CHANGING OVER BLOGS!!

Hey guys! Maggs and I are back in Kenya and some really exciting things are happening! BUT, AMCC now has their own website with a new blog on it. To go to the new blog, click here www.amcckenya.org

This is appropriate because "nicknkenya" just doesn't work out now that I'm married!! Love you guys! and hope to have you check out the new blog and everything that's happnin here in Kenya!

Nick

E-mail from Mark

Hello and greetings friend of AMCC!
I pray that this email finds you well and warm in this cold time of year. Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who as John recently reminded me, is the one who is Lord of heaven, earth, and even under the earth!

I had the privilege of speaking with John last night on skype and wanted to pass on to you the joy that I had during that conversation. As John said, "We much many things for which he give God the praise!"

Last week, on the 23rd, everyone at AMCC went to a Christmas party held by a soap and cooking oil company that is headquartered in Thika, Kenya. There the children sang songs, John led some prayers, and everyone ate "very much Asian food". The children had a wonderful time, and I am especially glad for this opportunity for each of them to sense that they are special, and are worth having a party for. A bit of the Father's heart for them was shown in this, and I'm just stoked about that.
During their time at the party a student ministry from the University of Nairobi visited AMCC's building to deliver Christmas gifts. Upon finding them gone, they called John, who told them where to leave their gifts. They came back to flour, sugar, rice, and even popcorn kenrels! This started a flood of gifts for AMCC! Their equivalent Senator (called a Minister of Parliament there) had his "a very big Christmas cake" delivered to them. Their local government officials also brought maize, beans, and rice- enough to feed them through the month of January!
With all of these gifts, AMCC's costs for January will include only rent, gas for a lamp, salaries, firewood, and cooking oil! As John said, "God is doing great things!"
I am personally incredibly encouraged by all of this. It is profound how God has been providing for AMCC, and I'm especially elated to see Him moving through Kenyans! It is a testimony to me of His faithfulness, and also that AMCC is doing good work!

Speaking of good work, the 8th grade exam results were announced today. It's the equivalent of ACT's, except for 8th graders. We are looking forward to the 5 students at AMCC continuing on into high school (half of the 8th grade class at their local school won't score high enough to be allowed into 9th grade anywhere). There are also nine 9th graders at AMCC who just finished with high enough grades to go to 10th grade. We are really proud of them.

Last time I wrote about the large debt that AMCC was in. Thanks be to God, different individuals donated $800 and this helped AMCC get out from their most pressing creditors. John told me that he can now turn his cell phone on again, and I'm thankful that he is sleeping a bit easier. They are still in debt, to the tune of about $500. If anyone feels led to donate to AMCC, follow the instructions at the end of this email, or visit our web site www.amcckenya.org .
The other major cost coming up for AMCC are the mandatory school fees for High School in Kenya. High school in Kenya is not free, and this prevents all of the kids at AMCC from continuing their education- if they were not at AMCC. Last year money was raised to pay one year's worth of school fees for the students. I am asking that you would please PRAY and ask our Father to provide for each of these children to go to school this next year, which begins in January. Continuing in school is a vital key for these children to escape the cycle of poverty that they've been in.

I'm sure this affects me some, but I just watched "It's a Wonderful Life" for the first time, and maybe that's a good thing. If anyone feels led to give any money toward AMCC (you can still give to get the tax refund for 2009, if you're looking for it!), follow the instructions at the end of this email.

Though it is late, merry Christmas to all of you. I guess what I really mean, is that I hope that you all know how much God loves you, and that you experience a bit more of His Kingdom each day. May His love ever grow in you.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, and to release the opporessed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor"

Greetings to you from John, Nancy, James (the staff at AMCC), and all of the children there!
With much love,
Mark Dawson.

P.S. Instructions on how to give money to AMCC:
There are two ways: Online, or mailing a check. Both are secure! To be sure to receive a tax-refund, mail the check.
Online:
1. Go to www.amcckenya.org
2. Click on the "Donate" tab on the home page.
3. Follow the instructions!

Mail a check:
1. Make out a check to: Grace World Outreach. Put "AMCC- General Use" in the memo line.
2. Mail the check to:

Grace World Outreach
2502 W Elm St.
Enid, OK 73703

May our Father bless you and keep you, and make his face to shine upon. John sends deepest thanks and love to everyone who has prayed, given to, or read about AMCC. Amen to that!

I'm engaged! and life is gettin busy! It's quite a time for the Lord to mold me as I try to juggle helping Maggs plan the wedding, take on more responsibility with running a family dealership, fixing up the old and busted apartment before the wedding, and raising the now *$50,000* for AMCC. Life is a little hectic but the Lord has a plan and a way.

Speaking of the 50 grand, be looking on facebook for a group called "20". It should be up and running by the end of October.


