones on the streets.

As always, send contributions for street ministry to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Peace and Joy,

charles coulston

Francis Mbuvi Reports

2011-04-18T00:41:00.005+03:00

We hope the Board meeting went well and lots of good decisions made. Thanks for being there.
We had a good time in church, with 3 groups of 7 to 10 in our morning class. In church Alex Atema is one person who seems to be coming up. He did the Lord's table and even had googled the material he talked about -- very thoughtful. James Mwangi led us in giving.

Brian Kweyu came to church and he even asked that we forgive him and bring him back.
The youth are at the Youth Conference in South Nyanza. We eagerly await to hear about the trip.

Blessings to all, Mbuvi

BREAKING NEWS at MITS

2011-04-04T03:44:00.004+03:00

Have your kids, or you, ever gone out and found a lost pet or a damaged bird and brought it home? I remember finding a young crow that had fallen from a nest and pierced a wing on a thorn. It lived at our farm house for about a year, then one day it saw other crows flying and it went away to join them. I saw it only one time after that. One day I was walking outside our house, and I saw a crow being chased by a flock of smaller birds. The crow saw me, flew down close to my shoulder until the other birds flew away, then left me for the last time.

On Friday, April 1, most of the MITS Team at Kamulu went into Eastleigh and fanned out on the streets - looking for new kids, encouraging ones they already know, talking about trusting Jesus, especially wanting to talk to kids 13 or 14 years old.

And they brought kids home with them -- 4 girls -- Veronica, Terry, Lydia and Damaris. And one day these kids will FLY!!! And in troubled times they will know they are beloved and can come to us, and can draw near to God, in perfect confidence.

Want to sponsor one of them? Let me know at

charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org

THE BOOK

2011-04-04T03:38:00.005+03:00

MADE IN THE STREETS BOOK AVAILABLE

Note that on this page you can now order a copy of our first book on the lives of street kids. Here are 9 stories to touch your heart and lift up your desire to serve and to give of yourself for the sake of the poorest of the poor. You will fall in love with these kids.

Please note that the Coulstons have the following schedule

Redwood Church in Redwood City, CA - April 10

Otter Creek Church in Brentwood, TN - April 17

Conejo Vally Church in Thousand Oaks, CA - May 1

Pepperdine Bible Lectures - May 2-6 (Class Thursday 3:15 PM)

Return to Kenya - May 10

Be blessed. As always, when God blesses you with good things, we invite you to bless the street kids with your support. Send checks to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

you can also donate online - see the sites at

made-in-the-streets.org

and

madeinthestreets.blogspot.com

Thanks for your care and interest. The 28 new kids are continuing with MITS, with a few bumps, but already they are learning to read and write and to live together in peace.

Street Kid Literacy

2011-03-28T18:18:00.005+03:00

We are really excited about the growth of our curricula in our various classes, including literacy. We are finally getting close to full sets of 2-year curricula for both the literacy classes and the skills training classes.

The literacy program has been in a state of excitement lately at having 28 new students at Kamulu, who came off the streets, off the glue and the haphazard and hopeless condition, to a structured life with school!!

To see a video about the literacy program, especially teaching 7 new kids how to read, click on the following link and view the video made by Cecily Breeding. Or just look up "I Can Read on YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MURP8XWu4I

Enjoy!!!! This picture is of the new boys at Kamulu taken BEFORE they were brought out from Eastleigh. But they already had their new clothes!

Jackton Omondi Reports

2011-03-19T23:24:00.003+03:00

These are soccer players who will not stop playing because of God's blessing rain. They played till all were covered with mud. We have just come back to Kamulu from shopping for Literacy students. We spent some time in Eastleigh. At last we have rain. More updates will be coming as days go by - say hello to the South Mac, Legacy and the Hills church and all the folk. We love you. Grace mercy love peace and spirit to you all, Jackton

Two of the students pictured are part of the newest group at MITS and some of them are among the oldest at Kamulu. Almost all our young men play soccer with a passion.

Faithfulness

2011-03-09T14:07:00.003+03:00

Hello friends, we wanted to share with you the story of our young brother in Christ, Peter. Peter lives on the streets in Eastleigh. He was one of the first t obe baptized when the church was started in July. He was working at odd jobs doing whatever he could find to bring in some money. He would sometimes carry luggage for people getting off of the bus as they arrived in Nairobi. He decided he would travel to Mombosa, the second largest city in Kenya, and try to find a better job. He was successful finding a job at a restaurant. The job went well for a few days until he was told that he would have to become a Muslim to keep his job. He told the owner that he wasn’t going to become a Muslim just to keep his job. He was forced to quit the job because of their demands. Life was difficult for him because he ended up on the streets of Mombasa with no place to live. He did some odd jobs until he could get enough money to travel back to Nairobi. We are thankful to have him back at the church in Nairobi and to hear of his strong commitment to Christ.

Our work on the streets was a bit more difficult than usual recently. We found a young boy on the street who had been sexually abused. He had been to a medical clinic, but was released since the clinic doesn’t have any place to keep patients overnight. As we learned more of the story, we discovered that four other boys had also been abused but we don’t know who they are. Many times the police are not informed of such attacks because they are overwhelmed and understaffed. Unfortunately, they are also seen as very corrupt and complacent about fighting crime. We confirmed the attack with the medical clinic and made arrangements to bring the boy to our center and help him recover and then we would begin the process of taking him into the program at Kamulu. However, a woman whom we know prevented us from taking the boy. She actually locked him into her house and told us we could not take him. She is known to be a drug dealer and has a reputation of claiming to help street kids but actually keeps them supplied with drugs. We will see the boy again soon and continue with the process of trying to get him to our center at Kamulu.

In January, 29 new students were rescued from the streets and welcomed to the center at Kamulu. This is the largest intake at Made in the Streets at one time. Please pray for the new students as they adjust to life at Kamulu and pray for the students who recently left Kamulu to begin life as graduates. God has blessed the church in Eastleigh with 31 baptisms since July. Many of these new Christians are struggling to give up drugs they have been addicted to. They need our prayers. We thank God for all you do to help us share the gospel in Kenya.

Larry and Hollye Conway

Street Ministry Notes

2011-02-21T13:18:00.003+03:00

The singing was wonderful - loud and active - at my first chapel with the street kid students after getting back to Nairobi from the USA. We sang Tuvute Pamoja - a song that praises God for the strength and love that he gives and encourages us to "pull together." One of the girls shared an African story that finished with an encouragement to trust God today! We were crowded together in our largest classroom, barely fitting in the room

Afterwards in our Team meeting a group shared about the mission into Eastleigh on Friday - they visited 8 street youth bases and one of them was a new one. They found a young man who had a seriously injured leg, so they helped him get to a clinic for treatment. Jane Njeri, one of the Eastleigh Team members, was here and told me they have 17 moms and babies coming on Monday morning and a group of younger street boys on Monday and Tuesday, with a group of street girls on Thursday.

Moses Okoth and I met with one of our graduates, Jackson Isaac, who is being sponsored in a computer engineering program. He is having difficulty because 1) the curricula so far has been what he has already been taught by Moses and 2) the teacher has not been showing up for classes, which last 3 hours. We encouraged him to be patient about the learning, and Moses will visit the school to find out their curriculum plans and to check on the teacher. We also encouraged him to begin studying on his own in areas where he has interest, since he has several hours each day available. We prayed with him also. We are hopeful he will be encouraged. Our relationship with our students continues beyond the program itself, as we must help them through the struggles to find their place in society.

Mary Waithera started a job today!!! We are really pleased, as she has gotten a job cooking in a nice restaurant in the Village Market operated by an Israeli. We pray she will be a great employee who will lead to others getting jobs there. One great thing for Mary is that her sponsor has been sending extra money all along, so she will soon have considerable funds in a bank account that she is opening.

I met with John Wambu today to go over property matters - construction, repair and protection of property from outsiders. He has several projects ongoing - the new boys' dorm, the new staff house, a wall around the nursery school property, a wall around part of the Mountain View property, installation of two gates and a few other things. When all this is complete, in about a month, we will begin construction of two more staff houses. John continues to work with the Department of Lands on completion of title deeds for our several properties.

Mary, our new student whose tiny baby died after two weeks, seems to be doing well. She has finished literacy (because she had been to school before she went to the streets) and is in the cooking program now.

Bill Rider is with us from Mount Vernon, Iowa, and he reports that our oldest woodworking student, Charles Kimani, is doing very well. He pays attention and his skill level is high. Bill is building chests and a sofa with the woodworking program. Nell Rider baked cookies with the cooking students today, and the kids were excited. Those students cook lunch for all the skills training people, 24 in total, and they will share the cookies with them.

Victor and Angela, with little Kelcey, have moved in next door to us. Darlene and I have subdivided an acre we own and are giving plots to Team members who plan to stay long term with MITS. Their house is almost complete and they decided to move in and complete it as they go. Jackton and Milly must get their septic tank finished and get glass in the windows, then they can move in their new house also.

The sewing shop has a contract from MITS to make uniforms for all the new kids -- 29 x 5 uniform pieces means a lot of sewing. They are also putting numbers on the clothing and assigning a "property number" to each student in order to keep clear what belongs to who.

SPONSOR A STUDENT: just write me an email at charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org to let me know, then start sending $75 a month to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Write them a note stating that you are a sponsor so they will credit the money properly. I will send you a picture and some info on your student, and soon your student will send you an email or write you a letter. It is helpful if we an have a mailing address for you so we can post the letters. The picture is our new students arriving on the bus at Kamulu. They cleaned up and got new clothes at Eastleigh before being brought out. What a great event, writing a new chapter in their lives, one with love and hope and fun and family in it.

