On August 3, 1995, missionary educators Charles and Darlene Coulston held an event at a local church in Eastleigh, a neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was for kids who lived on the streets, primarily in the adjoining Mathare slums. The Coulstons were amazed when 200 street kids showed up! At the end of the day, a church leader told them, “You know they’re coming back tomorrow, right?” Sure enough, 55 street-connected kids showed up the next day and a street ministry began. From those earliest days, a young man named Francis Mbuvi was part of this growing ministry.
Over the next 15 years, a Boarding Program for street-connected kids was created both in Eastleigh and in the Nairobi suburb of Kamulu, with major infrastructure developments in Kamulu. Over the same years, a variety of ministries to connect with, educate, feed, and nurture faith in these kids spread. This was a season of continual expansion of educational and vocational programs underlined by an unwavering dedication to the mission to minister to street-connected kids. During those years, Francis Mbuvi became a key leader of the Made in the Streets (MITS) program.
During the mid-2000s, the Coulstons began visiting their daughter Brenda and her family, who at the time were Conejo members living in Thousand Oaks. As we got to know the Coulstons, our interest in the Made in the Streets program grew. Eventually we sent teams to participate in the ministry during the summers of 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2016, and we fell in love with the kids and adult leaders of MITS. Our congregation has financially supported MITS for nearly 20 years and people in our congregation sponsor individual kids in the program.
This Sunday morning, we are delighted to have Francis Mbuvi in town to teach our auditorium Bible class (9am) and to preach during our worship service (10:15am). He is accompanied by Brad Voss, the executive director of MITS, who will be on hand to help answer questions and share information. This Sunday evening, there will be a dinner at 6:30pm to share more about exciting new happenings in this vital ministry. Please use the QR code on page 2 to RSVP.
We’re grateful for the faithful work that began some 30 years ago with the Coulstons and is now sustained by dozens of workers and hundreds of volunteers in Nairobi and around the world. Please join us at every opportunity that you can this Sunday to learn more about and engage more deeply with Made in the Streets.
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