Who are these kids? Everybody in Nairobi thinks they know what street kids look like, and they believe the kids cannot change, but are menaces, thieves, liars, trouble...it is amazing how well they clean up. We spent the day today with a group who came off the streets, some as late as this year. We went to the movie at Village Market, an upscale shopping center near the American Embassy and the United Nations complex.

In the past few weeks, Darlene and Philip Kariuki have read the Chronicles of Narnia to all the kids, and some of our Team members have read them. We told them that everyone who read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian in the past two months would be treated to the movie. Seven of the Team members read them, and five went to the movie. Ben Mwami had to go and pick up 100 baby chicks today, so he couldn't go (we'll get him there later). And Joel will go next week with the moms and the Team members at Eastleigh. 52 of us went today.

The theater gives away a soda, a hot dog and popcorn on Mondays with regular admission price, and the kids loved that. Since Mercy doesn't eat oil, they gave her a Mars bar instead of a hot dog, and she gave her popcorn away. Darlene told Philip she thought he has been doing a great job as a teacher and leader, so she gave him all her food. I told Scholastica that I appreciate her diligence as a student and gave her my hot dog, then I gave Jackton my soda and congratulated him on good work in the sewing plant, and I gave my popcorn to Ken Wabungu, who has been a great young person at Kamulu.

And during the movie they were so quiet, truly enjoying "seeing" the book they have read. They laughed at Reepicheep, and they reacted to the first roar of Aslan. And their behavior was exemplary; they even carried their trash out of the theater to the bins outside. I can't believe how great it is to be out somewhere with a 45-member youth group like this!!! Absolutely amazing and marvelous! My heart's desire is to know these kids all their lives, just like I want to be in the granddaughter's lives for always.

Thanks, Jesus, for the kindness you show me.

How Quickly We Forget

Those of us involved in street ministry are doing this work, not because of the pay, but because we care about children and teenagers who have no choice but to sleep in alleyways and under kiosks. We have walked the streets of Eastleigh and the warren of one-room shacks in Mathare Valley, and we have talked with the kids whose stories break our hearts. There is Caro, who was beaten unmercifully by her mother's boyfriend, and so she fled to the streets. There is Ken, whose Dad had died, who watched his uncle cut up his grandfather in a disputer over the farm -- he was unable to concentrate in school and there was no food, so he left and went to the streets. There is Titus, who at 11 was always in a stupor from huffing glue, but who always wanted to please.

But how quickly we forget. Many of us now stay at the Kamulu Centre, where we house the street kids who have come off the streets to us, ones whom we believe God has called to himself. They are clean and dressed, and we feed them and each one has a bed of his/her own, and they love the English and Bible and Math classes, and some of them are training for the Primary Education 8th Grade Exam in December, and our life together is great. And so we forget what it is like on the streets.

So Francis Mbuvi, our administrator, decided that the Team should return to the streets. Every other Friday almost all the Team will spend the day in Eastleigh, going to Bases and visiting with the kids and youth. Last Friday they went, while Darlene and Francis taught the kids at Kamulu. Ben Mwami reported, "I haven't been back to the streets since our training two years ago. It was so good to be reminded. And as we crossed a street, we say a baby that had been left out and run over by a car. That baby didn't have a chance, but our kids here at Kamulu have a chance." Abraham, who is usually quiet in our meetings, spoke up twice as they talked about the experience. Robin reported that when he goes into Eastleigh to visit his parents, he usually avoids going by the bases because it is so uncomfortable for him. But he was glad that Friday he went, and many of the kids at the bases said, "Why haven't you come back? Are you avoiding us?"

How quickly we forget the needs that surround us, because we can go and get our lattes and have outings with our kids and enjoy the good life that prosperity brings. Is today a day to remember, and to embrace the uncomfortable?

Keep remembering...and peace to you...charles

Days of Stress

We have always lived with stress. Some of it is good, for it helps us be focused and alert. But there has always been stress that hurts the heart and the soul, the kind that makes us be unkind to those we love and eventually damages our bodies.

My stress used to be about what others thought of me, or about getting my work done satisfactorily. Nowadays it most often has to do with computers and the internet. When you are using a computer, a cell phone, a local internet service, and the world wide web -- there are many things that can go wrong. I often start thinking it is me, or that the world is arrayed against me, and stress levels go up.

With me that's especially bad, because sugar levels go up with the stress. And my stress levels affect Darlene as well.

So...what to do? Breathe deeply, remember that everybody out there wants it to work well not just me, thing of good things, mentally relax my body and feelings -- lots of good things to try, but it isn't easy. I know a couple of preachers who have never gotten involved with computers; they don't have this stress. That's one answer, but the days of cell phones and the internet have made life so much better for communication and for feeling as if we are in touch.

What do you do when stress levels get too high? Write me at crc@swiftkenya.com if you have found a good answer when sitting at the computer!

have a stress-free day,
charles