Keep street kids in your prayers - they are the poorest of the poor, without hope and confidence, struggling but without direction - and they are in the heart of Jesus. So let's all get in there too. We get a blessing also.

Peace and joy,

charles

Street Ministry Quick News

2011-02-19T08:43:00.003+03:00

Sadness with us - Jane Wanjiru's baby has died. The baby was premature; even with good care, MITS lost one we wanted to love. Please pray for Jane; she is young, and she wants to return to the man responsible for the pregnancy. He has been charged with defiling a minor and the court case continues. We hope she will stay with us, get an education here and begin to look forward to a new life. Pray that she will welcome Christ within and grow up in Him.

Jessica Cooper has almost finished her internship in Agriculture with us. She and Victor have worked out a crop rotation plan, together with nurseries, soil rehab plans and growth of irrigated areas.

We have a new volunteer in Eastleigh from the Institute of Social Work named Byron. The Eastleigh Team reports that he is a wonderful addition on the streets.

Bill and Nell Rider from Mount Vernon, Iowa, and the Central Church of Christ (Cedar Rapids) are with us for the next month. Bill is doing carpentry projects with Robin and students in woodworking, making chests now and planning a sofa and other items.

The 29 new students have settled in and begun literacy classes. They are obviously happy to be at MITS eating 3 meals a day, sleeping in their own beds and staying out of the rain.

The Coulstons are happily back at work with the Team, eating tomatoes and bananas from their garden and doing a little bit of teaching. Charles is teaching a Sunday morning adult class on "The Impossible Love of God." Darlene is teaching A-B-Cs to the new students with the least education.

SPONSORS NEEDED! If you are willing, begin sending $75 a month to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Write me an email at charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org and tell me you want to be a sponsor. I will assign you a student, send you a picture and get your student to write a letter as soon as possible.

29 KIDS - THE NEW LIFE BEGINS

2011-01-31T21:00:00.004+03:00

Last week the Team at Made in the Streets brought 29 young teenagers off the streets to live at Kamulu, begin literacy training, learn to live in a new environment with the 40 students
already living in the dorms.

A large number of students reached 18 near the end of 2010 and moved out into shared apartments as they enter into internships and jobs.

Pictured are Amina Hama (13) and Brian Kweyu (12).

We need sponsors for all 29 of these kids, and we welcome your assistance. $75 a month covers most of the expenses for a student at Kamulu. A 12 year old will be with us at Kamulu for about 6 years. When they reach 18, we help them get a national identity card, find an apartment, a congregation and a job -- then we are ready to turn loose of them as they being to pay their own way.

When you are willing and able to sponsor a student, please begin sending $75 a month to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37o27.

Of course, you can donate online at this blog site or at the main web site at

made-in-the-streets.org

If you wish, you may send a full year's sponsorship, or even a full 4,5 or 6 year sponsorship in one donation.

Please also make it your task to pray for these kids and the Team that loves them.

When you send your first check, please email Charles Coulston at

charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org

and inform him of your decision. He will send you a picture and name of a student and see that the student writes you occasionally.

The 20 Acres

2011-01-17T23:01:00.003+03:00

MITS has a 20 acre piece of land not far from the girls' and boys' centers at Kamulu. We have built our training center there and are already training students in cooking, hairdressing, woodworking and sewing there. A local government official, a few local citizens and some thugs invaded the land in 2009 and built a school on the other end of the property, taking about 8 1/2 acres from us. They also put a barbed-wire fence across the property. In order to keep them from seizing more land, which 4 local citizens were threatening to do, we have built a facility for teaching agriculture/welding and a staff house along their fence. Here is a picture of the almost completed staff house. One of our single Team members will move in when it is finished.

Process in court is very lengthy in Kenya and prone to many delays. The most recent court date was today, January 15, but it has been once again postponed, to Feb 24. The other side served an affidavit to our attorney just before going into court. In it they claim ownership of the land because it was "public property for community use" or something like that. They have no supporting documents, since we hold title to the land under a 99-year Certificate of Lease.

Here is a picture of the staff house. It is 13 x 21 with indoor toilet/shower and with electricity. When we are ready to have a married couple living there, we can easily expand the house to double the size, adding 2 small bedrooms or one large one. The school built by the invaders is in the background; you can also see the fence. We will build a sidewalk from the road, passing by the Ag/Weld building on out to the staff house.

Thank you to those who have made it possible for us to have nearby housing for our Team members, some of whom have been living several miles away from the campus.

Year End Note

2011-01-03T20:23:00.003+03:00

We ended the year in style. The whole school saw Narnia (Voyage of the Dawn Treader) at the village market. It was the place to be. The kids were excited, especially since Darlene had read the book to them. Reepicheep was a favorite for all. We were happy to have gone and we give our gratitude to all who gave and made it such a happy time for us. In the picture is Priscah getting ready to watch the movie. Thanks much. We are having a "kesha" until 1 am today ("kesha" is a stay up late sing and pray time). Have a great blessed year in Jesus. We love you much.

Francis Mbuvi

Always Going Home Inside

2010-12-26T07:17:00.004+03:00

Many years ago in Redwood City, CA, we learned a song called "I'm Always Going Home Inside." It expresses trust in Christ and a deep feeling of oneness with God, and we are always heading toward the real Home. When my mother lay dying, I sang at least a hundred songs to her, and this was one of them. She had not moved a muscle for more than an hour at the time. At the end of the song, which closes with "Take hold of my hand," I said, "God, I don't think she can, I think you need to take hold of her hand." I had my hand lying on top of mom's hand at the time, and all of a sudden I felt her hand close under mine. So I guess she could still hear me, and she was still able to make the effort. Either that, or God took hold of her hand, and she closed her hand on his.

Now the time has come for Darlene's Mom to make that journey home. Dorothy Wright died on Christmas Eve, just in time, as I told my granddaughters, to make it to heaven for the big Christmas party. She made a great contribution to the work of Made in the Streets. In this picture she is teaching Laurent how to read. He had never been to school when he came to MITS at 13 years old, and she was his reading teacher. He loved learning, and after a year he entered the 7th grade at a local elementary school in Mathare Valley. He finished the 8th grade, took the exit exams, went to a catering school in Eastleigh, got an internship at the University of Nairobi, and he continues to work there as a trusted chef and caterer. And he honors "Shosho" (the Kikuyu word for "Granny") for getting him started, and he honors God for getting him the place at the University.

She had many great adventures in Kenya, and this one with the monkey was both a little scary and lots of fun. She loved watching the monkeys, who would get in the house and eat everything if they could. They would also take things such as car mirrors and carry them around. This one was trying to get the corn we were preparing for a meal.

Francis Mbuvi, Administrator of MITS who has known Dorothy for 16 years, wrote yesterday, "The lives she helped to shape are testimony of her GREAT HEART. She lives on in our hearts and with God forever."

Besides the teaching and the encouragement she gave street kids from the time she was 72 until she was 80 something, she also gave sizable funds to the street ministry, blessing the work in many ways. Let this be encouragement to all retired folk that they can do far more than they can dream or think of - when God is with them.

At the last, Darlene and I, along with our daughter and son-by-marriage, were beside her to express our love and say "Good-bye." It is such a blessing to be here and not in Kenya at this moment. We know that many have prayed for this, and we are grateful that God has answered "Yes" for our sakes. God always answers "Yes" in Christ. That's one of the reasons we want to go Home.

by Charles Coulston, Christmas Day, 2010

2010 Holidays at MITS

2010-12-16T21:44:00.003+03:00

Due to generosity of friends of street kids, our students are having a wonderful December. We don't send them away from MITS during the holidays, because we don't want them going back into that home situation that drove them to the streets in the first place. We do take them on a visit if they have relatives that they can visit for a day; a Team member goes with them on this visit.

One of the "perks" of December is a visit to Gikomba, the famous used and new open air market at the edge of Eastleigh in Nairobi. Charles and Darlene left some money for each student, and more was provided them out of the holiday money friends have sent. So each one had 900 shillings ($11.53) to spend. Here is a picture of Duncan Mwangi, who has gotten a quality pair of flip-flops.

Thanks to those who support MITS and help make a new life for street kids. We need this continuing support for 2011, since our budget has increased $2,700 monthly (due to having more kids live with us, our exiting student expenses increasing and a salary increase) and we plan to build a new boys' dorm and a multipurpose auditorium in 2011.

We would not turn down end of the year donations if the Lord has blessed you with an especially generous heart this year! And Happy Holidays to you all.

Promoting MITS

2010-12-14T20:35:00.002+03:00

We are grateful to our friends who will promote the street ministry and help us bring light and joy in these kids' lives in Nairobi. The picture is the bulletin front at The Hills Church of Christ, where Amy recently started showing off jewelry and other crafts that the street kids make in their bookstore. In our next blog I'll show off some of the recent jewelry the kids have been making.

We would love it if congregations who are our friends would put the web site in the bulletin now and then so people will be reminded to look at recent news and pictures of the street ministry.

Thanks to many of you, the kids and Team are on a retreat to the Kenyan coast this week. They get to study and have devotionals together as well as go to the beach every day. They are staying at a church compound where they also have an extension of Nairobi Great Commission School.

Happy Holidays to you all. Our MITS kids are having a happy holiday in many ways. Some of them will also visit relatives (along with a Team member) during December. And they will have a party and feast on Christmas day.

Visitors at MITS

2010-11-30T11:28:00.002+03:00

We said goodbye to visitors Matt and Nikki Wallace from the Denver area yesterday. Matt was with us in Nairobi 10 years ago with WorldWide Youth Camps (now YouthReach), and he brought a few pics with him this time. This one he took when here, and a couple of these young guys have been in our program.

