 street scene in rural Kenya Early life
Mike writes: "I was born in 1977 and when I was twenty one months old my mother left me, and turned me over to be cared for by my grandmother. She was very old, but she did her best to look after me. When I reached school age, she handed me over to my uncle who took me to elementary school. When I was in the third grade I gave my life to Jesus, then from there my life began a new change. My uncle never accepted my call as a born again young boy and things were not good for me because my uncle’s wife threatened to poison me, and so I had to leave his home. After I finished my elementary education I went far away to get some employment. Soon after that I went to my pastor to ask for help to attend high school to further my education. But my pastor didn’t help much and discouraged the idea. By 1999, I was a grown man and had planned to go into youth ministry, but the Lord told me to go back and work with children. So I went back and began to minister to the children, which I still do up until this very day."
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 Irene God's blessings
Mike continues: "God has really done great things and has given me contacts, who are helping me even today. One day a lady saw me in my village and realized how poor I was, with no clothes to cover my nakedness, and I was preaching with torn clothes. She asked me if she could help me start a small business so that I could buy some clothing and bedding. She gave me just a small amount of Kenyan money (200KS - about $4 US) and I really worked hard, and so I began a small business in the year 2000, just within our village. I began working around people’s homes and in the markets, and I made a living out of that. This business also helped me pay for my college fees. Then after going to college, I was back again to having nothing, but I had plans of getting married, although we had a lot of problems. Many people said that since I don’t have parents, and as my wife, Irene, comes from a different country (Uganda), things for us would be very hard. At that time I didn’t even have a home to offer my wife."
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 Mike and family 2014 Home and family
"But today (2008) my wife, Irene, and I thank God so much that we do have a home and are debt free, and we also have a four year old son, Trevor, and beautiful twin baby girls, Anna and Joy. It is my prayer that the Lord will continue to lead us His way." God has blessed Mike and Irene with their own home on the edge of town, where, like most of their neighbors, they grow a few vegetables and raise some chickens. Although their home is humble, it is frequently filled with either children, Christian co-workers or visitors, as the Lord continues to increase Mike and Irene's ministry.
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 Mike and Francis making puppets Friends
Mike continues: "I suffered total rejection from my mama who has never shown me who is my father. The church also rejected me in the past. But today after so many years of suffering and difficulty, the Lord has now blessed me with a very good wife, Irene, and a wonderful son, Trevor, and friends like Kathy, Shirley, Yanina, Micki, Shannon, Denise and many others who even live in other parts of the world. So now I have a big family because this family is the family of God and I have decided to put all of my faith in God who is the source of all my provision." Michael Mwanikha
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