Christmas Street Memories

Hi and happy new year! Just want to say thanks to all of you. You have given street kids and former street kids a wonderful holiday time. As you read all the things they've done, it seems "over the top" -- how appropriate for the poor. Here are some quotes from a couple of the kids about Christmas before Made In The Streets.

from Moses Mwangi: I was about five years old when I ran away. Sleeping on the streets was cold and scary but still better than staying with my uncle. On Christmas day, I saw a family that looked "well off"; I decided to visit them to get to eat a Christmas feast with them. But when I walked into the compound, the woman shouted at me, "Who invited you?" I tried to show her I was just a beggar, but she chased me away. On Christmas day, I starved. Everywhere I went, people chased me away."

from Mary Waithera: I lived upcountry with my shosho before life became hard. She was poor, like for tea, she would put just four spoonfuls of sugar in a big pot of tea without milk. We only took tea with milk

during Christmas season when relatives came for the holiday. I tried to behave well whenever we had a special meal, like rice and chapati (like tortillas) or spaghetti. I was not a glutton, but I ate a lot at those times. In fact, I only had spaghetti once in my life; it was a special meal for the relatives. But my cousin was afraid we had cooked worms and he would only eat the soup, made from potatoes and arrowroots. I especially liked fruit, because it was so rare to have it.

Thanks to all of you, the kids had lots of special food, and a lot of it! And our students all got stockings full of fruit, nuts, and candies. And they had fun trips! The boys got to see Western Kenya, thanks!

TEA PARTY by Darlene

It's December and I love giving parties. So on Friend Sunday, I asked Mbuvi to announce that all the church ladies were invited to our house Thursday at 4 for a Christmas Tea. OK, that was today. First, I was at the school, and Moses came to tell me there were women at the gate for me... for a tea party. In Swahili, hour 4 is our 10 am whereas our 4 pm is hour 10 -- confused? They were too. So I go home, make two big cakes, cut them into 15 pieces, and then, the rain started. Only if you've been here in Kenya during a rain will you appreciate how hard it is to walk in our particular kind of mud. I thought, "Oh, no. There won't be anyone for tea! Well, maybe 5 or 6." It continued to rain -- a lovely sound on our tin roof, and we really do need the rain. But my party..... Around 3 pm, I started making chai. I arranged chairs, etc. and I was ready, but not expecting many.

Well, by 4 pm, there were 33! I was thrilled! We prayed, and started the cake around. Then 5 more came. And another group, and another, and the rain keeps coming, and another 5. There are muddy shoes everywhere, I'm bringing out a pkg of cookies, making more chai, finding cups and chairs, and I stop counting after 50 women are in my house. I had no more milk or tea leaves for chai, no more food to offer, no more things we could sit on (Maureen even went home and brought all her chairs!) . And we were having fun!

One thing we did was share Christmas memories (around the small group of 50). As I listened to the women, they talked of sharing good food, special food like chapati and mandazi, and being with family and friends, and of going to church on Christmas eve. Not one mention of presents or busy schedules. I feel sorry for all of us with money -- we've been robbed.... in a very real way. There are certain advantages to poverty. We read Mt 2; Jesus' family sounds a lot like their economic situation -- and angels came for them.

Well, my guests left. The oldest woman, who had been a guest on Friend Sunday, gave me a hand woven basket; and I gave her a bag of our tomatoes and we were happy. We all sang "We wish you a merry christmas" I wish that for you all too!

A STORY THAT MAKES ME STAY

by Darlene

All of our students tell their "life stories" to Renee, and I put them in the computer. Tonight I was typing George Lokitoi's story. George came to us in August; he' s from the Turkana tribe, a tribe that lives far north, toward Somalia. His people are nomads, always looking for grazing for herds of goats and cows. It's a hard life, with dangers from lions or raiders from the Pokot tribe. So he ran away and ended up on the streets of Nairobi.

He came to MITS because a fellow street boy told him there was food here. He says he liked the Bible stories (a first for him); his favorite stories were a group -- the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. When I read that, I felt my heart jump.

Eighteen years ago, Charles and I went with a small group to teach VBS in George's area. Before we went, I interviewed a Turkana man, seeking to present the Bible parables in a way that would draw them to it. With that input, I got a street kid to draw a Turkana woman who had lost a coin. She looks in the grass hut, sweeps with sticks, and finds it. We drew the neighbors who come rejoice with her. For the lost sheep, we had a Masai herder lose a cow and worry about a lion. They jump for joy when it's found. For the lost son, we have a kid who's come into the city and comes to Eastleigh (where our center is).