Matt and Nikki work with Dry Bones Denver, which seeks out young people on the streets. They are now in Ethiopia working on the adoption of a baby boy named Kai.

Matt spoke one day to our Team for about 25 minutes and had an uplifting and encouraging message for them. He told them how being at MITS in 2000 changed his life. It was the inspiration for doing Dry Bones Denver. It led to their thinking of adopting an African baby. All through the years he has told Nikki about MITS, and she also wanted to come and see what meant so much to him.

So...thanks WWYC and its leaders, thanks to supporters of Matt and Nikki - he has returned the good that he received in his excellent message to our Team.

Talented Street Youth

2010-11-15T17:15:00.002+03:00

Worship and Street Bases

2010-10-31T13:09:00.003+03:00

This morning we drove in to Eastleigh to attend worship at the new church at our Center there. With us were Samuel Mburu, member at Kamulu and WBS student, who was on his way to Southwest Kenya with Larry Conway and Jerry Drennan (from Abilene) to officially open Sam's Place, an orphanage for deaf children sponsored by the church. Also our two former Aggies for Christ interns, Jessica and Laquita, and Phillip, our lead teacher at MITS who was to preach at Eastleigh. Traffic was already heavy with matatus and vans carrying people to church and to other Sunday activities. Dust on the roads and a really bumpy 2nd Avenue in Eastleigh.

As we came in, we were enthusiastically greeted by our guard Isaiah, and Larry Conway, whom we had not seen for two months. We were happily surprised to see not only quite a number of youth from the streets but also several families, including some refugees staying in Eastleigh. On the front row was Jane Njeri, one of our very first students at MITS in 1996, when we started at the Eastleigh Church, which is down the street from our current center. She lives in a small "village" of very poor people in Eastleigh.

Phillip had a great message. One of things he talked about was a visit he had made to a base a couple of weeks ago. The base was located not far from a police post, and recently the police had killed a few street youth at the base. There are women there with small children, and they are worried about their children, talking about how they could protect the kids and continue to care for them. Young women forced to sleep on the streets are as concerned about their kids as the rest of us.

And Phillip applied it to Jesus, as he prayed in John 17. He said that Jesus is like those women, that he cares for us, that he prays for us, that he will not leave us alone, that he will protect us and use even the troubles of our lives to bring blessing to us. And we can trust him and know him.

Now isn't that a good message for all of us today?

Mountain View Adventure

2010-10-26T11:25:00.005+03:00

Last Saturday John Wambu, our property manager at Made in the Streets, and I drove up to the Mountain View properties. MITS has 40 acres there, which is now mostly scrub brush and small trees and lots of rock and sand. John says it has great potential as a source of sand and rock for construction in Nairobi. As we bought the plots over time, we have been dreaming of a place for a MITS Camp, where we can bring street kids and which church groups can use for youth retreats and camps. We have our own stone and sand for buildings, and it gives a wonderful view of the area.

We walked all the way around the 40 acres, over rocks and through thorn bushes. On the way we heard the distinctive sound of a hyena, which means he had seen us. The picture shows the hillside on the east side of our property, where hyenas gather at night and have a

den. We also found where someone had put in a fake boundary marker, trying to sell our land to some unsuspecting buyer, so we destroyed their marker.

We have a project now to build a stone fence all the way around the property. Today the government surveyor is putting in boundary markers where a few of the originals were removed. We have 8 men working on the property, breaking out stone and collecting sand for the building. They are also building a house for themselves, so they can live on the property while they work.

One of the most amazing discoveries about the property is that John found a waterhole, a spring, on the property, where everyone thinks there is no water except when there is rain. This picture shows the spring. We will eventually dig it out and enclose it in concrete, providing clean and safe water for those who will eventually use the property.

While there we met a man and his wife who were looking at properties there, planning to get a bank loan and buy 5 acres there. Someone was trying to sell him one of our 5 acre plots. Amazingly, they were asking him for 1.5 million shillings (a little less than $20,000 at current exchange rates). Considering we bought the plot for about $2,500, counting our registration and title fees, the land has grown tremendously in value. We are happy that we met him and could ward off that future problem. Now we need God's help and the protective stone fence around the properties to secure them for the future.

And we did not see the big python that lives under a tree above our property. But we did see Thompson gazelles and one giraffe.

Needed for Street Ministry

2010-10-22T15:50:00.002+03:00

We have a few needs at Made in the Streets that are not covered in the budget. If your heart is stirred up to help even more in the ministry, then please feel free to send support for one or more of these items to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. Or make your donation online - see the web site www.madeinthestreets.blogspot.com

Please email Charles Coulston at charles.coulston@made-in-the-streets.org after you make your donation and inform him of what you are funding and the amount. Also write if you wish more information.

1. Holiday Events in December -

$400 Family Day - we invite any relatives of our street kids to spend the day with us

$600 The New Narnia movie - we'd like to take all the kids and Team to this movie

$400 Soccer tournament for street kids/youth in the Mathare slum

$600 Staff Retreat -- recreation and growth time for our Team working with street kids

$500 Home visits -- Team members will take some of the students to visit relatives

$600 Christmas parties for street kids in Eastleigh

$550 Christmas parties for students and Team in boarding program

$600 Trip to the water park for students and Team

2. Construction

$3,500 Building a small house on one of the MITS properties for a Team member to live

Also serves the purpose of property security from invaders and thieves

And serves the purpose of a training program for our young men to learn masonry

If you wish to do this, we will "name" the home after anyone you wish.

3 houses have already been funded - we want to build 2 more.

$5,000 Constructing a security fence on the Mountain View property - 40 acres

$2,000 Constructing security fence around the Children's Center property (3 acres)

Also training for our young men learning masonry.

3. Intake

Our plan is to increase our capacity to provide a home for 100 street youth.

Cost of intake is approximately $100 per person.

We will need to intake up to 50 street kids in the next year.

Total cost $5,000

Medical Needs and Street Kids

2010-10-19T11:18:00.002+03:00

The streets have many hazards for young people -- spiritual, social and physical. The street sub-culture encourages kids to steal and lie, to satisfy sexual appetites, to use drugs. And there are many ways to be hurt physically as well. Dennis Baraza was hurt in an accident, his hand broken in two places, and the bones displaced. And he never went to a clinic or doctor. So it "healed" badly. Dennis is too old to come and live at Made in the Streets, but not too old for us to care.

A friend in Colleyville, Texas, supplied the funding, and our supervisor at Eastleigh, Jane Njeri, found Dennis and took her to the hospital. Initial surgery has been done, and it will be completed soon.

There are even hazards out at Kamulu, just as there are hazards in any home anywhere. One of our babies of a street mom, Hollye, swallowed a substance on Saturday. The Team members who were there trust Charles and Darlene, so they called them. Because we did not know what she swallowed, we encouraged something to drink so it would dilute or maybe she would throw up if she needed to. After a bit, she did throw up, and soon was walking around and had lunch and something to drink. Now we are engaged in an effort to make sure that the moms and all the team will feel confident about what to do and whether to do something when something happens to the kids. We need detailed steps to take, without people having to "fill in the blanks" on what to do. So we are at work on that now. Pray for our kids, that they will be protected from hazards, and that street kids will be blessed in the midst of hazards.

Street Moms Update from Mauryn

2010-10-09T21:17:00.002+03:00

Subject: Mothers' Monday Programme on the 27th Sept 2010

The attendance was 15 mothers, and the class started at around 10 am with Jane Abuti. They sang choruses and we arrived at 10:30 am and started with games. We played three games of police case, my mother and Kabuti. We found three winners who were very excited and happy.

Sharing came from the book of Luke, a story about Zachaeus who was a tax collector and made many people sad, and his behaviors were not pleasing to God. His behavior is like us, but Jesus told him "today I'll go with you to your house and salvation has come to your house." Jesus is ready to save us with our family and give us a new life like Zachaeus who paid back four times to people he had taken things from them and also gave half of his wealth to poor people. When Jesus comes to our lives we will be completely changed for the better. Encouragement that there's no sin that Jesus cannot forgive and cleanse. We also read from Psalm 113 that God lifts poor people and also Jeremiah 17:5 not to put our trust in people but in God.

Then we ended with a word of prayer and served a hot meal - their favorite, ugali and beans. And their children had a cup of milk.

God is good.

MOSES OKOTH REPORTS

2010-10-09T09:01:00.002+03:00

This general and very positive report was written by Moses Okoth, the MITS computer instructor, in September. It gives a general idea of what is going on at Made in the Streets.

*****************************

"John Wambu has given updates on the buildings. The new boys’ dorm is done, and the boys and supervisors have moved into the dorm. They are very happy, but some of the boys say they are cold. Now they are two in a room instead of four, and the rooms are bigger. Ben is also helping the supervisor with planting fruit trees and flowers on the boys’ compound.

The welding building is still in progress of being built. The boys who are learning masonry are building the toilets to be used at the training center. The girls' dining hall is basically finished and painted. Only the window glass and electric installation remain to be done.

For staff development, Francis has produced a seminar plan for the team in Eastleigh and the new staff at Kamulu to undergo a training period. Joel, Jackton, Irene, Renee, Francis, Moses and Larry led classes with the new team. We have seen this is needed because we have noticed issues at Eastleigh Centre thus the need for training and explanation of policies.

There was a breakin at the shop where the tailoring products are sold.

John has reported this to the police.

Due to unbecoming behaviour from kids going to additional training from Eastleigh, the team decided to bring Mugure and Dotrine back to Kamulu for monitoring. We also decided that those going to schools which are nearer to us should commute from Kamulu. Also Anastacia and Eunice are to look for their housing by next month.

