Since the beginning of this year we’ve managed to help three new boys leave the street and return to school! No matter what’s going on in the world, the Lord continues to pursuit and rescue the least of these in societies.

Besides the three new boys who have started school we have 3 who have been with us for some time who are in need of sponsors. Since leaving the street they’ve really appreciated the opportunity given to them and have worked hard in the school and in the program. They are blessings and in need of people to help pay for school fees and encourage them to continue on the road they’re on. If you’re interested in helping us to help them, you can contact us to let us know. The cost for child sponsorship is $35.00 per month. Donations for sponsorship can be made here on the donate page, specifying that it’s for sponsorship. Or checks can be mailed to 4180 Avery Lane, Bridgeton, MO 63044.

Following are the 3 boys in need of sponsorship:

Eugene Simiyu is 17 years old and just started high school in January. He came off of the street in 2013 and has changed so much since then. People said that he was unable to learn but he rose from the bottom of his class all the way up to #2 at one point. He loves school and works really hard at it. He also loves to preach and evangelize. He had a sponsor who very sadly died of cancer in January. He did so well on his 8th grade exit exam that we asked him what he’d like as gift and he said “a suit,” that’s why he’s wearing a suit here.

Samuel is 16 years old and in 7th grade. He’s of the Turkana tribe which lives in far northern Kenya. When he was 8 yrs. old, he left home because of poverty and lack of food. He hid underneath the back seats of a bus and traveled all the way to Nairobi. He then landed on the street with other street children, to fend for himself. After attending our feeding program for street children for a couple of years he decided to give his life to Christ and go to school.

Victor’s story is very similar to Samuel’s in that he came from far, from western Kenya, on his own, due to problems at home and a lack of food. He landed in our feeding program with a group of street boys right away and we took him in quickly to protect him from life on the streets. He is 14 years old and in the 3rd grade.

If you’re interested in sponsoring any of these 3 boys please feel free to contact me at tamster1010@gmail.com or treeoflifemilele@gmail.com. Thank you very much!

We’re so grateful to be able to partner with God and His people to change the lives of children living on the streets of Kenya. It’s wonderful to see them heal and grow into the people the Lord created them to be. We’ve now seen 28 former street kids successfully come off of the street and reconcile with relatives, return to school or live at our Center in Kibera and attend school.

We’re so proud of them so I’m going to report on some of their achievements and tell you about a couple of boys who are in need of a sponsor.

First I want to brag on Simiyu, who I’ve blogged about before. He came off of the street and joined us in 2013. When he did, people who knew him said that he wasn’t able to learn. In spite of hearing that we enrolled him in 4th grade in a school. Pretty quickly he was preaching to his class mates and studying hard. He worked hard there and we eventually moved him to a boarding school where he could receive even better instruction. He soon moved up from being ranked in the 30s in his class to number 16, then up to number 9! Then he made it to number 6 and then number 2. He recently took his middle school exit exam and scored very high. Here are his results: ENG 64B- KIS 65B KSL = = MAT 75A- SCI 71B+ SSR 82A TOTAL 357 KNEC

As a reward he asked for a suit, “from bottom to top.” Shoes and all. So here he is, back when he came off of the street and last week in his new suit.

One thing that is very instrumental in the success of a street child once they’ve left the street is a sponsor who supports them with school fees to attend school and emotional and prayer support. We currently have 2 boys in our program who are in need of a sponsor.

Victor came to us last year. he was just 10 yrs. old and had traveled from Western Kenya on his own due to problems at home and a lack of food. We took him in quickly and enrolled him into a school near the Center. He needed some tutoring to catch up with studies in school. He’s worked hard and has made progress scholastically. He’s precious. He’s almost always smiling, and loves to create various things, like his own stereo system out of small boxes and an old phone, a windmill and other things. He’s fascinated with airplanes and we suspect a future as an engineer or a pilot for him. If you’d like to sponsor him you can let contact me or the people at Sheltering Wings, at Sheltering Wings. Here is Victor:

Samuel is another boy who recently came into the Center off of the street. We’ve been ministering to him at the feeding program for almost 3 years now, then July of this year he decided to get saved and start living at the Center. We took him to school quickly and promised him that on the school break we would take him to see the his family, of the Turkana tribe, that he left in very far northern Kenya when he was 8 years old, he’s now 16. He worked hard in school and our staff member, Eva, traveled with him almost to Ethiopia to find his family. They had to do some searching but after talking with many people they found his family and had a great reunion. Sam is in 6th grade now and is in need of a sponsor. Here is Samuel:

Thank you so much for your interest in these wonderful kids and what Father God is doing in their lives! We certainly welcome prayers for them and the projects in Kenya! God bless you!!

