Mama Jean's Home

The past month or so has been a whirlwind. Packing, visitors, packing, moving, unpacking, running a ministry and taking care of a baby, let alone caring for the spouse and ourselves, and a surprise death in the family of a wonderful, Godly, man. It's been a rollercoaster ride of emotional and spiritual highs and lows but our eyes have been focused on our One Constant: our Father. He has been so loving, comforting, faithful, peaceful and gracious. "Forever He is glorified. Forever He is lifted high. Forever He is risen. He is alive!" - Forever by Kari Jobe.  It's the song I am currently listening to as I type this; so powerful, so true. He is constant; He is forever.  I can't thank Him enough and ache to love Him even more.

One of the big things going on in our lives right now is five new boys who have entered into our lives and into our hearts: Eugene, Micah, Kevin, Baraka, and Favour.  Here's the story and the reason for the title of this blog.

Jean Williams.  Most people just knew her as Mama Jean.  She loved street boys; her heart was huge for situations and people to help those boys was so evident. We all saw how much God used her and loved her.  

Mama Jean rented a home in a community for her, her staff and her five boys: Eugene, Micah, Kevin, Baraka, and Favour.  These boys went to school down the road, were fed three meals a day and were loved by Mama Jean.  Mama Jean dreamt of adding more street boys to this home; to get them off the street, rehabilitated from sniffing glue and giving them a chance at a bright, long, future.

On February 3rd, Mama Jean suffered a stroke and fell down some stairs, here in our town of Kitale.  With clotting to her brain from the stroke and hemorrhaging from the fall, God took her home on February 18th.  She left behind her five boys and any other boys she would have rescued in the future.

The family to Mama Jean had stated to a fellow missionary friend of ours, who they were in contact with during Mama Jean's health condition, that in memory of their mother, they wanted to keep the home open and running. They had asked if there were any missionaries or ministries that would be willing to run and oversee the home.

It was brought up at a ladies' bible study and I, Meredith, immediately got this sense that Sean and I needed to pray about it. As many people know, Sean and I have had a heart for street kids for many years, having help start an ex-street girls home back in 2008.

Sean and I emailed our board, accountability group and prayer warriors for wisdom, thoughts, opinions, etc.  We went and met the boys and the staff and heard their stories. 

We have felt that Mama Jean's Home could and should be under One 5 Ministries (O5M). After discussions and directions with our board, accountability group and prayer warriors as well as seeing what God is doing with this home, we have moved in the direction of having Mama Jean's Home under O5M.

With the help of God, prayers, and donors, we hope to continue the home in the way that Mama Jean would have liked. It's our hope and prayer that Mama Jean's Home can be a place for future street boys who don't have a home or come from bad backgrounds, to find Mama Jean's to be a place of love, healing, and restoration.  A home where Jesus is taught, followed, loved, and so present.  We are going to disciple these boys, love on them, and train them up to be God following, God fearing men.  

Here are the current five boys of the home:

Baraka

Favour

Micah

Kevin

Eugene

Some of the stories of the boys, include a mother who died and a father who just didn't want his son anymore so drove him hours and hours to Kitale and left him on the streets.  Another case, a mother was unwell , the father wasn't known to the maternal family and the grandmother was left to care for her grandson. She didn't want to care for her grandson; she was old and was done raising kids, so left her grandson at his mother's old house, and walked away from him. She moved so she couldn't be found; he had nowhere to go but to the street.  There is so much abandonment and heartbreak with these stories and so many other boys (and girls) that are on the streets.

Some of these boys have sniffed glue which is terrible for the brain. It's a very common practice with street kids. A habit that is incredibly hard to break; the emotional and spiritual attachment to it takes much healing and a whole lot of Jesus.

Will you join us on this? Will you be a part of these current five boys' lives? Will you help to grow Mama Jean's Home to be all that God has wanted it to be?  It costs about $1,600 CDN ($1,300 US) per month to run the home.  Will you consider helping?

If so, please visit our website (http://www.one5ministries.com/contact-us/), to see how you can donate funds.  If you can donate monthly, that would be great but if not, one-time donations always help too. If your church, your small group, or your family would like to support the home on a monthly basis, that would be great.  No amount is too little; it all matters.

When I wrote the title to the blog, Mama Jean's Home, two meanings came to me.  The first one: it's the name of the home, the name we'll keep in memory of Jean: Mama Jean's Home. The second one, the one that brought a tear to my eye: Mama Jean's Home. Mama Jean IS home.

You are home Mama Jean.  And I am sure our Father said to you, "Well done, My good and faithful servant."

In His Service,

Sean & Meredith