Fast track classes have commenced for literacy students who will take the 8th grade exit exam in 2011, and the students are 12 in number. (note: all primary schools in Kenya participate in an 8th grade exam in several areas of study. Scores determine whether students will go on to high school and which schools. It helps the confidence and status of our students who can take part in the exam. We have been approved as a center for the exam.)

Virtual library is doing so fine, the two workstation are magnificent. The nursery is doing great and enjoying the flat screen TV. Terry has started going to Nargis’ salon for hairdressing and management training. Salon students have also started using the facility in skills centre. Ken Wambugu is doing great with the boys and generally with work assigned to him. He makes us proud all the time. We have been having a volunteer for the past three weeks now; Fiona Ondara has been teaching literacy classes.

Ben has gone ahead and dug a bigger fish pond and moved the fish to the bigger one.

John also wanted me to inform you of his purchase of his new pickup truck that he recently bought. Also the property painting is done. The sign posts are being installed in their places.

Joel reports that VBS was awesome, both at Kamulu and at Nziu."

Needed at Made in the Streets

2010-09-30T15:13:00.004+03:00

Some of our friends often ask us, "what do you need at Made in the Streets?"

Holidays are coming! Christmas will be here soon! We have our kids year round and do not send them anywhere "for the holidays."

But we do want them to have the life experience that people with homes have. So we want to "let school out" and have a happy time together.

***a family day with any relatives invited out for a meal

***a trip to see some place in Kenya they have never seen

***a shopping trip into the city to get a present for someone else at MITS

***a picnic somewhere in Nairobi (crocodile farm, arboretum, water park....)

***a meal together on Christmas day with decorations and treats

***a present of clothing and a special meal for a few hundred children and youth on the streets

We know the economy around the world has not been so good lately. We also know that God has blessed some of our friends with a spirit of generosity. So help us if you wish. And thanks!!

As usual, donate online at the web site www.made-in-the-streets.org

or send check made out to Made in the Streets to

Made in the Streets

409 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

From Francis Mbuvi

2010-09-13T20:09:00.004+03:00

Yesterday we visited the Mutindwa Base and met with 18 boys and two girls. We observed that they were using the new drug called "kalaloo" which is like jet fuel. We went ahead and taught them to keep themselves clean from those evils since they are God's creation. We also took them to a kiosk nearby and bought them "madondo" (beans with ugali). One of them said after the lunch that they would elect me their MP!!! We were glad to bless.

Francis Mbuvi

Notes:

A "Base" is a place in the slum where street kids gather at night to share the food they have gotten (by finding it in garbage, by begging, by working, by stealing) and sleep.

"Jet fuel" was an illegal brew people in various parts of Kenya started making several years ago. It only took a small glass to make someone drunk/dizzy. But if they drank it once or twice a week for a few months hair began to fall out, wrinkles appeared and they began to walk with a limp - aged before their time. The team is worried about what this new drug, poured in the hand or in a rag, sniffed through the nose or mouth, will do to the kids.

"Ugali" is a firm cornmeal mush that most people in Kenya eat. It is made by pouring finely ground corn meal in boiling water and stirring while it cooks. It becomes firm enough to cut with a knife and is then eaten as is or used to dip into a sauce of tomatoes, onions, and maybe cilantro.

An "MP" is an elected government official.

MITS Youth in Church

2010-09-06T08:37:00.002+03:00

Francis Mbuvi reports about Sunday morning at Kamulu:

"Hi, hope you had a good time in church. We did

here. We had a good time sharing in our morning

class about the tongue and teachers with their

responsibility. We started by reading the text then

shared. He did a "Turn to your Neighbor" and
a question-answer time. We were blessed.

This is a pic of the group reading James 3."

Mbuvi also reports that Ken Wambugu continues to grow in his ability to deal with students at MITS and in his leadership role. Here is Ken leading communion in the worship period. Ken is now 18, has finished his studies in auto mechanics at MITS, and he has begun to work for the ministry as an assistant dorm supervisor, as a driver and as an assistant auto mechanics teacher. As time goes by, he will become primarily a driver.

Kamulu Church Life

2010-09-04T19:59:00.003+03:00

Greetings!! Hope you had a good time in church. We had a lesson from the book of James and it was very powerful. After the sermon, a woman called Barbara called me and said "Asante preacher -- hiyo somo ni yangu Leo" (thank you, the lesson was about me today.) We talked about how to overcome temptations and she is going through a
hard time with her husband living with his mother in Kipawa. She just cried as she narrated her struggle. Mauryn and I later visited her and shared some food with her.

Apart from that we also had a baptism. Pamela Obare had been taught by the women and today she decided it was time. It was so much joy.

Blessings, Mbuvi.

(Note: recently we made home visits to people in our community, taking them a candle and a box of matches -- because everyone here experiences blackouts and need candles at night. On the box of matches we put a phone number for the church and the message: "we are free to be friends." That is one of our objectives as a church -- to create community and friendship at Kamulu. Our other goals are to love children and to help people know God. Anyway, the women have visited people and continued to teach )

Difficult Decisions

2010-08-30T06:47:00.004+03:00

In their effort to help street children and youth have a new life, the Team at MITS face hard decisions often. The basic policy about runaways from our Center is that "you are free, so you can run but you can't return." Normally we hold to that policy rigidly. But recently one of our more vulnerable and young girls, Prisca Kerubo, ran away at lunch time. She was quickly missed, and the team searched for her. She went back to Eastleigh, and Moses Gicharu, one of the Team based in Eastleigh, found her at Mlango Kubwa area. She was high on glue. He got her to return to the Center, but she ran again. When they found her next, they were sure she had been raped, so they took her to a local hospital. While waiting for the doctor, she ran again.

Then the Team found she had a mother, so they took her there. She ran again. Now her father has also shown up, but she will not stay with either of them. Mbuvi reports this about the Team working together to make a decision.

"Prisca was brought by her dad to the centre after she ran away from home on Monday. She looked high and both the dad and her begged tocome back to the farm. I told him of our policy, but also told him we could talk about it in our meeting. Most of the team would like for usto take her because they think she will not stay home. Phillip said MITS is the only place she has ever stayed for months without running away. He believes we can help her change. I think we will try her one more
time. Next week we will ask Moses Gicharu to start the process to bring her back."

Please pray for our Team's ability to make the best decisions for the kids. At least if they err in this case it is for the sake of compassion. Some decisions are more difficult than this one.

Mbuvi also reports that Joel Njue and the VBS crew are in Nziu leading a Vacation Bible School. His crew includes some Team members and some students at MITS. And that this week some of the students were taken to visit relatives at their homes.

Larry Conway Reports

2010-08-24T00:13:00.005+03:00

Hello Charles,

Here is a photo of Jane Muthoni from the Lillyput base. She was baptized into Christ today (Sunday worship at the Eastleigh Center).

Moses is teaching the baptism/new Christians class (we started this class at Eastleigh since there have been several baptism since the church has been meeting at the Eastleigh Center, and these young people need lots of encouragement. They need to develop hope and commitment; please pray for them).

There were 30 adults and 23 kids there today (we also have a kids' Sunday school class).

Blessings, Larry

FRANCIS MBUVI Reports

2010-08-23T23:50:00.005+03:00

Greetings,

The two new students, Peter and Mary, are doing well and are loving being in the farm. We are going on with classes and the masonry students have also had their lessons started. They say the stones are very heavy, and Wambu says they are determined. I hope we will have a good number of them love it so that they will use it to sustain themselves.

The team is doing well and they send their greetings. In the farm, victor is trying and working hard. I think with time we will see lasting improvements. The boys have not moved to the new dorm yet, Wambu says some doors and plumbing still need to be done and also he must install the tank. The salon training area at the skills centre has also not been occupied and Robin is working on the final touches.

Most of the sign boards have been installed as you advised and the two remaining will be done this week. Some areas still need painting like the girls' doors and the new dorm and the garage gate. All the others in the list that Darlene gave me are done.

A follow-up
I did ask Jane to follow-up with Dennis Baraza, the street guy who had a broken hand and we prayed for him during the last week before you all left. She reports that on the 2

8th of July, that evening, Baraza was brought to the MITS Eastleigh Center in critical condition. He apparently drank rat poison because he felt he was a burden and his chances of recovery were low. The team there rushed him to Kenyatta Hospital where he was treated. He was discharged a few days later. She said they are trying to locate him so that they can offer him the operation option and check on the prices too. Keep him in your prayers and the team as they try to help him and others on the streets. The picture is of Dr. Chad, who worked a medical campaign on the streets in July, inspecting our street guy.

The VBS was good and Joel Njue says they had an average of 87 kids daily.

John Wambu has gone to the Lands today to check on properties.

Mbuvi.

Street Base Work from Larry Conway

2010-08-22T23:40:00.002+03:00

On Wednesday we visited the Jamaica base which is at what used to be a trash dump. They had been told by the police to tear down their shacks and rebuild them in another location. The MITS team pitched in and worked to help them rebuild their shacks. We worked for several hours helping them, and it was a great time to demonstrate the gospel in action. Francis, the administrator at MITS, was one of the first to start digging with his hands a hole for one of the posts to be installed. Some of the team members got dirty and others got blisters on their hands but we all enjoyed the opportunity to serve our friends at the Jamaica base.

Larry

Eastleigh Street Mothers' Program (by Mauryn)

2010-08-21T22:28:00.005+03:00

16th August 2010

The attendance was 14 street mothers and 10 children. We started the programme at 10 am and had games together. We played my mother and your mother and Sarah Muthoni won the game. The other one was Kabuti and we didn’t find a winner because there were many who tied.
The last game of police case whereby we call names and you come inside the circle and dance.

