Committing to Christ

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.

The 20 Acre Saga

"God is not finished with me yet."  Quite a number of people have used this quote to describe their lives.  Sometimes it is a joyful statement and sometimes resignation to difficulties.  But it is always an expression of faith.  

And so we believe -- that He who raised Jesus from the dead is the Holder of both power and goodness and does not fail those who trust in him.  

We are continuing to pursue a just settlement to the land issue.  The people who invaded have built a structure and opened it for use.  We have now written letters to all the relevant ministries in the government, and we are seeking an order for eviction.  We are also ready to re-fence the property, and the police have stated that they would protect our right to fence our property if we will leave out the part where the building sits until the case is settled.  

We have no doubt that God loves the street children and wills their good.  We also know that we have a great Team working on the kids' behalf.  So we are not afraid of what will happen.  It just takes a long time to accomplish.  We should remember how long it often takes when a person has done what is wrong and fallen into bad habits.  It may take years to get out of the problem.  So it is with land issues when someone has done wrong; getting them out and getting everything under control takes a while.  

And this is a very small issue in the eyes of everyone. It involves about an acre of land.  Great areas of land are under dispute in Kenya, where many people do not have land but desire it very much.  And those who have land often want as much more as they can get.  This will be a problem for the society for a long time to come, since the population continues to grow.  Our problem is small beside that of many others. 

So let us not feel bad about what we struggle over and might lose in the end.  Let us rejoice in what we have and in what we can do.  And let us remember that the end result does not lie in the land and power and cash, but in the Spirit, and in such matters as goodness and faith and love.

peace to you, charles

Faith on the Streets

Team members of Made in the Streets visit the streets of Eastleigh in Nairobi daily.  They want to meet the new boys and girls who leave home for the streets.  They want to stay in touch with kids they know who live on the streets.  They want to teach all the time so that youth on the streets will always have opportunity to change their lives.  

They often play sports with some of the street kids, and Francis writes the following note after a soccer game one day.  

"On Thursday last week, we had sports with the older boys. When we got back to the centre, Anthony told me that one of the guys -- Francis Njenga -- was ready to be baptized. I spend a few minutes talking to him and then baptized him. He said he wanted to stop using Glue and Marijuana because they were affecting him and because his brother died from over-using them. I encouraged 

him to know this was a decision between him and God. He left happy and we pray for him and the many others out there in the bases. We are also thankful that ONE MORE soul has been won for Christ."

Here is Francis' baptism picture.  Please pray for power in the Spirit for him to make the changes he wants to make.