Dec 18

Christmas Update:

Alright, last time we were very insistent on your prayers. Thank you for praying. God heard you!
I still remember the night we left for Nairobi, the electricity went out at our house while we were trying get ready. So picture 8 street boys, one street mom + baby, Mozambican family, me and Val trying to maneuver in the dark to pack, shower (they all had to shower and put on their new clothes…early Christmas present J), have a meeting, cook and eat dinner. Val and I snuck up to our room for one last prayer before the trip, basically our scared cry for help. As we walked down the road with our troop I felt such a mixture of excitement and fear I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do a few sprints or vomit! So many hopes and so much uncertainty of what to expect.

Literally, I try to think of what parts to tell you about the trip and all I can think of is Praise God! Praise God for everything that happened that week in Nairobi, the good and the bad. What we were able to witness was the power of God. We became deeply aware of their sins, struggles and the evil behind them and the wounds they started from. Because of our trip we were able to see into their souls. These kids have been deeply wounded, in ways that I cannot even begin to reconcile in my heart. Their stories are the kind that make you weep: prostitutes, abandoned, abused, orphaned, witchcraft, heavy addictions, lives built around survival, death… we have only begun to scratch the surface.

In Nairobi, they were able to spend a week at a YMCA where they slept in beds, had showers, and were able to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For some of them, they couldn’t get over the fact they were eating all three meals.. how easy are they to please.. haha. And most of them were very familiar with the streets of Nairobi, having spent years surviving them and in and out of the police cells. So we had great tour guides and body guards! Expect sometimes they would conveniently take us on longer routes that bypassed certain police posts!

Even greater.. we were surrounded by people of God. What a 180 for them.. they usually only socialize with other street people, and in Nairobi God gave them back confidence lost in the shame of the streets. We went to a church for youth that would remind me of a sweet youth group or summer camp in America. They played reggae, hip hop, and completely knocked our kids out of their chairs. Then we became friends with the youth in this church, we also spent time with the Iris Ministries group from Mozambique, who were very much like the youth of Nairobi that we met. The boys were so surprised to meet awesome Kenyans and Africans who were their age and in love with Jesus. We spent time everyday doing team activities and going to the 24/7 prayer room. A few nights, some of the boys left to stay the whole night in the prayer room… praying! One of our boys was able to go home and visit his family, which was a big step for him and we were able to meet them. The week had so many blessings, the boys and Nancy really had to try team work and the progress and growth we observed in them each day was always directly from God!

All this to say, God had His eyes on them all week. Which makes it all the more apparent why satan wanted to attack us so much, and attack he did. Fighting, drugs, no concept of rules or unity, Nancy ran away for 36 hours, Allan drank bad water and was dangerously ill for a few days, I got sick, Valerie had a serious eye infection and needed medical help, we had to break away from the group to try to secure visas in immigration… Every day we prayed that God would give us enough grace, and He did. We did more than survive, we had victory over all these attacks. Each fight, each bad moment was used for a learning lesson, and proved to be amazing for the glory of God and a foolish attempt of satan to steal the children’s bread.

Then came The Call. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect because I had never been to one in America. Even if I had expectations, they would have been beat by far. I am sure God touched each heart, and seeds fell on good soil as they listened to leaders from all over the world. They saw people deeply in love with God, they were surrounded by God’s presence all day… what else could you ask for? By the end of the day, we were all together amidst crowds of people from all over Kenya and the world, and we were free.. dancing and worshiping and laughing with our new friends from Nairobi. It was beautiful, it was heaven.

Then we had a great last day, to be ended by a 10pm overnight bus ride back to Mombasa. Val and I boarded the bus with butterflies in our stomachs.. what were we supposed to do when we got back to Mombasa, send them back to the streets? We just had the most amazing week with them, they are more than just our street friends, now the love is deep. Everyone else boarded the bus completely dejected knowing that they would be back in the streets in the morning because we didn’t receive our work permits that allow them legally to stay at our house. After a week of food, love, joy, unity building, realness, friendship, clean beds.. the streets were a nightmare coming true again.

At 6am we reached Mombasa. Slowly all the travelers filed off the bus, everyone except our motley crew. They all stayed in the bus, looking out the window in sad disillusionment as the harsh reality awaited them when they stepped off the bus. Val and I were almost in tears; the tension and emotions were thick.

After about 10 minutes of us being the only ones left on the bus, one of the boys asked if they could come over for breakfast. Val and I, choking back tears looked at each other and said YES! We couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them now. So we all unloaded together, got our junk and headed the long road home, a family. They stayed all day, sleeping on the floor, eating our make-shift meals, watching movies on our laptops. After some time passed, a few boys left for the streets.. but most were unable to leave. When it became late, they asked if it would be ok if they slept on the floor and left in the morning. We again, said yes.. how could we say no! The next morning we prayed together for the boys who were back on the streets because the others were scared for them returning back to glue and the street life they had left so well for a week in Nairobi. Later that afternoon they returned to the house.. and looked at Val and I and said, do you want us to sleep in the streets or can we stay here?

We prayed so hard and felt like God was asking us to take the biggest leap of faith. Now almost 2 weeks have passed and everyone from the Nairobi trip is still living at our house! Val and I have become moms to 9 kids! So much has already happened, I wish I could tell you. It has been the hardest and most amazing 2 weeks of my life. We are being stretched every day with the Mozambican family to try to provide for all their needs and their large appetites. We have passed from friendship into family. What God is doing each day in the house has been more and more powerful and life-giving.

Everyday, Val and I have to wake up at 5am to pray victory into the day before it begins, and this has been the most amazing sign of God’s power over evil. As they file out of their rooms (we bought them mattresses) they are shouting, pulling our hair, asking us for this and that, but God is providing strength and beautiful presence of peace from heaven amidst everything that happens.

The war over these boys’ lives is intense and can only be won with weapons of prayer and the sword of the Spirit. And God has given what we need, He has poured out His Spirit, and we are seeing chains become loosed, and addictions being shaken, hearts being opened. But its not overnight, these wounds are deep and the walls are high. Addiction, fighting, lying, stealing, are always around the corner waiting to devour us. But God is teaching us how to love them and fight for them (Rom 12:21). Each day, we are more confident in the fact that we are lucky to know these boys and girl, they are amazing people who just need the opportunity to be who they are.. it is an honor to fight for them.

So Christmas is coming up in one week, we have been desperately busy, and we hope to give you a good update soon about our new family and the vision God has been pouring on us about the future.

Until then, Merry Christmas, if there is any good thing we can give you from Kenya.. it’s just this.. step into the reality of Jesus.. it’s life you have never experienced before. You don’t have to be in Kenya to have it… He is waiting for you, do you dare seek out the real beauty, joy, and adventure there is hidden in the malaise of our world? Let me be frank, we are dying of boredom in America.. are you willing to open your eyes and live for something worth dying for?

When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that He was living everything He was saying – quite a contrast to their religious teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.
Matt 7.28-29
That is what happened after Jesus spoke to people about the reality of life.. read it in the Message if you are interested.. Matt 5-7. It will blow your socks off if you ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes.

Merry Christmas
Carly