We had some songs by individuals as they love that so much. Then I taught from the book of James, and the theme was the things that we hold to that don’t give us the freedom of Christ. They can have a better life which Christ died for, and it’s possible. They shared their
addiction to glue, prostitution and drugs, which they say they find it
hard to leave.

Veronicah, who had been at the centre hoping to be taken for skills school of hairdressing, ran away from the programme last Monday and today she came back and it was disheartening to see how she and her baby Stephen were looking. She was back on glue.

We served lunch for the mothers and children, and small children had some milk.

We thank God for the opportunity to be of service.God bless. Mauryn.

AND A NOTE FROM MBUVI ABOUT A NEW STUDENT AT MITS

Hi, it was a double blessing as Mary was also added to our family yesterday. She has shown desire to change by attending girls program always. She is 15 years and is 2 months pregnant. She will stay in the farm until 8 months pregnant, then we will send her to Eastleigh so she can go

to Pumwani Maternity Hospital. Please pray for her too.

Mbuvi.

Committing to Christ

2010-08-10T01:44:00.005+03:00

There has been great interest in Jesus and living by faith lately at Kamulu and Eastleigh. In the first 4 week of opening the new church in Eastleigh, 9 people were baptized.

Out at Kamulu some of the younger boys asked Brien Ochieng, one of our older boys, about studying about Jesus and baptism. So Brian asked Darlene for some Scriptures and other information and started studying with them. The first session had 9 boys, and then in this picture from the second session, there were 15.

It is exciting to have a lot of young people interested in knowing Jesus, and also very gratifying that our older boys are trusted and willing to study with others. Here is a recent picture of Brian.

Pray for these boys and others who are ready to follow Jesus.

NEWSBREAK at Made in the Streets

2010-07-25T15:58:00.004+03:00

The timing was right to start the congregation meeting at the Eastleigh Center of MITS. Today was the fourth Sunday. The first week Victor confessed faith in Jesus and was baptized. The third week 5 young men from the streets stated they want to live for Jesus and were baptized. Today Mary, who stays at Hope Center, and Peter, who sleeps outside at Jamaica Base, stated their desire to walk with Christ and were baptized. We are glad for these young people

This is not a numbers game, and it isn't really even about baptism. It is about Jesus reaching into people's hearts and transforming them, especially giving them courage and heart and confidence. Then they will be able to get off the streets and into a new life. There is no end to what they may do with confidence and hope, brought to life by faith.

Rejoice!

Children's Center

2010-07-25T15:11:00.002+03:00

Made in the Streets has been blessed by our Street Moms' program. It has brought many small children to Kamulu, forced us to open a Children's Center, and blessed us all. It is so great to see our young men who came from the streets gently playing with and carrying the kids around. And the moms are getting skills training in sewing, computers, cooking and auto mechanics. This picture shows some of the kids in front of part of the wall mural that Cathy Stephens and Susan Pratt from Conejo Valley Church in Thousand Oaks, CA, recently painted.

And here is a picture of Ron Stephens in the fort with the kids; he built it for them, and we all enjoy seeing them play in it.

New Church in Eastleigh

2010-07-21T20:09:00.004+03:00

Made in the Streets was blessed with the building on 5th Street in Eastleigh Section 2 in 1999. During the past 10 years we have encouraged young people from the streets to attend other congregations in Eastleigh and Mathare Valley, but it has been difficult to get them involved, either because they feel uncomfortable or because they were not accepted. Finally we have opened a church in the Eastleigh Center; it has now met three Sundays. Attendance has been 67, 55 and 70, and six young men from the streets have been baptized. Jane Njeri, Evans Ouma, Moses Gicharu, Francis Cugia, Augustina Muli and Jane Abuti are the staff at the center. Augustina cooks and mothers, Jane teaches little kids, Francis is one of our former street kids from Kamulu, Evans is a World Bible School student who was baptized a few years back, Moses once lived on the streets but did not come through our program, and Jane Njeri is a grandmother who was in the Kamulu Church and began to volunteer in Eastleigh 3 years ago. A great team doing a great work, together with Larry and Hollye Conway.

Larry Checks In

2010-07-09T10:03:00.003+03:00

Larry and Hollye Conway are doing a wonderful work serving on the streets of Eastleigh and working with young people at the MITS Eastleigh Center. Often after going out on the "bases" to find the street kids, and the young men among whom Larry evangelizes, Larry will send us a note. Here's the latest:

Hello Charles and Francis, I wanted to write and tell you that Cugia is doing a good job. He is eager to please and seems energetic. I have noticed a positive difference lately.

Today, we walked to Majengo slums to see a street boy who has been badly burned on his buttocks and genitals. I had a hard time understanding what happened but basically, he was high, someone was burning plastic, and the burning plastic fell on him. It is so sad, we are trying to help him with a visit to the clinic we use in Eastleigh.

We then walked to Kariokor to see some street kids we have seen several months before. My son Andrew, Cugia, Moses, Jane and I walked there. We had to tiptoe over and above a ditch full of muck, oil, sewage etc. to visit these boys. Moses knows some of them. While we were there two men from across the street came over and started yelling at us and telling us to leave. Someone pushed one of the street boys who lost his balance and bumped into Moses. They both fell down into the awful muck. I thought I would just tell you that Moses handled himself very well in a tough situation. Cugia thinks one of the guys who came over may be with a sort of youth mafia sect. Anyway, I felt so sorry for Moses, but fortunately, he didn't get injured and he didn't have his phone with him so basically his white shirt will probably not be wearable again but that was the worst that happened. I was so impressed with Moses and his attitude.

God bless, Larry

(nb: Cugia is one of our own who came from the Eastleigh streets. Now that he is 18 he has begun working the streets with our Team. It is great to hear he is doing well. Moses is a young man who volunteered at Eastleigh for more than 6 months and has recently joined our Team.)

The picture is of Andrew Conway sitting at the first meeting of the Eastleigh Center Church of Christ with Kelly, a young man who came forward and asked the church to pray for him to escape drug addiction.

WANTED: A Few Good Recruits

2010-07-06T20:30:00.004+03:00

Jackton Omondi, he of the tender heart, was in Kayole a few days ago getting parts for the big bus. He came across three street boys - Sam, George and Isaac. They say they are 8, 10 and 12 years old, all of them younger than the ones we take to live with us at Kamulu. The government doesn't want us to mix teens with younger kids, and our focus has always been on teenagers. But Jackton talked with these boys, and he cared deeply about them. They are in a homeless and hopeless situation. Jackton said, as he has before, "Isn't there something more we can do for these kids?" He got them something to eat and talked with them while they ate.

There is something that could be done. Please pray for it. And it isn't terrible difficult, because some of what is needed is already in place. At MITS we already have land where boys from the streets aged 5 to 12 could be housed, if someone would build the housing and take care of them. At MITS we already have leaders who have the ability to train other leaders in street ministry, in living with and loving and educating boys from the streets, and in helping kids progress in their relationships and faith.

What we need is someone to take the lead. We need 2 or 3 American Christians to raise support for themselves, to raise money for housing, food and a program led by Kenyans, to come to Nairobi and develop the program. Our Team can recruit and train the Kenyans who would do this ministry with you. And MITS will provide the land to build on.

It's just the thing that God wants to do. He himself goes to the garbage dumps and lifts the beggars out of the dirt and gives them a new life. And all you need to do is go along with Him and do your part. He is good and will not fail you.

And we will be your cheerleaders! So come over to Nairobi and help us rescue these kids. When you are through with them at 12, they can enter the regular MITS program and end up getting skills training from us. You are welcome.

And Jackton will be ever so grateful.

She Listened!

2010-07-01T21:33:00.003+03:00

She Listened!

by Hollye Conway

Most days of the week several team members of Made in the Streets move from base (place of residence on the street for the homeless) to base. They stop and greet their homeless friends. They find out the news since they last met. They share a thought of hope of salvation. They encourage change towards obedience to God’s ways. They ask for prayer request and pray with their friends. They remind the people of how Made in the Streets would like to be of service and help to them. They invite them to our center for programs, showers, first aid, counsel, aid and prayer. The visits are appreciated.

Yesterday a visitor from California who is also a MITS board member went along for one of the days of visiting bases. She shared a beautiful thought of how our hands can either bless or curse others. She affirmed her love for these who are considered the most unlovable. She spoke a blessing over each new friend.

She noticed a woman with a tear running down her cheek. As she studied her she noticed that the woman did not have any shoes. This precious sister proceeded to remove the shoes from her feet and give them to our downtrodden friend. She still had a 3 mile walk back to our center thru mud, sewage and trash heaps with no shoes.

Later that evening we were tenderly sharing this with a friend and she exclaimed under her breath, “She listened!” We all have those moments when God nudges us to do something outside our comfort zone and we quickly turn up the noise in our lives to suppress His desire for partnership from us. She did not. She listened!!! I am challenged to listen … and act. Love, Hollye

15 Year Anniversary Celebration

2010-07-01T12:09:00.010+03:00

The sewing skills students made a banner for the 15 Year Anniversary Celebration. And we did Celebrate!

Tables were set up in the Learning Center

courtyard for lunch, while the event took place outside the L.C. in tents rented for the occasion.

Our guest of honor was Nargis Manji, who operates an upscale

salon in a shopping center. She has taken in 6 of our girls and trained them in hairdressing and manicure/pedicure, sending some to Revlon School. Here Nargis is with Darlene and Charles and speaking about responsibility and learning to do quality work. She was very encouraging to the kids and Team, and she obviously appreciates the street ministry.

The students and Team working on the Celebration for several weeks, and their work was rewarded. Several friends of the ministry attended, including some preachers and the staff of Good News Productions, who have produced some of the music written by our own street kids.