“In the middle of its street and of the river, on this side and on that side, was a tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit according to each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:2

Here at Tree of Life we celebrate that the Lord is helping us to produce fruit and bring healing to the nation of Kenya! It is a miraculous and Heavenly thing to be a part of and witness, as watch Him bring in more and more street children and transform not only their lives, but the lives of their families as well and their communities. We praise God for that!

In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will remain-so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” As we lean on Him and trust Him to bear the fruit He desires in the vineyard we’re working in, we see Him produce everlasting fruit. This fruit won’t be burnt up in fire as it’s not wrought by human will or ambition. As we spend intimate time with Him and allow Him to cultivate His work through us, by the guidance of His Spirit, we get to see Him do exceedingly, abundantly above anything we can ask or think of.

Some of that fruit we’ve seen recently at the work of Tree of Life, in association with Sheltering Wings, in Kenya, is more young people leaving the streets to work towards a better life, and ultimately fulfilling the purpose and destiny that Father God has on their lives. We are so grateful for this. It’s also a joyful thing to witness the former street boys and girl who have been with us for some years thrive in the endeavors they’re involved in.

Two of our former street children are #2 in their class, one has been receiving distinctions in technical school. At least 4 of them are prefects in their class (a student leader), one teaches the Bible to others in his class, 4 are amazing footballers (or soccer players), one of them is captain of his school soccer team. Most importantly though, they’re all falling in love with Jesus from what we see. They’re making an effort to learn about Him and follow Him. They’re all active in the church youth group and church. We praise God to see what He’s done in their lives. God is faithful, and will complete the work that He’s started in them (Philippians 1:6). He will continue to till and prune the branches of His vine (John 15:5).

We now have 15 young people in our program who have left the street and are studying in school. Father God loves His kids so much, and is a good, good Father!

Two of the newest boys to join the program are Peter and Benjamin. Peter came to the feeding program one day sick with pneumonia, which caused him to help us find his mom. She lives in the Kibera slum and often just didn’t have enough food for him, so he left to try to make his way on the street. She is very happy for him to receive help.

Benjamin came to feeding program one day with a broken ankle after being hit by a car. We took him to a clinic and he was given a cast. We then were able to find his mom who lives just up the street from us. His estranged dad had confused him and caused him to run away from his mom and go to the streets. She had been praying for him to change and leave the streets. She cried to see that he was getting help. He’s now in school.

Thank you for your contributions to help us make it possible for these precious young lives to be transformed. They are treasures. Our needs to make this possible are many. To put these two boys in school cost $500, and school fees is owed for them for a little over $300. Your donations will help us to keep all of the programs running smoothly – the rescue center, feeding program, school supplies and fees. If you wish to give there is a donate button on this site or you can give through PayPal, we are a registered charity with them, at treeoflifemilele@gmail.com.

Asante sana! Thank you very much, be very blessed!

At the Angela Rescue Center in Kenya we’re seeing Psalm 96:3 lived out.  It says “Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.”

In Kenya we’re seeing His glory and telling people about it.  God IS glorious!  One way, I believe, that we see His glory here on earth is through the wonderful things that He does in our lives.  The times when he shows up and touches people, influences circumstances, or heals our bodies, we experience God, and His glory.  

At the Angela Rescue Center we’ve seen God bring more street boys to our feeding program over the past two months.  An average of 10 boys come twice per week to eat, learn the Word of God, bathe, wash their clothes, receive medical care, and sometimes new clothes.  Our prayer is that they’ll decide to come off of the streets, like the former street kids we help, and let us help them go to school.  With this group it seems that their habit of huffing glue has thus far prevented them from making the decision to leave life on the streets behind them.  They can use prayer to help them fight addiction and step into the destiny that the Lord has for them.

Another glorious thing that we praise God for is our former street kids progressing through school.  The Lord continues to provide the finances to help 11 former street kids fulfill their dreams of going to school.  Two more have entered high school this year, which is quite an expense in Kenya, so we’re very grateful to be able to see them fulfill their education dreams.  One of the kids who graduated on to high school this January scored so good on his 8th grade exit exam, that he was awarded a spot in a provincial school.  He’s now finished the first term of the school and achieved very high marks.  We are proud of him and we know that Jesus is too!

