Preaching in Eastleigh

Darlene and I visited in Eastleigh and went to church at the MITS Eastleigh Center.
They asked me to preach on Numbers 9.  Before I looked at it, I thought, "I am to preach from
Numbers!! To street guys whose attention span is really short!!" But when I looked at it, I knew
it was the right text.
It's one year after the Jews left Egypt.  And God wants them to CELEBRATE Passover. They are
out in the desert, some have whined about going back to Egypt.  They worry about food
and water and the future.  And He says, "CELEBRATE".   So they do.
But some are unclean.  They touched a dead body. They were off on a trip.
And the priests told them they couldn't do Passover since they were unclean.
So I talked to the youth about their own lives.  They are seen as unclean, and they really are
physically unclean.  And some have done wrong things.  And women in the time of their
month think they are unclean and usually do not take the Lord's Supper.  And some think they
are slaves of the streets just as Jews were slaves in Egypt.
So Moses went off to ask God what to do for the unclean ones.  And God said,
"Let them CELEBRATE."  God did not see the uncleanness.
God saw his people whom he loved.
I had 30 chapati with me that some of the girls at Kamulu cooked on Sunday morning.
And we cut them in half and gave each person half a chapati, and I invited all
of them to eat it in honor of Jesus Christ, who loves the unclean.  That
was the first part of the Lord's Supper.  It takes a while to eat half a chapati, so we
had lots of time to honor Jesus.
We had a good time together.  And near the end of worship, a group of
12 Swedish people showed up who were wandering around Eastleigh
visiting some Somalis.  They came in, wanting to learn about street kids and
street ministry.  So we had a chance to witness to our faith in the power
of Jesus to change lives.  All in all, a good day!  

Taking a Break

After hosting the National Youth Conference for churches of Christ - 4 days with 300 teens!
Darlene and I went on safari near Mount Kenya. Here is Darlene standing at the Equator
with zebras and a bird in the background.  

They have a new not-so-tame rhino at Sweetwaters (one time Darlene sat on the
back of the old one named Morani). This one is called Baraka, and he
will eat from your hand, but best to stay on the platform.  The ranger
did get in his compound to take our picture.

A few years ago we took all our students and Team to Mountain Rock Camp
near Mount Kenya. We visited the Ol Pejeta Preserve, and Sweetwaters Camp
gave us a free lunch (and our kids were so proper!!). After lunch, the kids
planted trees in the lawn near the Equator sign. This one was planted
by the boys.  

This is the tree the girls planted.  We were happy to stop by and see
that the trees are still growing.  And Made in the Streets is still growing
as well.  Several students left us recently and found jobs.  14 students took the
8th Grade Exit Exams (KCPE) in November, and one scored at the
median in the country.  And we are growing in those things that matter,
in the Spirit.  

Passover at MITS

Students dip finger in cup of thanksgiving to show the lessening of our joy because of the suffering of the Egyptians.

The Passover (seder) plate with bitter herbs and the bone and the Elijah cup.

Students prepare 200 chapati

for the meal

We have been preparing for two weeks for a Passover meal together with the Team and students. Brian Ochieng and several students started cooking at 2:00 in the afternoon for a 5:00 Passover. They made 200 chapati, our unleavened bread. And they cooked lentils, along with a meat and potatoes dish.

I was a little frustrated at the beginning, mostly because a fairly large number of students and Team came late!! I have such a fetish for keeping time! But it was a great experience - to share the history of Israel and God's love for his people, to listen to the kids read "the story" and to drink the cups of blessing, thanksgiving, redemption and acceptance.

And there was the Elijah Cup, the cup of hope. All Israel dreamed (and some still dream) that Elijah would return, and after him the Messiah. But we know, we know - Elijah has come!! And the Messiah after him, so that we have the redemption, the hidden matzoh has been revealed and all history has changed.

I asked the 5 youngest of our students to find the hidden matzoh -- Michel, one of our 13 year olds -- found it and received 200 shillings as I, the "father" of our family of faith, had to redeem the hidden matzoh, which we then ate, each of the 100 of us taking a small piece in honor and memory of Jesus.