Life Changer!

Ashley, from the Hardin Valley
group with Mercy's baby!

     This time of year begins the annual trek of weekly visitors to our work here at Made In The Streets.  As it stands now we currently have two different groups here doing the important tasks of encouraging our kids and supplementing the work of our staff.  The Handmade Tour Group arrived almost two weeks ago and consists of college kids and one adult sponsor. They spend time meeting our kids, teaching classes, observing the different phases of our ministry and just loving on the kids.  They will work with us for about four to five weeks and then they will return to the states where they will visit churches and universities talking about the work that is going on at Made In The Streets.  We also have a group from Knoxville, TN (Hardin Valley church of Christ) who arrived a little less than a week ago.  They have been spending the morning and early afternoons at a place called Paradise Lost holding a bible camp for street kids.  They then return to Kamulu-MITS in the afternoon and hold a camp for our students . . . which finishes everyday with a soccer match.

     Many of you have no idea the encouragement we receive when guests come to MITS.  The joy and energy they bring, the ready and willing love they so quickly give out and the steady hands ready to perform anything we ask or need of them.  Our kids are so excited to meet the new visitors, to learn their names and to just spend time getting to know them.  We also as a staff receive the benefit of getting to show visitors what we so proudly do.  We get the opportunity to show them where we walk the streets, the kinds of classes we teach, and what our daily duties are.  One of the most important things i think we get to do is tell them stories about the changed lives of so many of our students . . . about how "so and so" used to live on this corner in Eastleigh and after attending MITS and graduating, this "so and so" now has a successful job as a mechanic, a salonist or a cook.  They get to imagine what life must have been like for these kids and just how much change God has put them through to deliver them to where they are.  

The Handmade Tour Group, minus Callie & Michelle
and plus Taylor (summer merchandise intern).

     You see, MITS is one big Christian family.  We love sharing MITS and our stories about MITS with people because it is all about God changing lives.  In case you didn't know . . . God is all about changing lives!  Abraham was just another guy who lived in Ur, until God came along and called him to a new place and into a covenant with Him.  Joseph was a lowly little brother, a slave, a servant and a prisoner when God called him to become second in command in the nation of Egypt.  Moses was just a shamed shepherd until God appeared in a burning bush and called him to free the Israelite nation. Rahab was a prostitute living in a heathen city when God used her to help the Israelites.  Esther was a poor, beautiful young lady chosen to be queen to the most powerful king in all the land when she was called to be courageous and stand up for the Israelite people.  Mary was a scared young woman when God called on her to bear His Son.  Saul (named changed to Paul) was beating, arresting and murdering Christians when he had his vision on the road to Damascus and changed his life to teach others about Jesus.  You see . . . God has always been in the business of changing lives.

     In case you hadn't noticed, many of our kids are in need of a life changer. Many of them come from rough places with rough backgrounds with no hope of ever really knowing God or achieving any kind of self-worth.  Their lives are full of drugs, stealing, poverty, violence and malnourishment.  They have no conceivable plans for the near future and live only for the day hoping to survive until the next.  Most meals come from the trash dump or from what they can beg.  Most money comes from stealing or from the scrap metal that they can collect and sale.  And finally they have no idea who God is . . .that He loves them, that He created them for a purpose and that He wants to be their hope.  Instead, they want to know that if there is a God, "Where is He?", "Why did he place me here?".  

Katie, from the Hardin Valley group, posing for a pic
with Johnson.

     Thank God that our Father is in the business of changing lives!  That He wants to call these kids from the streets to something better.  That He has a plan for their lives that they can only dream about.  That He wants to change their shortcomings into strengths because of their reliance on Him.  That He wants to shore up their struggles and give them freedom through His Son. That He wants to change their stories into something that tells of the amazing work of a Father who loves them!  There is a story told about a man named Edward Steichen.  Following is a short version of his life story: 

Edward Steichen, who eventually became one of the world's most renowned photographers, almost gave up on the day he shot his first pictures. At 16, young Steichen bought a camera and took 50 photos. Only one turned out -- a portrait of his sister at the piano. Edward's father thought that was a poor showing. But his mother insisted that the photograph of his sister was so beautiful that it more than compensated for 49 failures. Her encouragement convinced the youngster to stick with his new hobby. He stayed with it for the rest of his life, but it had been a close call. What tipped the scales? The vision to spot excellence in the midst of a lot of failure. (Bits & Pieces, February 4, 1993, pp. 4-5.)

     Thank goodness that we have a God who can spot excellence in the midst of a lot of failure!  When i look over our kids, i see young people who have made a lot of mistakes in life.  I see kids, in some instances, who never really had a chance in life because of the circumstances they grew up under.  When i look at our kids, i am thankful that God is in the business of changing lives and i am excited to see what he will do in each and every one of our students. And i don't say this just on the behalf of the street kids that we work with. When i look at myself, i thank God that He can see something redeeming in me in spite of all of my failures.  That despite the mistakes i have made in my life He stills sees me as someone who is worthy of His love, someone who He designed for a purpose, someone who He wants to use to share His love to the world!

     How about you?  Do you see the excellent things that God sees in you?  Do you see the unique abilities that God has placed in you to help you realize your full potential for the Lord?  Do you see the mistakes in your life and how they have helped to shape you and mold you more into what God wants you to be?  Today i just want to encourage you to look to change your life more into the person that God wants you to be!