The catering skills students baked 17 cakes so everyone would enjoy. Nargis and Darlene cut the cake together, and Nargis did what is a regular custom at big events here - she fed Darlene a piece of cake, then brought small pieces around to everyone in the speakers' tent.

Some of the girls sewed their own dresses for the occasion, and they looked great.

On Monday following the Celebration we talked after chapel about how good all of us feel. 30 former students came back for the Celebration, and it was a delight to see them. Some are married and have children. Most of them have jobs. And all of them were happy to see other former students and to see the Team. Some wrote letters which were read at the Celebration, expressing their happiness at being loved and cared for at Made in the Streets.

MITS YOUTH AT CHURCH

2010-06-24T17:23:00.002+03:00

Here the youth group from the Kamulu Church are meeting after the assembly. The Made in the Streets youth make up about 75% of the youth group. As a visitor to MITS once said, "Oh, I see what Made in the Streets is. It's a perpetual youth camp." In some ways that is true, but we also have the everyday life of study and chores and the ordinary life of being with the church.

A great number of our young people are doing very well in their spiritual lives -- and in service. They teach Sunday school, they lead songs and prayers, they serve communion and come to the Sunday morning Bible class for adults and youth. And they are in chapel every weekday before classes and skills training begin, where they lead songs and make talks and confess sins and encourage one another. Some of them occasionally go back to the streets with our Team members and encourage those who remain on the streets.

Later this year we will have a Vacation Bible School at Kamulu and then some of our Team and students will go to Nziu on the way to the coast and help lead a VBS at the Nziu Church of Christ. Please pray for these kids, that they may grow in spirit and wisdom, pleasing to God and others.

Street Moms at MITS-Kamulu

2010-06-22T00:13:00.003+03:00

Here are the 7 teenage girls with babies who are in our pilot program for street moms. We had a meeting with them to talk about their life together and plans for the future, then took their picture. Their children were all at our Children's Center at the time, so the moms can attend classes or skills training.

Last week all 7 of them and the kids moved into the same house, which is located next to the girls' center. We bought individual double size beds for mom and child together, and we repainted the house and repaired everything. They are all very excited about the new house, and it is great for them to be near the girls and the Learning Center.

Mbuvi Can Still Cook

2010-06-17T20:32:00.003+03:00

Since our Anniversary Celebration for 15 years of ministry to street children in Nairobi is coming up, we have been sharing some of the history of MITS with the students at Kamulu. Some of them were not born when MITS started!

As part of that history we have told them that our Administrator and the preacher for the church at Kamulu, Francis Mbuvi, started out as the cook for us when we were located on the campus of Kenya Christian Industrial Training Institute (KCITI). We said, "Look at him now. There is no way to know what you may be able to do, with God's help and your commitment."

Francis regularly goes in to the Eastleigh center and meets with the Team members there, and he goes out on the streets on those days as well. On this day there were cooking a meal for some street kids who were in a program at the center, so he picked up his old trade and helped cook ugali (it's kind of a hard corn meal mush), which is a staple of Kenyan diet.

First Quarter 2010

2010-06-14T18:55:00.002+03:00

The following report was turned in to the missions committee at Otter Creek Church and to the Board of Made in the Streets. We thought maybe all of you would like to see a summary of events in the first quarter of the year. The 2010 Goals are listed first.

MADE IN THE STREETS

FIRST QUARTER REPORT 2010

MADE IN THE STREETS MINISTRY GOALS 2010

· STUDENT POPULATION: Increase our boarding program students total in Eastleigh and Kamulu to a maximum of 100 students.

· SECURITY: Ensure all our property is fenced and planted with kayaba (thorny bushes) and trees where possible; get dogs for all properties and take other measures as they prove cost-worthy and do-able.

· SKILLS TRAINING: Work on getting the skills classes increased to at least double capacity with the addition of catering and hairdressing. Both skills training and the children’s center be open to the public, depending on approval from the Board.

· CONSTRUCTION: Multi-purpose hall built that can also be used by the church. Ag/Weld Building to be completed on the 20 acre property. New Boys’ Dorm to be completed on the Boys’ Property. Girls’ property to be refurbished and enlarged – building a wall to enclose the house Mbuvis lived in and building a dining hall/lounge in front of the kitchen

· CHURCH: Plant and help grow a street youth church in Eastleigh.

· FARM: 50% or more dependability on farm produce for basic foodstuff.

· TEAM: Develop a staff development program in consultation with the Otter Creek Church of Christ and our advisors.

FIRST QUARTER EVENTS

STUDENT MATTERS

· We made a timetable for the first 3 months for the Education Department, scheduling where each student will be. We have two literacy classes. Learning continued in Literacy and skills in the Kamulu centre.

· We moved five young mothers from Eastleigh to train in skills at Kamulu – cooking, hairdressing, sewing and auto mechanics.

· We kept former students Francis Cugia, Kenneth Wambugu and Mercy Wanja to train on the job in the street ministry, auto mechanics and the cafeteria respectively,

· Willys Odhiambo (farming at Brookside Dairy), Grace Wahu (catering), Francis Wahome (mechanics) and Joseph Wambua (mechanics) found internships.

· We had a new girl join us from Mlango kubwa base named Priscah Kerubo.

· We had a day camp for one week with Andrew and Katera with the main theme being “Reveal your true identity in Christ”. This culminated in a concert on the 20^th of the month. There was a guest group called Teen Challenge.

· 12 students were baptized—Alex Atemai, Anastacia Njeri, Mercy Mugure, Dennis Kamau, Dotrine Zainabu, Florence Moraa, Jane Njoki, Michael Mackenzie, Cecelia Mwenza, Lucy Achieng, Mary Njoki and Francis Ndungu.

TEAM MATTERS

· In keeping with a new plan for staff development, we are hiring the following people:

o Hellen - a nursery school teacher

o Terry - a salon worker, helping in girls’ dorm

o Phyllis - a salon trainer, helping in girls’ dorm

o Magdeline - a catering school teacher

· We moved Millicent Omondi from the cafeteria and put her as a helper in the nursery.

· Mbuvi met with every team member and urged a recommitment to serving students and street youth.

· One of our team members was suspended for a month -- Anthony Owino. The ministry is considering whether to dismiss Anthony after the month is over, during which he will meet with Mbuvi and other Team members.

PROPERTY MATTERS

· We started using the nursery school building with 9 children.

· Repairs were done at the girls’ drainage system.

· All the irrigation zones were prepared, seedbeds planted and new chicks ordered.

· The gate at the 20 acres was widened a little because it was small.

· We installed wire mesh at the learning centre court grills and side doors so that we can use the dogs inside the compound.

· Fencing of the 20 acres was completed. This was done because the fence had been torn down in September 2008 when the area member of parliament and others invaded.

STREET MATTERS

· 14 street youth were sent to various schools or job sites for training in skills.

· Friendships, visits and evangelism were made in the streets with two new bases visited, Kayole and Ngara.

· Base visits and evangelism continued as well as the street youth programs in Eastleigh with a street “couples” meetings being initiated.

· We had one street girl baptized----Margaret Wanjiru.

OTHER MATTERS

· The church continued to meet outside along with the Sunday morning class and Sunday school, in spite of sometimes heavy rains. Each last Sunday of the month the church has a fellowship lunch or snacks after worship.

· We had Katera and Andrew from China and Joel Reed and his wife and Mike and Trisha Hyodo from Lighthouse church visit us and work with us for a while.

15 Years of Street Ministry

2010-06-03T14:21:00.002+03:00

It's June 2010, and that means Made in the Streets has been in existence for 15 years, working on the streets and alleyways of Nairobi. What a delight it is to remember some of the young people who came to us in the beginning. Snake (Samuel Kamau) is a pro boxer now, a lightweight with a devastating right cross. Daniel is in his third job and doing well. Laurent is a chef at the University of Nairobi, with more than 5 years behind him. Three of our former kids are serving in the ministry. Mary imports and sells matching dresses and shoes, and her husband has a good job. Maggie has continued to work, even though she must live in the slum in order to care for her younger brother and sister and her aged grandmother. Caro, Jane, Cathy, Zaina, Riziki and Halima work in the Narcisse Salon, an upscale place in the Sarit shopping center.

There are stories that are remarkable, stories that break our hearts, stories that make us feel so good about what we do, stories that are unfinished yet. And so many of these young people love the Lord God. We have made many mistakes and we also have many victories.

On June 26 we will celebrate 15 years. We are inviting all the former students out to Kamulu for the day, along with various government officials, church leaders and friends. Pray for us that this will be a most rewarding day. We will present 12 certificates to students who have completed their studies with us in the past year.

And thanks for all the support and prayer and love from so many people. We could never think of doing this without you.

The Church at Work

2010-05-26T15:21:00.000+03:00

One of the girls in the Kamulu Church Sunday school had no uniform for school, and her mother appealed to the church for help. The school makes kids go home until they have a proper uniform. It is really great that we have a uniform shop and a factory that makes uniforms at Made in the Streets, so the church could easily buy a uniform for Damaris. Now she is a happy little girl, back in school, and her mom is happy too. We are happy we can do some good works for kids and for people with sickness in their families or other serious trouble.

Possible Job for a Student

2010-05-12T08:51:00.003+03:00

Recently Laurent Mogambi (our former student who teaches part-time in cooking at MITS) and Hollye Conway visited Java House in Gigiri and talked to the manager. They were seeking to place an intern for a temporary position. The manager told them that Java does not do internships, but that there is a job opening. So Laurent plans to take Sarah Aono, who has recently turned 18, to see the manager.

It will be a blessing if Sarah gets this job. She works hard and is willing to do what needs to be done. The job is basically cleaning up, not a cooking job. But a student who does well opens the door for future students. We hope this will be the case with Sarah.

