Easter Report from Mbuvi

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.

MITS YOUTH AT CHURCH

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.

Multiply our Joy

Another great day for Made in the Streets.  When we started our session after breakfast, we asked Joseph to come forward and get his baptismal certificate.  If you look closely, you can see he is holding a booklet written by Steve Eckstein, a good friend of MITS who recently gave us some of his "I am a Christian" booklets with certificates in them.  This makes number 9 we have presented in the past 3 weeks.   Darlene and I taught our lesson this morning to the Team and kids, as we have each day.  Today we talked about the beauty God made in women and how He made them worthy.  And we talked about the warrior God who made men for battle and for rescuing and protecting women.  Then we talked about where a man or a woman goes to "get your question answered."  The question is "am I beautiful?"  "am I worthy?"  "do I have what it takes?" So we talked about not finding your answer in a man or a woman or in this world/culture but in God, in Christ.  Afterwards Francis Mbuvi gave the kids an invitation to commitment to Christ and to baptism.  17 raised their hands, saying they wanted to be baptized.  Francis decided that the 4 young ones in the group, who have only been with us a few months, should wait and study some with Team members.

We left for the beach, arriving at the marine park at 10:00 -- beautiful waves,

sand and an ocean that seems to go forever.  And we lined up the 13 kids in the ocean and took a picture. The young people are Nicholas Muiruri, Mary Waithera, James Mwangi, Joseph Mburu, Mary Muthoni, Brenda Adhiambo, Scholastica Adhiambo, Ken Owino, Fatuma Amina, Patrick Saulo, 

Mercy Kisya, Paul Zakayo and Titus (Pius) Musyoki.  

Francis asked them all together about their faith, 

and they responded.  Then they walked up to him one by one, and he buried them in the water.  They came up spluttering, smiling, laughing and satisfied!  You can see the happiness in Mary Waithera's face.

Joy at the Kenya Coast

FLASHMAIL -- at Made in the Streets we are a happy bunch.  Darlene and I looked out at the kids and the Team this morning, watching them juggling, talking in small groups, kicking a soccer ball, drinking a cup of tea, holding babies and playing with them -- and Darlene said, "we are more than a school; we're a family.  The kids ate mandazi and drank tea for breakfast, and one of the boys came by to offer some of his to Darlene and me. 

Then we went to the beach.  We are staying at Uzima Church of Christ in Malindi - in the building, in tents, in classrooms -- Jackton and Milly got one of those since she is pregnant.  We drove both buses through town to the Marine Park.  Everyone got out, and once again we are awed by the ocean, the wind and waves and bright sand.  

We walked down to the water, and Joseph Kamau and I waded out a little ways, while all the others gathered around us.  I told all the kids and team that we need to do two things -- one is to forever call him Joseph -- he says this is his new name from God.  He wants to put his other name behind him with the past, in which he did some really bad things which we will not discuss. The other is to encourage Joseph in faith, in obedience, in keeping his attention on Jesus. I ask him about his faith, and he answers with a very serious look.   Then he is baptized in the ocean - in the name of the Father, the Son, the Spirit.  He asked me over a week ago to do this for him.  He wanted a special memory to go with his joy at a new life.  

Life's Little Joy Moments

I haven't seen it, but I'm sure someone has written a book about "life's little joys". What I like is those little moments that come just because of what you are doing. Moments that are part of life itself, not only thoughts you have. I had one of those moments tonight. Anastacia is one of the girls we found at Grogan's Base in downtown Nairobi. There were several girls hanging around there, begging from passersby, getting and giving favors with boys, one of them with a mother and 3 more with an aunt who also lived on the streets and sold illegal liquor. She has been one of our smarter kids, and with Katera Bolander's influence, she has gotten fascinated with journalism. She interviewed a ranger when we went camping. She interviewed Red Cross workers at one of the internal displacement camps near Nairobi. And she has interviewed other students and teachers here and helped edit a newspaper for us.

Recently I set her up as a blogger (www.tashanjoki.blogspot.com/) so she could write every week and have her writing in public where she would be encouraged to improve and think about many things to write. And tonight I helped her write her first email. One of those moments to remember, to think of how far she has come. From the streets to the internet. And she felt great joy and a sense of accomplishment. Then we looked at her blog together and the comments she has received from readers in Texas.

Do something with a young person. You can live for a while on little moments like that.

peace and joy, charles