MADE IN THE STREETS
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • About MITS
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Our Programs >
      • Streets
      • School
      • Sending
    • Contact
    • Resources
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sponsor
    • Serve in Kenya >
      • Onboard
    • Intern
    • Give Back
  • Blog
  • Donate

Sleeping Outside

9/27/2019

0 Comments

 
Brad Voss, Executive Director
When I was much younger I loved sleeping outside.  It was so much fun.  I slept in the backyard, on porches, in treehouses, on trampolines, in state parks, on football fields, in tents, in hammocks – even on the side of a mountain (or two).  Anytime I got the chance, I was so happy to sleep outside.  On balmy summer nights growing up in Texas I was thrilled to sleep outside with little more than a blanket of stars across the sky as cover. As I grew a little older I was lucky enough to travel to places like Colorado and New Mexico and Alaska where warm nights were replaced by much cooler nighttime temperatures and thin quilts were replaced by down sleeping bags and four-season tents.  Waking up on those crisp mornings and crawling out of a toasty sleeping cocoon was the stuff of dreams.  For most of my life sleeping outside was incredible.  It was romantic and exciting and fueled some of my happiest memories.

When I made my first trip to Kenya in 2016, sleeping outside took on a whole new perspective and meaning. It was during this trip that I first came face-to-face with children and teenagers who sleep outside every single night. And not because it was fun or adventurous.  And not inside a nice tent or wrapped in a down sleeping bag.  It was on this trip that I learned and understood for the first time that thousands of kids go to sleep - no, try to sleep - outside on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya (and in many other cities around the world).  It’s not romantic.  It’s not filled with happy memories.  It’s cold.  It’s dangerous. And it’s real.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Each night tens of thousands of kids in Kenya and millions of kids around the world will lay their heads down on cold ground – not because it’s fun to sleep outside, but because there is no inside. They didn’t plan to be there, but because of abuse or neglect or lack of resources or a myriad of other reasons, they are there.  The nights are cold and scary and very dark. They will hopefully find friends with whom they can share the night.  They will huddle close together to increase warmth, and they will take turns staying awake to fend off the dangers that often appear in the darkness. And they will pray.  They will pray that the night passes quickly and that the sun shows itself sooner rather than later.  These precious kids love the mornings.  They love seeing the sun come up and feeling the heat that it brings. And they love seeing people (like the team at MADE IN THE STREETS) who love and care for them.
 
I still really like sleeping outside.  I like camping under the stars and the moon with friends and family.  But now, on every night I sleep outside (and on most nights that I sleep inside) I’m mindful of the many incredible kids that are also out there.  I pray that they find warmth.  I pray that they find friends for protection.  I pray that they find a softer, more comfortable spot than the one they found last night.  And I pray that somehow, someway, with God’s help and all of us working together, more of those kids can find their way off of the streets and into the exciting, fun, romantic, and adventurous life of sleeping inside.
 
For more information about how you can help street kids move from outside to inside check out the Plan A Fundraiser or Serve In Kenya pages on the MITS website.
0 Comments

a mits intern experience from    a-z, part iii

9/13/2019

1 Comment

 
Lauren Meandro, Filmmaker Intern
Picture
R - RAIN
The rainy season came late this year and the roads around here get pretty muddy. The mud sticks to your shoes and if you don’t have “gumboots” (rain boots), clean feet will be a thing of the past. While the rain has been an inconvenience, it has helped the farms and we are thankful.
Picture
S - SICK
If you don’t get sick here at least once, then I feel like you really haven’t been to Kenya (it’s pretty much unavoidable, since you’re exposed to so many unfamiliar bacteria). I might as well have been here four times then, since that’s how many times I’ve been unwell! Being sick away from home is never fun, especially in a foreign country, but I have been well taken care of here. I even got to experience a Kenyan hospital - which I can happily say was not a traumatic experience.

​
God also sent a little blessing my way after all my suffering. While bedridden, I craved chicken noodle soup. When I showed up on Monday to work, the visiting group had made Chicken Pho for lunch! I could have cried I was so happy.

Picture
Picture
T - TIME
Kenyan time and American time are different things. As I’m typically late to everything and patient with those who are like me, I figured I would fit right in. However, turns out it’s harder to escape my American roots than I thought. 
U - UNIVERSAL
Another one of my favorite parts about traveling is just discovering how small the world is. Some things that I’ve found to be universal are a baby’s love for silly noises, the love of a good beat, and sharing good food together. Oh, and all small children love the Baby Shark song. You can’t convince me otherwise.
V - VACATION
While on the outside it may look like a vacation, living and volunteering in a foreign country for the summer is definitely hard work. That’s why a break every now and then is so important. Our intern team was able to get away a couple of times to not only rest and be restored, but also to experience other parts of the Kenyan culture! Here are a few pictures from our visit to the coast and our safari in Maasai Mara.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
W - WORSHIP/THE WORD
Listening to people praise and learn about the same God in another language. There’s nothing quite like it. I think I really developed this love when I attended a German church when I lived in Leipzig. Seeing others praise His name in their native tongue, praising Him alongside them, though I don’t know the meaning of the words, learning the countless names for Him (Yesu, Bwana, Mungu, Baba)… It never gets old.
X - EXTRA
Sometimes you think you're going to need a lot more of something than you actually end up using. I for one brought so much sunscreen it’s not even funny. Guess how much I’ve used of it?
Y - YUM
Kenyan food is heavy, but it’s good. Chapati (which is kind of like a thicker tortilla) is a favorite. Also, like, all of the fruit.
Z - ZERO POWER
The power will go out a couple times a month. Sometimes for a couple hours, sometimes a couple days. It’s been an adventure cooking in the dark or coming home to charge a device only to realize you can’t. It’s just all part of living here so you just gotta be flexible.
Picture
1 Comment