One place where we love to see God’s glory is in His creation.  I think we would all agree that nature is a definitely great place to receive revelation of just how great, creative, intelligent, fun, loving and glorious our God is.  So we sent our former street kids on an outing to the Nairobi National Park for a game drive.  Nairobi is the only city in the world with a game park in the city limits.  The kids were thrilled and inspired as they witnessed some of God’s amazing creatures, such as zebras, bison and lions, up close.

And on the same day, the kids managed to find time to do a bit of their own creating, as they laid concrete and pieces of stone tiles on the front porch of the Centre.  They beautified the outdoor “shower” floor with the concrete and tiles too.

And here in the good ol’ US of A, the Lord has opened doors for me to spread the good news of how He is spreading His glory in Kenya.  In Arizona I was blessed to be able to be a guest on the Embassy of Hope internet/cable TV show with Tina Michelle.  Tina Michelle is an actual emissary for certain UN projects, and a lover of Jesus.  She does an anointed TV show and I enjoyed being a part of it.

Those are just some of the ways that God is revealing His glorious self to us in Kenya.  Our prayer is that you too are blessed with experiences of His love and glory in your lives too.  We are grateful that you are along with us in this amazing journey of experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  To contribute to the wonderful work the Lord has us doing in Kenya you can do so through the donate button on this website.  You’re donations are greatly appreciated as the needs are many for the ministry and everything we receives goes a long way towards the success of the projects there.  Thank you very much.  God bless you!

Life is a battle, between good and evil. Between the Kingdom of God and the realm of satan, as well as this world’s system. Between light and darkness. We are constantly fighting it out. Making decisions that favor one kingdom over another. Working with street children in Africa I have seen the battle play out very blatantly, with very obvious consequences to choices made. I’ve seen repeatedly, when one of them is about to come up out of the destructive circumstances they’re in, that they will quite often actually be physically beaten, by someone, whether it be other kids, a family member, or a security guard. I’ve seen that when the devil has you down, he does not like to see you come up, and you must fight that oppression.

Here are ways that I’ve seen street kids overcome the opposition that comes against them as they endeavor to enter into a new life, free of lack and destruction.

1) They don’t quit. When they go to school and classmates younger than them make fun of them for being older than the usual student, they don’t quit. They stay in school and keep learning, with their goals in mind.

2) They leave behind old habits and friends. If they huffed glue on the street or smoked marijuana, they stop those things. If they were hanging around others who decide to stay on the streets they stop hanging around those people.

3) They find new habits and friends. Some of them start attending a youth group, or may start playing football (soccer), join a football club, join school and get busy studying. They sometimes have mentors who they spend time with.

4) They have goals. They might make a decision such as, “I’m going to finish high school, no matter how old I am when I finish.” They sometimes decide they are going to succeed at a particular job or career, so that they can in turn help others. They may purpose to have a family of their own, and other various positive goals.

5) They are appreciative. They are grateful for the chance to rise above the life they were in. They’re grateful to have regular meals, that they don’t have to beg for. To have a safe place to sleep, a bed, good people around them, clean clothes, and medical care when needed. They’re grateful to those who have helped them up and to have people around them who love them.

6) They remember. Most of them remember where they’ve come from, the situation that they’ve come from and progress they’ve made. This helps to keep them appreciative as well as to remember that they have overcome obstacles in the past and will do so again when challenges come.

7) They put they’re faith and trust in God. This is last on this list but by no means least. The street children rescues that I have helped with over the years have been done with a huge amount of divine intervention from a Father in Heaven who loves His kids very much. The rescues very obviously couldn’t have been done by any other means. The kids realization of this and continued relationship and trust in Him keeps them growing and learning well. It also helps them to be victorious over new challenges.

I pray that you too can overcome all of the enemy’s activity in your life by doing as the street kids who I’ve seen be successful in entering into a whole new life have done. God is able to help you win every battle and see you all the way through to the finish line, triumphantly.

“And having disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15

Be blessed. You are tremendously, immensely loved.

During a recent visit to Phoenix, Arizona, on June 2nd, 2016, I was outside late one night talking on the phone to people in Kenya and praying. It was well past 3:00 a.m. when I decided to head back inside the house to go to bed. Just as I was about to grab the door handle to go back inside the house, the Lord spoke to my spirit and said “No, stay.”

