That the Blind May See

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.

Teach a Kid to Fish

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

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.

Holiday Giving

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.

Eastleigh Report from Jane Njeri

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

"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

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.

Base Visits in East Nairobi

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

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."

Jump for Joy

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!

Sponsoring Street Youth to MITS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Street Ministry Quick News

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

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

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.