a mits intern experience from    a-z, part II

9/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Lauren Meandro, Filmmaker Intern
Picture
I - INTERNS
What a blessing it is to serve with this wonderful team!! Each of us is so different from the other, yet we are bonded by our common goal to love others well. I could write a whole blog about each one of them and the amazing gifts God has given them.
Picture
Picture
Picture
J - JOY
Picture
Whether you’re missing home, in a place you’re completely unfamiliar with, or just overwhelmed by your work and circumstances, it can be hard to have joy. I’m not gonna lie, it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for me so far. I’ve felt lonely, overwhelmed, and anxious. There have been days that I come home feeling like it would have been easier to just stay in the States.

Through these seemingly joyless moments though, I know God is still faithful. Along my daily path, He reminds me in little ways (like a new student walking home with me from Chapel or the sun shining just right through the flowering trees) that He is there and He is with me. I just have to look up from my trudging feet to see Him and to see how I can have joy in those moments. 
K - KARIBU
Picture
“Karibu” is Swahili for “Welcome”. While I have felt homesick, God has also provided warmth and welcome through Kenyan hospitality! The other interns and I have been loved and welcomed into this community so well. 
L - LANGUAGE
The language barrier (or often, the accent barrier) has been rough on me for sure. I’ve never experienced a language quite like Swahili before. Since I have really no other language to compare it to, I have found it much harder to pick up on and understand. Being in a Christian setting has definitely helped, though. Seeing Bible passages I’m familiar with or singing songs I know in English has helped me recognize and translate certain words on my own.

On the flip side though, mispronunciation can sometimes be quite unforgiving (like the time I was practicing numbers with some students and was tricked into saying the word for an uncircumcised man). As with all language barriers and learning though, patience and grace are key. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
M - MATATU
Oh, matatus. Matatus (buses) are the main mode of transportation here, if you don’t have a car. They can be big or small, colorful or just plain, but either way, the entire experience feels like organized chaos (but mostly chaos). 
N - NEW, NORMAL, AND THE "NEW NORMAL"
Picture


​(I didn’t have any pictures of the things I mentioned in this section so enjoy this photo of Madeline with the biggest avocado I think I’ve ever seen.)


As I’ve said before, there have been so many new things it’d take forever to list them all out. However, I’ve been able to take comfort in the few things that are “normal”. Things like grocery stores and worship songs. American dinners and movie theaters. Nutella and Oreos. These things and others have been mostly the same and have made the “new normal” much easier to slip into. 
O - OVERWHELMED
With easy transitions come the hard ones too. I’ve found myself a couple of weeks ago becoming very overwhelmed for several reasons. For one, being a one-woman documentarian has been a difficult transition. I’ve been fortunate enough to do many of my previous projects with a team, or at least around other creative people. While I consider myself a very independent person, it’s been a hard transitioning to working completely by myself on multiple projects. 

Additionally, I found myself being overwhelmed with sadness for some of the former students. Many MITS graduates are successful, but MITS does not have a 100% success rate. There are students, though rare, that succumb to life’s pressures and go back to life on the streets. My heart is broken to think that any of the students I know now could ever struggle like that again.
Picture
P - PRAYER
Picture

​Prayer is the single greatest weapon we have against the enemy. No matter how big or how small, your prayers are needed. Please continue to pray for everyone involved with MITS - the kids on the streets, the students and staff in Kamulu, and the interns!
Q - QUICKMART
The first grocery store we went to. It’s honestly more than a grocery store though, as it has three floors and sells washing machines. It’s in the next town over, Ruai, and takes about 20 minutes to get there. It doesn’t have many American products like some of the larger grocery stores do, but it has Nutella and Oreos, so I’m not complaining.
Picture
0 Comments
    Picture
    When you do this for 20 years, you're bound to pick up a few stories and lessons along the way. Thoughts, impressions, news, and highlights from our staff, visitors, donors, students and alumni.

    Archives

    June 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    20th Anniversary
    Alumni
    Brad
    Charles
    Donors
    Eastleigh
    Ethiopia
    Events
    Giving
    Graduates
    Handmade Tour
    Interns
    Into The World
    Kamulu
    Kenya
    Life At MITS
    Mission Specialists
    Nashville
    Newsletters
    Photography
    Sponsorship
    Streets
    Students
    Student Stories
    Summer
    Updates
    Videos
    Visitors

    have you
    ​read our newsletter?

    Catch up on our latest newsletters below, and then subscribe to make sure you never miss another
Join the Mission and Stay in Touch 

* indicates required

CONTACT     RESOURCES     BLOG     CAREERS
Picture
MADE IN THE STREETS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Federal Tax ID #20-4044723
​409 Franklin Road   |   Brentwood, TN  37027  |   ©2021 MADE IN THE STREETS  |  site by cecily  |  PRIVACY POLICY
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • About MITS
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Our Programs >
      • Streets
      • School
      • Sending
    • Contact
    • Resources
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sponsor
    • Serve in Kenya >
      • Onboard
    • Intern
    • Give Back
  • Blog
  • Donate