Nairobi is the hub for all long and short-term missionaries throughout Kenya to come through, to fly in or out of the country, or to work on documents.

Since Embrace is just outside of the capital, this creates frequent opportunity for visitors to stop by, check out the centre, hear what God is doing, and even share their own testimony with the boys.

This past month we had a very special visitor. Pastor Alex Krupin, the founding director of Embrace, came to visit all the way from Canada. His time with our team was filled with many conversations regarding future ministry plans and how we can improve some of our processes. He spent time with the boys, teaching them to play chess, leading lessons on the basics of electronic communication, and sharing his testimony around the campfire. He also spent some time encouraging the local team through devotions, and other fellowship opportunities.

We thank God for putting the burden on his heart over six years ago to do something about the problem of street children in Kenya, and all the incredible ways lives have been transformed as a result of his obedience to the Lord’s calling.

During Alex Krupin’s time with us, he was also invited to be on the panel of judges for Embrace’s very first Talent Show along with our local ministry directors, John and Palina! The boys were encouraged to explore their talents and prepare a presentation that would be judged on creativity, showmanship and skill. The memorable evening consisted of: dancing, memorized Bible passages, rapping, acrobatics,
musical talents, art pieces, and sports skills. Many boys come off the streets not knowing their own talents and abilities, with little desire to explore their potential. The talent show was a great way to inspire them to strive for a short- term goal, and also possibly spark an interest in pursuing something specific long term.

As 2021 flies by, some boys have spent many months at Embrace with little progress in their rehabilitation, and zero desire to be reintegrated into their broken family. Seeing as a good number of our children have been on the streets for years, the restoration process is a much longer journey in these cases. One of these boys who has been at Embrace for quite some time with no visible desire
to change his life, is Brandon. Our team has felt “stuck” with what step to take next, and decided to just try to take him for a short home stay to see how he would respond to the home environment. He reluctantly agreed to go home, but only for one weekend. The social worker handling his case even kept his work phone on anticipating that Brandon would call to be picked up earlier. Sure enough, first thing Monday morning, there was a phone call from Brandon. But to everyone’s surprise, he was requesting to stay an additional week at home! Upon his return to the center there was evident change in his attitude towards going home to stay, after months of no progress. We thank God for every big and little miracle in the lives of our boys.