How wonderful to see familiar faces!

Yesterday we went to Satellite for Sunday service. Worshipping with the congregation was such a blessing. They would sing a song with great energy, but when they finished singing, they would go on praying, praising the Lord with multiple voices in a chorus of heartfelt praise. It was truly beautiful and such a blessing for us to have the chance to worship with them.

Today we went to the Farm, and what a blessing that was! The Farm is the second and brighter half of Made in the Streets, where the street kids are educated and cared for in something like a boarding school. They are taught a vocation skill, such as sewing, computers, or hairdressing, and when they turn 18 they can go out into the world, work, and give themselves a better life. The great thing is that Made in the Streets continue to support their “graduates” for as long as necessary. The even greater thing is that for as long as these teenagers remain at the Farm, they are learning more about God and Jesus and living in an environment that is devoted wholly to Him.

But to truly “get the whole picture” so to speak, one must visit the ministry in Eastleigh, the first and darker half of MITS.

MITS in Eastleigh is run by Larry and Holly, a couple from Texas, who have basically been missionaries their entire lives. Larry can even speak Swahili fluently! Anyways, MITS works to take kids off the streets, share the good news of Jesus with them, and work to give them a better life.

Eastleigh is a unique neighborhood in Nairobi. Many of the people living there are Somali refugees, the neighborhood is 90% Muslim, and there is an unnaturally large population of homeless street kids who live together on “bases,” which are basically large areas filled with garbage. These kids have to sleep on the garbage because the decomposition of the trash keeps them warm at night. It is truly a heartbreaking sight to see and experience. These are real individuals, surrounded by garbage and countless flies. I was only at the bases with them for something like 20 minutes, and although I felt honored to meet these people and just let them know that someone cared for them, I just could not wait to leave the dirt and filth that is the reality for the homeless in Eastleigh.

The kids that live in these bases all ran away from their families and homes. At first, one wonders what could possibly motivate these kids from running away when their families provide food, shelter, and an education, three things that the streets do not provide. But they have no choice. Most of them leave because their parents abuse them physically or sexually, and to stay would mean to accept the abuse and beatings, or even die.

When they get on the streets, kids join bases, and together each base works as a family, helping each other survive by stealing food and clothes and other necessities, and by protecting each other when the streets get violent, which it often does. Almost all the people on the streets sniff glue to get high. Glue is the cheapest and most readily accessible form of drugs that they can get their hands on, and they end up using to escape the reality of their hunger or simply because of peer pressure.

Walking through the streets to visit some of the bases, it was sickening to see many of the young boys with a bottle of glue in their hands, putting it to their mouth and nose. It made me want to take it away from them and say something like, “Don’t you know that’s bad for you? Don’t you know that you can die?” but it’s too stupid and you realize that even if you do, they’re just going to find another way to get another bottle, so all you can do is shake their hand and say “Jesus loves you” and hope that they can hear you through their clouded minds. But like Steve said, it’s all the more reason that we need to pray for these people, that they would accept Jesus into their hearts and somehow make a better life for themselves. And all the more reason that ministries like MITS are so important because they don’t just pray and wish people well, they are actively working to heal not only these peoples’ spiritual needs but their physical ones as well.

On a lighter note, while we were not on the streets and inside the compound, I got to spend a lot of time with Diana, or Princess Diana as I like to call her, because she wore a beautiful pink princess dress and she was just a beautiful spirit herself. Diana was shy at first, but during worship I asked her if she wanted to come in front with me, and she nodded, and after that it was like we were attached at the hip. She’d follow me wherever I went and hug me all the time and it was the sweetest thing in the world and I’d hug her back and tell her that I loved her and so did Jesus.

And boy was Diana tiring! She constantly wanted piggy back rides or for me to swing her around in the air. I probably sweat more while playing with her than I have in the past few months of not volleyballing constantly. When I was to leave for the bases, some of my team members told me that Diana waited by the gates for a long time, waiting for me to return, and that just really touched me. When I did finally come back, she gave me a hug and we sang together again, but this time she was even better at the hand motions and it was great fun. She is such a smart girl – she figured out how to use my camera in seconds, and she probably took something like 50 pictures, and she even knew how to scroll through them and zoom in. Whenever she saw my face in a picture she’s ask me, “is that you?” and I’d say, “yes it is!” When she saw a picture of Westminster Abbey, she exclaimed, “Wow! Amazing!” and I almost replied, “Yes! Although Brendon thought it was ridiculous.” Just kidding Brendon. =)

As we were leaving, Diana and I hugged so many times and so long, but definitely the highlight of my day was our last goodbye hug, and she said “I love you” to me about 5 times and kissed me on the cheek every time. What a wonderful girl, with a wonderful grandmother, who is currently the cook for MITS, and whose mother is in an internship. I pray that God has great plans for her, and she is so blessed to be a part of MITS from such a young age.

Anyways, today we went to the Farm, which as I said before, is the second half of MITS. The kids from Eastleigh are sent to the Farm when the team believes they are ready, which basically means they have made a genuine commitment to stop using drugs and begin changing their life. Arriving at the Farm just filled me with joy, almost opposite to what I was feeling at Eastleigh, especially when walking to the bases. One girl recognized me and gave me a huge hug. Sadly, another girl, Mary, told me a little about her past life. She was only 17 years old, and already had a son who was three and another child, just one year old. Both were the result of getting raped on the streets. Mary, who is younger than me by only a year, has endured so many things that no person should ever have to endure. But after listening to Mary’s story, I found myself thanking God. Because of His will, she is at the Farm now, and her children are being raised with love and she is learning to grow in Christ and has the opportunity to work and live more of a normal life now. She does not seem sad because of her misfortunes, but happy at the blessings that she does have in her life.

And ADD moment number three, because I’ve been meaning to yell this for a while: How wonderful it was to see familiar faces!

And speaking of familiar faces, I was so surprised to see so many kids from last year, and even more surprised when some greeted me by name and gave me hugs. Mary, the girl I hung out with mostly last year, ran up to me and we hugged for so long, laughing and talking like we saw each other just yesterday. I think my favorite part of the day was when we broke off into small groups of about 10, and we got to know the people in our group a little better. We shared our names (which was difficult at first, but here they are, the result of working so hard to remember so that if I was asked I would not be embarrassed: Victor, Joshua, Alex, Marcy, James, Isaac, Duncan, Mary, Mary M, Michael, and Kevin), favorite foods, colors, sports, and finally, our stories. Three boys shared, and one girl shared. Their stories were just like those of the stories at Eastleigh, but somehow different. They had run away from their homes because of abuse, and ended up on the streets struggling to survive. But their lives were changed, separating themselves from the kids at Eastleigh. One boy was very talented at soccer, and another was a singer. Another wanted to be a seamstress, and one wanted to be a carpenter. These kids dream of a greater future, and they are motivated to work to achieve their goals. They have time to discover their talents and express their individuality. This is the “nearly finished product” of the former streets kids at Eastleigh. Kids with bright futures waiting for them.

And although many wonderful things have changed in these people’s lives, faith in God and Jesus being the main one, some things never do. Mary still is the friendliest girl, Fatuma and Blake are still best friends, the girls love to sing songs with Beekah, George still dances, boys still play soccer, and everyone still worships God with the same reverence and thankfulness that continues to make ministries like the Farm grow every year.