Back to the Bases

After a long break from visiting our friends in the bases, we were back at it again this Wednesday. Our destinations were Mutindwa and Donholm. Since a train accident last year near the Mutindwa area, many hawkers and street children had been chased from that area. Recently they have moved back albeit slowly. When we got here, four of the boys were sleeping while three were awake and four others were collecting something in the heap of garbage nearby. Byron, who constantly visits the bases, was known to the boys and they welcomed us. We sat down and, after a prayer from Jane Abuti, Larry and I encouraged the boys in the word of God. 

On our way to Donholm, we met with four boys whom we had not seen before.  When Byron said hello to them and told them where we come from, one said "Najua Madi" (I know MITS). This was good for us, and we asked the one who knew our center to bring the others on Monday and Tuesday. At the Donholm base, we met 15 boys.  After our encouragement, we took them for lunch at a nearby kiosk only to end up with 29. There has been an increase in the number of young boys in the streets and we believe everyone of them deserves a chance. Slowly, one by one, we hope to continue giving the opportunity to know Christ and to change.

by Francis Mbuvi

Young Guys at the Bases

Understanding MITS

Hi, what a beautiful day!  I am in Texas, going in a few minutes to pick up our twin grandchildren from early release at school, going shopping with them, then enjoying a birthday party in the afternoon.  What a great life!

But I am also thinking about Kenya….about MITS….about the Team there whom I love so much…about the new boys who have come out to Kamulu to live….about the holiday break the kids are having -- parties and marathons and working on the farm and Bible studies with visitors….

"Understanding MITS" is the title here.  And if you want to understand MITS, read the blogs from our visitor who is there now -- Amanda Stoops!  She writes a great blog, and you need to read it.  So just go to

http://adventureswithamandastoops.blogspot.com  

You will be glad you did!!

Happy Holiday,

Charles Coulston

Decisions! Decisions!

At Made in the Streets we are always looking for young teens to come and live with us at Kamulu.  We search for boys and girls 13 to 14 years old, or young moms up to 15, who can spend their teenage years with us.  Since many of them have never been to school at all, we can take them through our literacy program, getting them from learning their A-B-Cs all the way to algebra and good English skills, along with computer training and Bible courses, in two or three years.  Then at 16 we can start them in a skills training class that will prepare them for work by the time they are 18.

Our Eastleigh Team is on the streets every day getting to know the children and youth who are there, serving them in all ways imaginable and encouraging them to know God and live by faith.  And they are identifying the ones who can come to Kamulu.  Recently they called in a group of 10 boys to the Eastleigh Center, to stay there for three weeks, then transition to Kamulu.

At the same time, Joel Njue had come across, by recommendation of a police officer, a girl named Beatrice Adhiambo - 13 years old and out on her own, with none to care about her.  He told the Team about her, and they decided she was right for life with our girls at Kamulu.  When they took her for tests, however, the dentist said she was 11 -- younger than the kids we take in.  We have this policy for various reasons -- our own plan for youth, the policies of the Children's Department…

So the Team had a dilemma.  They had already voted to take her in, but it was against policy to do so.  And they were divided about what to do.  The administrator wrote to me as an Advisor for my assessment.  He said that, since they were divided, they would take my decision.

I took it to my grandchildren.  I explained the situation to them and asked what they thought MITS should do.  They were divided too.  One of them is more rule-oriented -- that one said we should not change our policy for one child.  The others had various reasons why we should take her in -- You said you would!  It's the kind thing to do!  Take her in for now, but look for a better fit for her!

I wrote back to the Team:  It is not imperative that we always follow our general policy.  If you have a space for her with a dorm supervisor who will watch over her carefully to see that she is treated right, and if you have some older girls in that residence who would be mentors and protectors for her, then we could do it with assurance that we could give her what she needs.  And…if she has not been to school and cannot do our literacy program right now, you could put her in the Child Care program as a helper to Hellen, who could catch her up to speed so she can join next year's intake -- and other such stuff.  So I put it back on the Team to decide, which I always try to do.

And…they decided to take Beatrice in and bring her up in the Lord.  Good decision, and we believe it will be a good outcome.  How can it not be, when Jesus is with us in this?

Graduation Day

Alex graduates from Ngcs! Now to spend a life drawing people closer to Jesus! 

Awards for Exceptional Service

Some time ago I had opportunity to be with all 82 students at Made in the Streets with the Team not present.  So I asked the students, "Who loves you?"  Then I gave them 5 categories for the ways Team members have loved them.  I used 5 questions to elicit responses:

• Who has loved you in the Spirit?  (or Who has had great spiritual impact on your life?) 
• Who has loved you by being of strong character?
• Who has loved you by doing good deeds? 
• Who has loved you by serving with joy?
• If you have only one gift to give at Christmas, what Team member would you give it to?

