Angela's Story

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

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

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

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

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

Chapel at MITS-Kamulu

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

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

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

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

Street Visit in September 2012

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

MILLIE OMONDI IN THE USA

Millie and Kehl (3 years)

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

Inspection at MITS

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

God Blesses Street Ministry

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

June is a Good Month

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

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

Aggies for Christ with MITS students!