I had experienced a similar instance before in Northern Kenya while visiting missionaries who minister to the Samburu tribe. In the morning I had stepped out of my tent to enjoy the beautiful view of clouds resting on the nearby mountains, when the Lord seemed to say to me strongly to go back inside. I went back inside my little tent and shortly after heard people coming through the bush in our direction. I still don’t know exactly why I needed to be out of view, though we did get robbed later while we were away from the tents. It turned out that some curious Samburu children decided to rummage through our host couple’s tent and take some items that they’re not accustomed to seeing, such as a mirror and make-up, which they later returned.

So in Phoenix when the Lord told me to stay outside longer, I obeyed and proceeded to pace and pray, thinking a lot about the cross, the wonderful things that Jesus accomplished for us when He died on the cross, and then rose from the dead. During that time there was a sudden, huge, burst of light, not far above the tree line, that looked as if the sun had decided to come out for a bit. This was close to 4:00 a.m. In fact, when I looked at my phone after staring at the sky for a little bit, it said 3:58, so I knew it was just before that.
Shortly after the huge burst of light, there was a sonic boom. I sat amazed and asked the Lord what I had just seen and heard. Dawn started to break not long afterwards which seemed early to me, so I checked the internet on my phone to see what time sunrise was to be. When looking at that information I saw that astronomical twilight was to occur that morning at 3:56. Since that seemed awfully close to the time of the burst of light, I decided to study twilight a bit. I learned that astronomical twilight is when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon, but most importantly, that twilight is essentially the period of time between dark and light.

I went to bed at 6:00 a.m., and after waking up a few hours later I checked online to see if there was news about what I had seen. The first news I saw was from CBS saying that a “Fireball,” or a meteor, had crossed the sky over Arizona, breaking up over Tucson. And amazingly, video on which the comet had been captured showed that it came through at 3:56 am, the same time as astronomical twilight that day.

So what is God saying? That same day I was drawn to Romans 13:11-12, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
I believe that God is saying to be alert, and be encouraged, because night is drawing to a close and the day is at hand. We are at twilight time! Between this world as we know it and the New Jerusalem that we all look forward to. As we see everything that can be shaken being shaken, it’s not time to retreat or retire, but to re-fire and head towards the battle, and write pages of history that can only be written at this time that we are so privileged to be alive in. Though the apostles and prophets and disciples wrote about this time that we’re in, we are the ones chosen to live in them. And all that Christ did on the cross is still what the world needs to hear about, believe and put their trust in. That eternal, redeeming love and soul saving sacrifice. The fire of God will enable us to do great exploits for Him in these days. Ask for the fire of God. Then we can witness the Kingdom of God spread like a “fireball” across this twilight we’re in as we step out to do His will. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11

So be encouraged and stay in hope. And ask the Lord what stories He would have you to write on the pages of history as you set out to do His will here on earth at this extraordinary time. God bless you!

Here in Kenya we’ve been ministering to a group of street boys for several weeks now.  They are precious.  Really in need of help.  I’ve not yet seen anyone reaching out to help them.  Several of them had developed a habit of huffing glue, but I believe that the Lord is setting them free of that now.

On of the boys, Tobias, is 13 years old and says that he’s been living on the streets now for at least 2 years.  He looks younger than 13.  He says he left his home in the Kibera slum because of an alcoholic parent and being beaten.

His teeth are obviously in need of dental work.  At a nearby clinic a doctor said that he can assist with the cost and place caps on the top front 6 teeth, from canine to canine, for around $100 per tooth.  If anyone would like to help with that please feel free to do so.

Thank you so much for caring about the poor and helping them with us and the Lord.  Be eternally blessed.

Tammy

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,”  Luke 4:18

Here in Nairobi, Kenya we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to feed hungry street kids and adults and even help many of them come off of the streets and make progress in school and church and in their families and communities.

Now that we have many in settled and pushing along in school we’d like to get out and help more of the ones who are still on the street and in need of a helping hand with food, medical care, haircuts, shoes and counseling.  If you would like to help us help these people feel free to use the donate button on the site to contribute to this project.

Thank you very much.  May you have a very blessed year this 2016.