So...we had 5 winners who received certificates for exceptional service

• Mary Mwende       Award for Spiritual Impact
• Irene Akinyi          Award for Character and Integrity
• Moses Okoth         Award for Doing Good Deeds
• Francis Mbuvi       Award for Service with Joy
• Phillip Kariuki      Award for being Worthy of Honor

And since each award came with a $100 bill, it was appreciated all the more!  Both students and Team were delighted with the outcome -- they cheered and clapped when I made the presentations.  Our Team truly is worthy of honor, for they love deeply and purely...they give themselves away for the sake of street kids.  Something hardly anyone is willing to do.

Mary Mwende receives her award for spiritual impact on student life

Francis Mbuvi receives the service with joy award

Alex Atema Graduates

Two full years Alex has spent at Nairobi Great Commission School since finishing his computer skills program at Made in the Streets.  We are proud of him for sticking with it and doing the work required. Today was graduation day.  Darlene and I left after 9:00 AM to go to the graduation.  Saturday is never a good day to drive in Nairobi.  It took us an hour to go by way of the Eastern Bypass to Mombasa Highway.  Before we reached the highway, we could see that it was backed up toward the airport - and not moving.  That means it was more than a 3-mile backup from Nyayo Stadium.  After reaching the stadium, we would still have a 45-minute drive to NGCS.  We concluded that we would arrive about the time everything was over.  So we turned toward the airport, circled around to the Bypass and returned home.  We are a little sad to have missed it.  Francis Mbuvi went, but he said he spent more than half the day in traffic and only had an hour at the graduation.  So...we got a lot of work done at home. I got a house and a Bible study room designed on graph paper, with the materials list made up also.  And we closed up the house and gave away the food left over and did a lot of other things to prepare for leaving for a while.

We are hoping to use the designed Bible study room as a "preaching point" (really a Discovery Bible Study point) where Jackton Omondi and Alex and possibly others can be involved in preparing the way for a new congregation.  The place is about halfway to town from Kamulu, and thousands of people have moved into the area in the past few years.  So...please pray for our ability to spread the word, to lead people a little closer to Jesus and build up the kingdom.

Here is a picture of Alex in a Discovery Bible Study group at Kamulu a few months ago.

That's Alex looking toward the camera.

Can't Do It Without You!

I often say this to our friends and to churches that love what we do with street kids in Nairobi.  We could hardly have even dreamed about street kids having a new life without knowing that our friends would love those whom we love.

So...at the end of 2013, and in 2014, we need your added help once again.  We hope in 2014 to spend about $120 per month on each street kid whom we serve well and have great impact on.  Since we plan to serve at least 350 youth with great impact -- we will have some influence on about 2,000 more -- the budget gets much too large for us to dream of doing it without you.

So...this is an appeal for you to begin helping us or increase your support for next year.  We do a great deal with the money you send to Made in the Streets, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.

• Have two congregations and many Bible studies
• Run a farm where we grow some of our food
• Run a boarding program with residences for 100 former street kids
• Operate our own Literacy School for younger students aged 12 to 15 - the school primarily teaches Bible, math, English and computers, but also prepares students for the KCPE (national 8th grade exit exams) by teaching science, Swahili, social studies and more.
• Maintain a library with about 3,000 hand-picked books for students and teachers.
• Receive visitors from churches in the USA who have skills and can train our Team and maintain facilities for their visits
• Receive visitors from USA universities who inspire and work together with Team and students
• Operate an inner-city facility from which a Team goes out daily to serve street kids and invite them to programs at the Center while recruiting 13 to 14 year olds for the boarding program as well as evangelizing and befriending older street people
• Operate a skills training program where students 16 and over can learn hairdressing, catering, woodworking, tailoring, computers and auto mechanics. 
• Maintain two water wells that serve our facilities and are used for irrigation
• Maintain housing for several Team members on MITS property
• We have begun an online school called HOPE School of Leadership -(hopeschoolofleadership.org) that includes some of our Team members as students, along with young people who conduct a great children's ministry in Mathare Valley, the deep slum near our Eastleigh Center.  Orientation is going on now; regular classes begin in January 2014
• Conduct business classes (including Bible, business and computer offerings) in the afternoons at 4:30 PM (so we call it The 4.30 Classes) for all our skills students. 
• Have daily chapel with songs, prayers and talks from students and Team members.
• Have an "Animal Program" with 2 cows, 15 goats, 2 fish farms and 3 chicken houses to provide experience for the students and additional food for them. 
• Have a "Child Care" facility for small children of girls who were living on the streets and had babies and are now in our skills training programs.  
• Operate shops along the highway so our cooking and hairdressing students can gain experience.
• Maintain a playground next to the highway for use by community people.

This is not all, but you can see that we try to do a great deal, to have a whole life ministry, to be family to the kids and to one another as leaders.  And we can't do it without you.

A picture of two of the sweetest girls you could ever want
to know.  They are Lucy B and Nelly, great friends from the day
they came to Kamulu. One more year before skills training. For
these kind my heart's desire remains to bring street kids a
new life, a life in Christ, a life with hope.

CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!