So please pray for Sarah and this appointment.

Helping Single Moms at MITS

2010-05-04T14:16:00.004+03:00

Mercy came off the streets to us at MITS, along with baby Arnold (named after Schwarzenegger). She's an orphan. What she wants to do as a job is to work as a secretary. So what the Team decided is that she learns computers well. What she does now is go to Maureen at World Bible School, right on our MITS property, in the mornings. There she learns office work and simple computer work. In the afternoons, she attends computer class.

I was talking with Joel this morning; he says that in his university business classes, he has right now a business computer class. So what he does is bring home the power points and has a special class with Mercy. In my opinion, this is just the best thing for Mercy! Secretarial colleges here still mainly teach filing, shorthand, and not much computer instruction is available. Thanks to people who donate time and resources to be available to someone like Mercy.

This morning in chapel, Arnold made the rounds of almost all of us, shaking hands and smiling. What a different and wonderful life he has (and he delights all of us!). In these days, he and the other children are in our new MITS Children's Centre, taught by Helen and Millie. I think he really has a future!

Kennedy Weds Grace

2010-05-03T13:07:00.003+03:00

Saturday was another banner day at Made in the Streets. Kennedy Odhiambo came through our program, finishing in January 2006. He was unwanted by his birth family, with one of his sisters calling him "cockroach" when he would come around the family after running to the streets. He has endured much abuse and ill-will in his life. He did not get a continuing job after leaving MITS, so when we did a hiring in summer 2006, he applied for one of the positions. We had intended to hire 6 people. 45 people applied, and after extensive interviews we invited 19 of them to join us for training.

These 19 lived at MITS for the next 9 weeks. We taught them classes every day for several hours, and the rest of the time they worked with the team and students. After 6 weeks, we took them all to Eastleigh and had them work daily on the streets for 2 weeks. Then we had one more week back at Kamulu. At the end of the 9 weeks, we voted on who ought to be hired, and Mbuvi and Coulston did exit interviews with the rest of them. We ended up hiring 9 people, because 3 of our own kids had applied and did a great job in training. We hired Kennedy to go back to the same streets he came from as a street minister. He has done a great job for the past 3 1/2 years. We have great appreciation for him.

And Saturday was his wedding day, to a girl named Grace who works at another orphanage in Nairobi. We had a delightful day, with about 250 people present. They ate a meal, witnessed the wedding ceremony, tasted wedding cake (baked and decorated by Darlene Coulston and Laurent Mogambi). They received a gift of a one-night honeymoon at a resort lodge at Lake Naivasha.

We are proud of the young people who come from the streets, who do not forget the streets but rejoice that God has been with them through it all, and who return something of their lives to make a better world for the poorest of the poor. Rejoice with us!

Prayers for Team

2010-05-01T11:13:00.004+03:00

BREAKING NEWS: MONDAY morning - 3 May 2010

Moses drove Robin to the hospital this morning for his appendix surgery. The hospital was able to push up his surgery one day, since he had the money to pay. Thank you for praying; please keep it up.

Robin Ndunda felt pain on his left side Friday morning. As the pain became worse, he went to the hospital and discovered that he needs to have his appendix removed. But they also told him to come with money. Even though Robin is on the national hospital insurance fund, they are very slow to issue membership cards (it has been more than a year), and no one can get benefits without the card. So he had to have 41,000 Kenya shillings (about $550) to be treated. He returned to Kamulu and got the money, then returned for surgery. However, when he arrived back at the hospital, they then told him that he would have to be scheduled, and there are other surgeries before him. So they sent him back home with pain medicine and with instructions to rest. Now we are waiting for Tuesday, trusting that the appendix will not burst. Please pray for Robin's health.

Another note is that Robin was helping prepare for his mother's burial at the time he began feeling pain. His mother has been ill for about a year, was once misdiagnosed and not treated property and finally succumbed to kidney failure. So also please pray for Robin's family. The doctors told Robin not to try to go and help with the funeral until after his surgery.

Hairdressing Skills

2010-04-27T22:49:00.003+03:00

Titus Musyoki is being shown how to style hair. He is the only boy
who has taken our hairdressing course and is doing very well. Both Terry and
Phyllis are doing a good job in teaching and supervision.

Together Terry and Phyllis both operate the MITS Salon and teach hairdressing in our skills training center. The students are able to receive training, then work in our shop to gain experience.

Susan Wambui, who finished her hairdressing training a few months ago, has been volunteering at the Eastleigh Center while she waits for her national identity card. We found her there cutting hair for a street girl on Monday. Some local people at Kamulu have been asking about Susan coming back to Kamulu because they are her clients. She is the best at braiding that we have known. Hopefully Titus will also make us happy with the skills he learns.

Happy April Birthday

2010-04-25T19:39:00.006+03:00

Often Made in the Streets celebrates a birthday with a teenager for the first time in his or her life. Each month at Kamulu we honor those with birthdays. Here is Francis Mbuvi's report on last Friday's party.

"While part of the team went to Eastleigh, the rest of us spent time in the library, played some games and watched a movie. We later had a birthday celebration for Mwanahawa, Mary Muthoni, baby Eric and Mercy Mugure. Wonderful things were said about how hard they work and how they are loved."

Rejoice with these young people as they learn to celebrate and have fun at Made in the Streets.

The Streets & World Bible School

2010-04-23T17:11:00.004+03:00

Yes, yes, I know - it's the same picture as last time, but there is a new reason for showing it.

Sorry it has been so long since the last update - the Coulstons have been "on tour" with Jackton Omondi and Irene Akinyi in California, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee. Now we are all back in Nairobi. We had a great visit with congregations and friends who love us, with Rotary clubs and with family. Funds were raised for ministry and for building to house girls, boys and girls with babies.

The reason for this picture now is to point out the cooperation and mutual blessing Made in the Streets has with World Bible School. Of course our administrator, Francis Mbuvi, is married to Maureen, who is coordinator of a large World Bible School effort sponsored by the Golf Course Road Church in Midland, Texas. And we have had many World Bible School teachers visit us and help MITS while at the same time contacting students. One teacher, Linda Randall, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Central Church, has a student named Evans Ouma, who was baptized at MITS about 3 years ago.

Evans has become a staff member of MITS; he works on the farm, drives for the ministry, and, like all of the staff, he goes to the streets and teaches. The young man on the upper left in the picture with the brown striped shirt is Evans, sitting at Redeemed Base talking with and teaching some of the older guys who sleep there.

We are grateful for the relationship MITS has with WBS; may it continue forever. It is good news to WBS teachers that about 1/2 of the churches of Christ in Kenya were started by WBS students. Evans also serves in the church, often leading prayer or the Lord's Supper.

Street Visits by Larry Conway

2010-04-02T22:18:00.002+03:00

God has blessed Nairobi with lots of rain recently. We are so thankful after suffering with such a terrible drought for so long. Last night's rain was 2 inches! While the rain is very wonderful it does create challenges for those who live on the streets. The nights are cold and wet and some don’t have any decent shelter so they stay awake most of the night moving from place to place trying to stay warm and dry. They may stay for a while under an awning or under a parked 18-wheeler. This means that when we are visiting them during the mornings they are very tired. They do appreciate our visits and we do our best to encourage them and share the word of God with them. Today we preached about the resurrection and reminded them that Jesus is alive and risen.

We didn’t find many street kids at the Mlango Kubwa base today. Usually the place is full of kids hanging out. Today, there were only a few. The police had been there this morning arresting street kids so many others were hiding from the police. Also, there was a rumor floating around that a notorious glue seller has recently been arrested. We hope so, because she is a real troublemaker but claims to be helping street kids.

Peter Ngotho used to live on the streets but rededicated his life to the Lord about 2 months ago. He has volunteered to walk the streets with us recently. He knows lots of people and has a great testimony since many people know about his former life. Apparently, he lived quite a dangerous life as a gangster. He has visited the bases with us yesterday and today and will also attend the fellowship this afternoon.

This afternoon we will start a mid week service /fellowship. Our goal is to give the new Christians and others from Eastleigh a place to come and worship during the mid –week.

Thanks to all of you who help the ministry to succeed. God bless, Larry

Live for Christ on the Streets

2010-03-26T17:42:00.004+03:00

We believe that God changes lives of people. We rejoice and are glad when street youth or some of our students give their lives to Christ. I think one of the hard things to do for street youth is to accept Christ while still on the streets because of the myriads of temptations they face, especially glue. It is even harder for street girls who are always easy prey for guys.

It was yesterday when I went to Eastleigh and was able to visit the 12th Street base. While there I learned that the boys have had night fights and some of them got badly injured. I gave them some advice on how to avoid more fights by asking them to report to Police and telling them how.

When I got back to the Center, Larry and the other team members asked me to baptize one of the street girls who had come for the Wednesday program. As i talked to her, I could smell the breath of glue from her, but she was ready to start a new life. During our prayer, I asked God to help her to remain faithful as she tries to live a good life in a bad area. Margaret Wanjiru is now a changed person in heart. The challenges on the streets remain and we hope she commits to live for Christ - no matter what. Please pray for power for her to continue in faith and a faithful life.

from Francis Mbuvi

BUY "WAVE OF GRACE" - Benefit MITS

2010-03-22T21:45:00.001+03:00

Dear Friends,

Greetings from MITS! We have a unique opportunity this month to accomplish two good things at once -- share the beautiful richness of a cappella hymns and raise some much-needed funds for the MITS ministry.

How? Friends of MITS have offered to donate all of the proceeds from the sales of the Wave of Grace Collection. The Wave of Grace Collection is a boxed set of three CDs that contains 50 of the best-loved a cappella hymns. Whether you listen to bring back memories or to pass these hymns on to the next generation, the Wave of Grace Collection has captured the timeless harmonies of pure congregational singing.