Simiyu is a boy who we rescued off of the streets last year.  His mom died some years ago, leaving him with his dad.  Then dad was sent to jail for crimes he was involved in.  That’s how he ended up living on the streets.  We saved him from the streets but since then Jesus has saved him from an eternity without being in the presence of a beautiful, loving, awesome God.  We are so happy for him.

We thought that Simiyu’s dad was going to get released soon from jail, but instead we haven’t heard from him for a while now.  Simiyu loves the street kids that he used to live with.  So much so that one time he stole a small cooking stove from the school that was used as a bunsen burner there.  He took it to the kids on the street so they could use it to cook.  Needless to say the school wasn’t happy about that.  Simiyu tried to retrieve it from his friends but to no avail.  He said he told God he was sorry and that God forgave him.  And indeed He did.  I told him how wonderful it is that he cares about the boys on the streets so much, but he can’t be a Robin Hood, then I had to explain to him who Robin Hood was.

Simiyu is a precious soul who is always smiling and is so happy t be in a good place and going to school.  We love him and are very grateful for the help of people to help us care for him.  The following video is kind o a rough one of him saying thank you too.  His ability to speak English is steadily growing.  God bless you.

A thank you from Simiyu ~

As I walked to the grocery store one day in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013, I ran across some of the street boys who I had been ministering to for about a year by then. In the course of our conversation my little friend, Victor, asked if I would buy him some yogurt, a coveted treat for the street kids, besides bread and milk.

After completing my shopping and returning to Victor with his yogurt, I was surprised to find he was no longer there. An unusual occurrence when yogurt is on the way. Instead there was a boy who looked to be about 10 yrs. old whom I’d not seen on the streets before. He informed me that Victor had returned to the town of Kawangware, where the street boys’ “base” is, the place where they sleep in little sheet metal houses. It’s about a mile walk to there. Victor’s departure made this new boy the lucky recipient of his yogurt.

The boy told me his name was Melckzedeck, like Melchizedeck in the Bible. I thought that was neat because I had been listening to scriptures that day which talked about Melckizedeck, and “how great he was.” When I asked him if he wanted to come off of the streets and go to school he said that he did. I told him to be at that same spot at 6pm that evening as I would be coming back that way. Sure enough, he was there at 6pm. Over the next 2 weeks I looked hard for a long-term place for him to stay, researched his background, and every day or 2 bought him enough food to keep him from having to beg. He had found a safe place to sleep where he looked after a guy’s place while the guy worked overnight. Melckzedeck was always faithful to meet on time and obey instructions given that would help keep him safe while I looked for him a good place to stay. He even went to a certain church on Sundays by himself, where some people treated him really well and some didn’t unfortunately.

Melckzedeck’s nickname is Bush. For a while in Kenya I had a cat named Bush. One night I had a dream that I was holding my cat, Bush, and brushing bread crumbs off of her unusually full belly while her tail wagged showing she was very happy. But she at the same time she had tears streaming down her cheeks as well. I figured that the Lord was talking to me about Melckzedek, and the next day as I was about to get off of the bus to meet him I told the Lord that I understand the bread crumbs, full belly and being happy, but asked what the tears meant. I spotted Melckzedeck right when I got off the bus and could tell that he was upset. Up close I could see that he had white tracks down his cheeks, evidence of some tears. When I asked him what was wrong he said that an askari, or security guard, had beaten him quite thoroughly. He had the wounds to prove it. He hadn’t done anything wrong, just was standing too close to the mall and the askari took that as opportunity to unleash some fury onto him, as commonly happens to the unprotected kids who live on the streets. They’re looked down on a lot and some people don’t want them too close to a nice place like the mall.

I eventually learned that he did have a mom, who lived in the Kibera slum and a grandma as well. There had been some family problems that caused him to run away. We provided counseling for his mom and she improved greatly and was able to start working again. She now works in Saudi Arabia and he stays with his grandma and little brother. Sponsorship has enabled him to go to school and helps to feed him and his family. Last year he received Jesus as his Savior and is active in the youth group at our church. He’s also the prefect (leader) of his class now.

Thank you so much for helping us do the important work of rescuing kids from the streets and transforming lives in Africa. You’re awesome. God is most awesome! If you’re interested in sponsoring a former street boy let us know, there are some waiting for a sponsor. God bless you.

Melckzedeck & little brother.

Melckzedeck doing a magic trick.

Bush and little Bush

Melckzedeck and an ndovu (elephant) at the grocery store.