Life at the Center 

In December we celebrated the end of 2021 and shortlyafter, on January 19th, we celebrated a very excitingmilestone – 1 year of Embrace a Street Child in Nairobi! Asper Kenyan tradition, a number of visitors joined us,including pastors , neighbours, government officials andrepresentatives from partner organizations. All of themcame to participate in the celebration and encourage ourteam and boys. Our special guest was Derrick Mwangi. InSeptember 2021, after rehabilitation at Embrace Center,he was reunited with his family and supported to continuehis education. 

On January 19th, he traveled from home to share histestimony of how God has used Embrace to rescue himfrom the streets and give him the start to a better, hope-filled future. He encouraged the boys to trust in the Lordand not run away from Embrace. Other boys shared abouthow their lives had changed since being rescued from thestreets. There was singing, dramas, games and the Gospelmessage. And of course everyone enjoyed a delicious lunchwith the biggest cake in Embrace history! We thank Godfor His Grace and faithfulness thus far. 

The past 2 months have been filled with man ynew faces for our boys. Teams and individuals from various countries stopped by our Center, some for a few hours and others for several days. They participated in daily programs and many used the opportunity to share their personal testimonies ofhow Jesus saved them. A few of the visitors had histories of drug addiction and it was a great encouragement for our boys to once again be reminded of the Gospel and that Christ is the onlyOne who can save, free, heal and transform them.The “Choose Life Ministries” team visited us and leda seminar for our staff team and missionaries onthe relevant topic of “Burnout Prevention in LongTerm Ministry”. 

Thank you to “Step30 Ministries” for generously donating another container to Embrace! We plan to convert it into a workshop which will be used for construction projects and training boys in various trade skills. We also welcome volunteers who are qualified and experienced in construction and have the desire to teach our boys hands-on skills. 

Reintegration 

As we reflect on the challenges of reintegration here in Nairobi, we thank God for the 20 boys we have who are still home, of the 24 we have reintegrated up to date. 

Patrick Mcheusi was placed with his grandparents and returned back to school where he is doing well. Henry Kafiro, Michael Kimani and James Mwangi are all older boys who have been reunited with their families, and are currently inactive search for vocational training opportunities to help prepare them for adult life and finalize the reintegration process. 

We continue to follow up with our boys at home who have been reintegrated through both Centers in Kitale and Nairobi and empowering them with the necessary physical, emotional and spiritual support. 

Vincent is in secondary school, and Johnte is finishing up vocational training in welding. Both boys shared this month how thankful they are for Embrace, and how God has given them a new life at home. 

Please continue praying for Brandon andKamwangi, who have both been at Embrace sinceJanuary 2021, and might have potential breakthroughsin their cases for placement soon!

Team Updates 

We have been actively searching for additionalKenyan staff members to fill the positions of a Biblical counsellor, social worker and caregiver. It has been a challenge to find the right candidates since we are primarily looking for genuine believers with a desire to serve God through an employment opportunity. But we are thankful God answered our prayers and Washington recently joined our team as a Biblical counsellor! We hope he will fill in several gaps in the spiritual rehabilitation process at the Center as well as the spiritual growth of boys reintegrated home. Please join us in praying for God to bring the right people to serve at Embrace.