For a penny less than $40 -- all of which goes to MITS -- you can own or gift fifty hymns while helping our ministry continue its work. Our goal is to raise at least $2000 during the month of March.

Join more than 1000 of your brothers and sisters who have supported missions and enjoyed listening to the Wave of Grace Collection. If you would like to listen to samples, visit www.ACappellaHymns.com and then click to buy at Amazon.com. Your order will be shipped promptly — and shipping is free!

To buy now at Amazon.com, click here:

www.TrueLift.com

To listen to samples before buying, click here:

www.ACappellaHymns.com

Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support for MITS. We are grateful for each of you.

Sincerely,

Charles and Darlene Coulston

Preparing for Legacy Fundraiser

2010-03-20T05:54:00.002+03:00

Jackton and Irene and the Coulstons had lunch today with the ministry team at Legacy Church - the preacher, the youth ministers and the secretaries, along with a senior retired minister. Matt Steidl, who visited Kenya with Dr. John Bailey three years ago, was also present. Lunch was fish and beef tacos, beans, rice and crisps (that's Kenyan English for chips).

Afterwards Mark Hooper, who works with Mission Resource Network, went over the fundraising schedule for Saturday with us. All plans are ready -- Jackton and Irene will do their street kid impressions, we will sell craft items made by the students at MITS, and the church will raise funds for MITS through a silent auction and generous donations.

Jackton and Irene at Singing Oaks

2010-03-19T06:31:00.002+03:00

Tonight the Coulstons and Jackton Omondi and Irene Akinyi met with a group at the Singing Oaks Church in Denton, Texas. Jackton and Irene are already becoming famous for their attire - as street kids. Watching Jackton come in the room with a gunny sack on his back, a glue bottle in his mouth, his ragged and dirty clothing and that vacant smile on his face is uncanny - it's like being on the streets in Eastleigh-Nairobi. He waves his "best friend" (the glue bottle) around and laughs, then asks for a handout, pockets someone's camera, then lets us know what it is like to be on the streets.

And Irene makes us feel the shame and pain of being a girl on the streets with a little baby, as she tells us how she survives and what brought her to this point in her life. The clothes she has on and the look on her face depicts exactly what the girls are like on the streets.

The group asked great questions, and Jackton and Irene answered with ease and knowledge. Then we had cake decorated with Kenyan symbols, grapes and strawberries and blueberries. A very nice evening, and the Coulstons are proud of the Team that does street ministry so well. And they were happy for Jackton and Irene to meet some of their relatives!

Follow Jesus on the Streets

2010-03-07T00:17:00.004+03:00

We always tell young men and boys that they are capable of following Jesus even while they live on the streets. They can say "NO" to evil and disobedience, they can say "YES" to all that Jesus wants of their lives, because He understands them and loves them. They do not have to steal in order to eat or be clothed, even though they may not enjoy the blessing or right of shelter.

So it is with great pleasure when young men take up the challenge to serve Jesus on the streets, to live life as a model of purity and faithfulness and to begin the life that enables them to escape the streets and its attendant evils.

5 young men made commitments on March 4, after a soccer match and a Bible study. They are pictured here; from left to right they are

Njoro, Henry, Robert, Francis and Julius.

Njoro confessed to living a false life and stated his desire to change and be fully committed to the way of Christ, while the other 4 were baptized.

Congratuations! They ask you to pray for them as they seek a new life.

Overcoming Addiction

2010-03-04T06:04:00.003+03:00

On Thursday there was a group of men from Teen Challenge who came to Eastleigh to visit the guys and share their stories of hardship and victory over drug and alcohol addictions. The men shared their stories of how their drug addictions affected them negatively with many men losing their jobs and health. It was a great day to hear from these men and to have them inspire the men from the bases. The men from teen challenge also played a friendly game of soccer with the guys. It was a fun day as well as a day to remember how God has helped these men to overcome their addictions.

from Larry Conway

Prayers for New Life

2010-03-01T03:52:00.003+03:00

Francis Mbuvi sent the following short report about a time of repentance and forgiveness for young people, and prayer before baptism. Francis has been leading a Sunday morning Bible study on the Gospel of Mark and preaching each week on the same chapter studied in class.

"Last week on Sunday there was a prayer call of things that people needed to repent and give to Jesus. There were over 20 young men and women who came in request for prayer and among other things, 5 of them asked to give their lives to Jesus -- Alex Atemai, Mercy Mugure, Dennis Kamau, Zainabu Dotrine and Anastacia Njeri. This Friday after a Bible study, they all decided they were ready to put on Christ. We Thank God for them and rejoice with them as they undertake to walk with him. The picture is Ananstacia Njeri -- we were praying just before the baptism."

Commitment to Jesus

2010-03-01T02:51:00.002+03:00

We have always known that the teenage years are a great time to make a life-long commitment to Jesus. By then kids are not only old enough to make personal decisions (that starts at about 7 0r 8 years old), but they are also old enough to understand what commitment level is necessary to maintain relationships. So...we are thrilled when young people come off the streets to live at Made in the Streets, then after a few months or a year they arrive at the decision to be baptized into Christ. And this week we recognize, congratulate and pray for Anastacia, Alex, Dotrine, Mercy, and Dennis - young people whose decision to be baptized on February 21 fills us all with joy. Please pray for them all. Here they are in a picture with Francis and Maureen Mbuvi.

Where We will Visit

2010-02-15T21:13:00.002+03:00

Jackton Omondi and Irene Akinyi - two great Team members of Made in the Streets - are coming to the USA! And Charles and Darlene will travel with them. Here's the itinerary - we hope to see you along the way!

March 10 Jackton and Irene arrive in San Francisco Bay Area

March 11 or 12 Visit with Campbell Christian Schools

March 12 Charles and Darlene fly to San Jose. Evening Dinner and Program at Campbell Church of Christ. Please RSVP to Gini Bortz chefginibee@yahoo.com or 408 379-9170 She will give you details

March 14 Conejo Valley Church of Christ, Thousand Oaks, CA. 5:00 PM Reception and Program. Contact Michelle Jack 805 496-4749 or michelle 1981@verizon.net

March 17 Coulstons, Jackton and Irene travel to Dallas/Fort Worth area

March 20 Legacy Church of Christ, 8801 Mid-Cities Blvd, No. Richland Hills, TX. 3:00 PM "Kenyan Tea" Contact: Matt Steidl 817 795-1566 or msteidl@swbell.net

March 21 Morning worship with Legacy Church, 10:00 AM

March 21 Fellowship hosted by South MacArthur Church at Tim and Ann Lewis' home, 433 Little John Dr, Irving, TX. RSVP to tim.lewis@southmac.org or 972 790-3538. Coulstons and Jackton and Irene are scheduled to share about the street ministry

March 24 Fellowship, dinner and program hosted by Aggies for Christ at A&M Church of Christ in College Station, TX, 6:00 PM. RSVP to Traci Wilson wherestraci@gmail.com

March 25-29 Coulstons and Team members travel to Cedar Rapids, IA, to have meetings with two Rotary Club groups and with the Central Church of Christ in Cedar Rapids. Worship on Sunday morning and a "Coffee and Poetry Night" in the evening at 1500 1st Ave, NW. 10 AM and 6 PM

March 31, Wednesday evening with Prestoncrest Church of Christ, 7:00 PM. Contact Gary Cochran gary@prestoncrest.org

April 6 Coulstons and Jackton and Irene travel to Nashville (Brentwood) TN. Fundraiser hosted by the Otter Creek Church of Christ on Thursday, April 8. Contact for INFO and RSVP is Suzette Wimpy suzette@kevinwimpy.com or 615 331-1235.

April 11 Jackton and Irene will be with the Otter Creek Church on Sunday.

April 11 Coulstons return to Nairobi

April 13 Jackton and Irene return to Nairobi

These visits are for sharing about street ministry, reporting on the work and fundraising. We hope that you have been blessed by God and will be able to assist us in redeeming the lives of street kids in 2010!

The New Girl at Kamulu

2010-02-11T06:07:00.001+03:00

We have a new girl student who joined us on Saturday. Priscah Kerobu has both parents. The dad works as a night guard at a local company on the western part of Nairobi. Her mom work as a casual worker and does odd jobs at a place called Kangemi. She has an older brother who is in high school, a brother who is grade 3 and a younger sibling who is in nursery school.

She is 14 years old and a bit shy. She has a winning smile that brings her innocence out. She is a special child in that she has a case of being defiled twice in her teen life. We are so happy to have her here with us. We highly hope that MITS will be a haven for her to find hope, trust and gain more confidence to face tomorrow despite what has happened in her past life.

Priscah loves watching action packed movies. She says she has always had passion to be a hairdresser. With Gods' help this will come true as she has joined a family that has abundant love and is always preparing its children for life's struggles by training in life skills.

Prisca had been living on the streets and moved back and forth from home to the streets. She was living at the Liliput Base then back home, then to the streets and Mlango Kubwa base. She stayed there for a while then went back home and then back to Mlango Kubwa base. This is where Mama George (Jane Njeri) found her.

Because she was raped twice, she is now struggling with STI. She is already on antibiotics to treat this. She also has fear within her; she cannot trust easily and takes time before opening up, probably because of trauma that has happened to her. Irene is counseling with her. She never disclosed to us whether the person who did this to her is a close relative, but that is likely. She never wants to talk about the father that much.

She is so sweet and adorable, she has likable qualities. i think she fits perfectly in MITS, she deserves our help, and God has brought her to us at the right time.

by Moses Okoth