Not many parents can lay claim to having 2,500 children, but such is the relationship of Charles and Esther Mulli to their adopted family that each child knows them as “Mummy” and “Daddy.” From the very small beginning of taking three young, helpless street children into their home to live alongside their biological family, Charles and Esther have become established as parents (as some have said) of the largest family in the world! But it’s not just that they provide a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, but a whole enterprise of education, health care, the development of barren land, business, a model of agriculture to the wider community and so much more has come about. Every sphere of life is included.
Of course there are human elements in this story. Charles Mulli himself had become a wealthy Kenyan businessman, despite the poverty and lack of opportunity of his own childhood. He laid aside all the benefits of material prosperity to invest in those who had nothing. But this alone does not suffice as an explanation! It is a story of the living God, taking possession of a humble family and enabling a stream of life to flow out of their hearts to bless and enrich others.
This work did not grow out of vision but out of opportunity. Every true work of God starts that way. As one opportunity is taken, another presents itself, ever growing, ever expanding, until a pattern and picture become clear about the way ahead. Part of that picture is unfinished. A university is now planned to provide a level of education and qualification for those unable to afford the normal means. And what next? Only God, in whose heart this began, really knows!
Enjoy this book, enjoy this family, and enjoy the God who is making it all happen.
Charles Price, former senior pastor of People’s Church in Toronto, Canada and host of Living Truth, an hour-long international television ministry program
Introduction
Each of us is on a journey through life. We have the opportunity to choose the direction our life on earth will take. In my life, at a time when everything seemed completely hopeless, I responded to God’s call and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. That simple, profound act set my life on a journey of faith in rescuing thousands of children through Mully Children’s Family (MCF) in Africa. I have experienced the transforming power of God’s love in my own life and in the lives of many others. I have faced so many challenges and seen the impossible become possible. And I have encountered God every step of the way.
And this is possible for you, too.
My dream in writing this book is for you to gain a deeper understanding of our God who lives in us who believe—that you will have confidence in His power. I want to share my journey of faith with you so that you can have a glimpse of life up in the mountains and down in the valleys as I have overcome many challenges and done great things in the Lord. I hope this story will help you see how God is at work using His people today like He used them many years ago—people like Moses and Joshua.
And I hope this book will challenge you to evaluate yourself to see if you are living in the fulfillment of God’s wonderful purpose for your life.
Be blessed and encouraged in the love of Jesus.
Charles Mutua Mulli
Chapter One: The 25th Anniversary—A Celebration of What God Has Accomplished
The MCF celebrated 25 years of existence on November 14, 2014. Within this period, we have been able—by the grace of God—to transform the lives of thousands of young Kenyan children and restore their hope after they had been abandoned. With the motto of “Saving Children’s Lives” MCF has endeavoured to heal hurting souls and turn sad faces into happy ones. We have touched the lives of children who had no hope and have given them an opportunity to flourish.
These were 25 years of tremendous humanitarian intervention and transformation undertaken by MCF—a charitable organization that I established in 1989 to care for orphaned, vulnerable, abandoned, abused and neglected children.
It started with a simple, absolute surrender to God’s call. And He has blessed it beyond what I could ever have imagined. We have major centres in Ndalani and Yatta in Machakos County and branches in Kitale (Kipsongo), Kilifi (Vipingo) and Lodwar. By the grace of God we have been used to rescue more than 10,000 precious children.
Friends, supporters, partners and other stakeholders from all over the world attended our silver jubilee celebration. We had guests from Uganda, Tanzania, Canada, Australia, Germany, America, Taiwan and other countries where we have friends who have partnered with us over the years to save children’s lives. Over 3,000 people were in attendance. It was also a moment of reunion for MCF beneficiaries. Former MCF children who were serving in various capacities in Kenya and even globally were happy to come back home and meet with their daddy, mummy, brothers and sisters. The highly publicized event was covered live on national television.
The celebration took place at MCF Yatta and was marked by jubilation and thanksgiving as the children who were once desperate were now full of hope. Many of them had achieved their life dreams. Their beaming faces reflected a great sense of renewal, confidence and optimism. People who were once considered a nuisance were now very useful members of society. Most of them were already serving in key professions across the country and abroad. They gave moving testimonies of how MCF had positively impacted their lives.
Their stories of triumph filled my heart with joy. I was impressed and humbled to see how God had enabled us to go out and touch children’s lives by turning their misery into victory. MCF has saved these thousands of children from the harsh, cruel street life and nurtured them into men and women of substance.
“I came here after being rescued from the streets, where I had lived for many years. I was so hopeless. But later I learned that it does not matter where you come from; what matters is where you are going,” one of the beneficiaries testified. These sentiments were echoed by many other MCF beneficiaries.
It was amazing to hear the stories of children who used to rummage through garbage cans in the streets, for as many as ten years, who had never gone to school, had nothing to eat, had nowhere to sleep and did not know God. But all these circumstances changed. They came to know God and received an education, followed by special training for various careers. Now they are earning incomes and leading honourable lives.
These are children who used to spend their lives walking the streets, carrying heavy sacks filled with leftovers and satisfying their addiction to glue. Their health was poor due to persistent drug abuse, malnourishment and a diet consisting of mainly filthy leftovers found in the garbage. They did not know values such as honesty, courtesy, love or kindness. All they knew was fighting, abusing one another, plotting malice against one another, stealing and even killing.
But after undergoing rehabilitation at MCF, their lives changed dramatically for the better. They became physically, mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually healthy. They came to lead dignified lives full of hope. Most of them have gone on to succeed in life.
They gave numerous testimonies about everything being possible with God. Their faces denoted happiness and contentment—something that told a very long and exciting story. This reinforced our theme for the day: Celebrating 25 years of our unfathomable God. It is true—God is unfathomable, because He can perform miracles that no human being understands. He can move mountains, He can change the course of a river, and He can make a way where there seems to be no way.
In Psalm 118:22, the Bible says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This was true in the lives of these children. These children were the stone that was rejected. Just like in the story of the stone that was rejected by the builders, these children were considered less important in society. I personally witnessed how society regarded the children as less significant, but God transformed them into pillars of society. How is it possible that a child who had been in the streets for as many as ten years could eventually rise up to become a medical doctor? How could you expect an abandoned child from a remote cattle-rustling-prone area to defeat all odds to become a leading information