Kennedy Weds Grace

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!

Of Lions and Joy

Let joy roll down like waters...the most interesting things happen around Made in the Streets.  You know that we have property at an area called Mountain View -- it's about 45 minutes from Kamulu on the way to the Mombasa Highway -- we have 40 acres and dream of some day having a Christian camp for the churches in Kenya.  Since we first bought property there, we have had lions and a leopard on the property.  

Well, the lions moved recently over a rocky area just off our property.  Then the wildebeest started coming back into the area after making their migration from Tanzania.  So the lions chased wildebeest into our fence and tore it down.  It looked like the wildebeest got away too. 

And speaking of LIONS -- we are studying the books Wild at Heart and Captivating with our Team and kids.  We have developed mottos for them to yell -- "I am beauty; I am worthy" for the girls and "I'm a lion. I'm wild at heart" for the boys.  The young men are to think of themselves as being the image of the warrior God who protects his people.  The young women are to think of themselves are the image of the captivating God of beauty who draws his people to himself.  Part of being God's image is drawing near to God and be

ing what He wants in the world.  And these young people are drawing near!!!!

WE BAPTIZED 12 PEOPLE SUNDAY -- 16 November 2008 -- Among the 12 are 8 of our kids.  The other four are from the community -- Irene Muthoni, Grace Muthoni

 (Irene's daughter), Rispah Kwamboka and Frankjohns Bukhala (Frank is the 12 year old son of one 

of our church members).  Our 8 kids who were baptized are Anthony Githinji, Susan Wambui, Kevin Mweti, Eunice Wambui, David Mutimbi, Joseph Nderitu, Charles Kimani and Douglas Maninge.  

Our joy rolls down and flows up and overflows...we are so happy with the response of our young people to the Lord.  One of our young men who talked to me recently about being in love with one of our girls (but knowing he shouldn't get married for a few years and wanting to do the right thing) reported to me yesterday that he and the young girl are planning to be baptized in a week or two.  Pray for them -- for self-discipline, for ability to wait, for growing relationship.

Yesterday John Wambu took Maurice Colby (who is visiting us from Cedar Rapids, Iowa) to Mountain View, and Maurice reports it was a safari.  They saw Thompson gazelle and a herd of giraffe and other animals.  Our visitors are at Eastleigh today -- at the girls with babies program and on the streets.  Tomorrow they will do a first aid workshop with our team, and they continue to do Bible studies with the students.

So...joy continues to roll down on us.  peace and joy to you as well, charles

Marriage and MITS

Aah..marriage is a wonderful thing.  And there is marriage in the air at Made in the Streets.  When I was 20 and ready to get married, I only knew one way to do it.  Two decide to get married, he asks her dad, then they tell everyone, arrange for the church and the preacher, get a license at the County Court Clerk, have a wedding, and rent an apartment.  In Kenya I have found there are other ways.  You can get a license from the government and have it signed by someone authorized by the government to perform your wedding.  Or you can schedule a wedding at a church, and it's legal and acceptable whether you have the license or not.  Or you can even have a community wedding, which means that you announce to and get the permissions of all the important people in your life and you are then married.  There is no inheritance guarantee with this last one, but it is acceptable in society.  

At MITS, we have a joyful event about to occur.  No, it's not one of our 5 Team members who have fallen in love and are looking forward to marrying one of these days (I won't mention who those people are here, other than to say that two of our women and two of our men are looking forward to marrying, so they will have to move out of the dorms into their own homes).  Our joy comes because two of our former students from the streets will have their wedding on November 15 at MITS-Kamulu.  They actually opted for the community wedding three years ago and have a son who will be 2 in November.  But they did not go through the complete process of the traditional wedding, which involves a face-to-face meeting of any parents the young people have who then announce their agreement in favor of the marriage.  In this case there is one family background that is almost impossible to deal with.  As a consequence, they have not felt truly and fully married.  

Today (Saturday, 25 October) they came to visit at Kamulu and made the decision to not only have a church wedding but to seek to get a license signed and registered also.  So we got out the wedding dresses that friends in the USA have sent over, as well as the wedding rings that have been donated, and Eliza tried them on and chose one.  And Laurent says she is beautiful.  He also said he has always heard that "a good wife is a blessing from God," and he knows that he is a blessed person.  

We met Laurent near the very beginning of Made in the Streets; he was 13 years old and had been living on the streets in an alleyway for three years.  He loved learning; Darlene's Mother, Dorothy Wright, taught him to read during her visits in Kenya.  Our Team introduced him to a head-teacher at a local primary school after he had been with us about a year and a half. He was admitted to the 7th grade in spite of never being to school because he had learned English so well. He took the 8th grade exam the following year, and the Team enrolled him in a local cooking school.  When he finished in 2003, by God's grace he obtained an attachment (apprenticeship) at the University of Nairobi cafeteria, where he continues to work.  Once he cooked a meal at the University and served the President of Kenya, and this year he cooked at a meal attended by the President and the new Prime Minister.  He is well liked by his superiors and fellow chefs, and of course we are very proud of him.  

Laurent continues to support his mother, using about 1/4 of his total earnings for her monthly support.  He contributes part of his salary to a pension fund, so there isn't a great deal left for them to live on, but they have an apartment and recently managed to get a DVD player to go with the TV.  And there are many stories of his generous spirit with others, especially toward kids on the street.  

So...on November 15 Laurent Mogambi and Elizabeth Wangare will be able to feel complete in their marriage.  This is only one of the reasons why we think doing street ministry is exactly where we ought to be.