That said, I was touched (bumps on my arms) because this fits George so well. Just maybe I had that bright idea years ago because Jesus planned to use this to grab George and bring him to Himself and to us. George could feel the diligence with which the woman searches - and recognize it. And the lost sheep/cow -- George ran away because first he had lived through a lion attacking a herd, and when Pokot raiders came and stole two cows from him and whipped him, he couldn't bear to face his father, so he ran away -- he became "lost". And that lost boy came to Nairobi, to us. And he heard Jesus' stories of His love there. I dunno -- but I feel like God used my pictures to bring a lost boy home. This is why I'm here.

HONOR TO GIRLS

WELL DONE, GREAT WOMEN OF MITS

While the writer of Proverbs has much to say about the foolishness of men, his experience also teaches him that some women are hard to live with. In 19:13 he writes of a wife's words that are like "continual dripping of rain." We presume that the rainy season was not a favorite time of his.

Our work in street ministry shows us how hard it is for some women to live together in peace. We have worked hard with street girls to help them recognize how they could 1) get off the streets, 2) take care of themselves, 3) make progress of their lives -- just by several of them living together in an apartment in Mathare Valley or Eastleigh, working when they can, pooling money to pay the rent, and so on. But the girls cannot seem to find agreement; they would rather depend on street guys to give them a place to sleep at night in return for intimacy. They cannot seem to break free of dependence on men, and they can't get along with one another well enough to make it work.

At Kamulu our girls live together in 3 small dorms (maximum 10 girls in a dorm). They do well, but occasionally there are arguments, fights, and even conspiracies against the dorm supervisors. From time to time we have meetings with the girls, let them talk, and teach them more about living in peace. Recently we did a class on communication, listening skills and non-violence. We asked them to practice what they learned, then we gave them an exam a week later.

Four of our girls did very well on the exam, answering questions as well as describing what they practiced during the week. Two of the girls, Eunice Wambui and Mary Waithera, are pictured here. The four girls received an award for their performance. We are proud of them.

A CHAPEL TO REMEMBER

At 8:00 AM each weekday Made in the Streets has chapel. One of the Team or one of the students will pick out 5 songs, ask someone to lead prayer and make a short talk, usually a story with a message at the end. Now and then there is a chapel that you want to make into an eternal moment. Or, as Darlene says, she would like to bottle this chapel and take it out now and then and enjoy it.

Thirteen of our students were back from being away 4 days to take the KCPE (the 8th grade exams in several subjects). Before they went other students had written "success cards" and prayed for them. During chapel they started reporting on their experience, and all of them shared. They said words like "I love you all" and "Thank you to all the teachers" and "Thank you for praying" and "It was hard, but not so hard" and "I'm grateful to my sponsor" and on and on. And all of us felt so great! Then the other students started to share, welcoming the 13 back and saying good things about them, wishing them success.

Taking the KCPE is really special, since most of these kids did not get to public school at all, or maybe one or two years, and they have from 1 to 2 years with us in literacy education. To have prepared for these exams is a great achievement.

I love these kids, and this is a moment with them that I could enjoy forever. With their attitude and confidence, they will make it. They will not return to the streets, and they will be able to find work, and they will have families. Praise God for this ministry, and for all those who support it. Pat yourself on the back - good job!

New People in Kamulu

THREE COME FOR BAPTISM

An exciting day for the Kamulu Church. Brian Ochieng, a MITS student who comes early every Sunday morning to set up the chairs for worship, Evans Wambua, another MITS student, and Mercy Wanjiru, a teenager who has been attending worship for about a year chose to be baptized into Jesus.

Just One More

A long time ago I heard a Tennessee preacher named Ira North talk about evangelism. He asked how many we should try to reach, and the answer was "just one more." And why that one? Because of the value of every life. He went on to say that he would swim the Cumberland River, he would climb Outlook Mountain to reach her, if that one more were his little daughter.

We have one more girl at Kamulu, a treasure from the streets. And she has come in time for the December Holidays -- that's a smart move on her part. Of course she doesn't know what a good time we have planned for the kids who live with us, to make them feel special, to give them new experiences!

Anastacia is 15. She seems glad to be at Kamulu. She speaks some English already and the other kids like her. She started out right away singing in chapel, and she is in the beginning literacy class for now. She also arrived in time to be in the class hearing the reading and retelling of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. We will have more info about her later. If there is someone who wants to sponsor her, she is available. So we have another one to call our own, and we will go to great lengths to find kids like Anastacia, like brave the Mathare River and climb Mt. Longonot.