And as far as News about AMCC, here's an update that Mark recently sent out over e-mail:

"The latest great news is as follows:

John had a GREAT time at the Lahash conference that he and his wife, Nancy, went to in Uganda 2 weeks ago. Here's what John said about the conference:

The conference was good. We learnt many things about leadership.
1. Day One- Fasting and praying. Baba Dan was teaching Bible storiesfor the kids to learn.
2. Mission Statements- How one goes about it and how do we accomplish them
3. Conflict management- seek to know the source of the conflict, judgeit fairly. Get to the person who says that they have been wronged. Getto know what they say. Also about forgiveness.
4. How to take good pictures.
5. Facebook.
6. Learned from Lahash partners. Tenderfeet taught.
7. Everyone exchanged ideas. How to have a strategic plan.People should not be overworked and they should be given reasonable pay.

Nancy (wife) and John were happy to be 2gether. It was like a "honeymoon" for them. Even though she got sick on the Thursday of the conference they were not discouraged by that. By the time they came back they felt like renewed people. They were able to pray and for God to hear their hearts. Come to think of it, when John said "hear their hearts" he might have meant "heal their hearts". I don't know which, but either way it's a wonderful thing! Praise the Lord! Lahash said that they desire to partner with AMCC. John believes that they became partners while there. We should pray so that they might be able to start sponsoring AMCC in January. That's what John said that Dan Holcomb, the head of Lahash, told him at the conference. Dan is a JBU grad and is a friend of mine from Camp Eagle.

I'm thrilled beyond words to think that AMCC might partner with this organization. I don't really know what it will look like, but I'm looking forward to talking to Dan and hearing what his ideas about it are. Edwin, Lahash's EastAfrican co-ordinator (A Kenyan who grew up with Dan) is going to visit AMCC sometime in the next month! Woohoo!!

Also, AMCC has officially hired a 3rd employee- James Mwika! John and Teacher Nancy talked about James while I was still in Kenya as avery trustworthy man and say that he's been working very well. Here are notes that I took from my conversation with John on Tuesday

"He is working well, Nancy is happy about it. He is very much committed to the work. The children have liked him very much because he is a very happy person. He has developed a love for them. He is jumping and dancing for the Lord and the children are happy about that.

" John and Teacher Nancy have "really talked" about the conference. He gave her his notes and the notebook, and she was very happy about it. She is very happy!

John and Teacher Nancy are going to Counsel Geoffrey this evening and are going to pray more with him. He ran away again, and in fact got all the way back to his dad's house (near Naivasha, that's like someone getting to Alamosa from Denver). John said that they are putting up a counseling program whereby they will be sitting down with the children individually every 14 days. Also they can pray with them. They have also started a November program for pastors from different churches to come to minister to AMCC on the different weekends.- Anglican – either Mr. Mutuangu or John’s dad- Bethel church- feed bag and send pastor (Mukulala)- Household of Faith- Jesus’ Embassy Prayers needed so that these things will continue as it starts in November. When they start they will send a timetable so we can know who is coming and when.

John is still becoming numb sometimes, but generally he is well. The pain has "ceased"! He thinks he had overworked himself, and that the problem will continue ceasing as he continues to rest."

Hello friends!


It's been a while since my last update. Actually, this is the longest break I've taken from the blog since I started it. It's been great to be back home and it's going to be even better to settle down this week.


For those of you who are new readers OR just need a refresher:

Mark Dawson and I arrived back home this month from being in Kenya visiting Ah-gah-pay Mercy Children's Center. He was there for the first three months and I have been there for a little over 5 months. We went to develop a relationship with John and Nancy, two Kenyans who are running the orphanage. During our time spent there, they gained our trust and respect.



Bloom Church and Ancient Paths in Denver along with Grace World Outreach Church in Enid Oklahoma sent Mark and I. We had a major support group from various friends. Through these connections we raised enough money to start an income-generating project of mango harvesting. I left them almost a month ago with John overseeing the mango business.



NEWS
There's big news at AMCC, and unfortunately it's not all good. A few weeks ago the mango truck was in a serious wreck on it's way to deliver the load. The driver was drunk and hit a cemi-truck parked on the side of the road. The truck was laid over on its side. Because of the current situation of drought and poverty in Kenya, people didn't hesitate to take the mangoes which were spilled all over the road. The driver died shortley after the accident.



The loss of mangoes eliminated AMCCs only way of making income to pay for food. Fortunately a certain family donated $600 after hearing about the accident. This donation allowed AMCC to pay off their debts and buy food up to the 9th of September. John, Nancy and the kids were extremely thankful for the donation and it proved to be very encouraging to all of those at AMCC despite the recent tragedy.


In the meantime, here in the states, I have presented at Grace World Outreach and at Bloom Church about AMCC and my time there. I also got to meet back up with Mark Dawson, whom I hadn't seen in over 2 months! We talked about a gameplan and what the next phase will look like. Our major priority is to raise $25,000 dollars to establish a chicken house for AMCC. With this chicken house, AMCC will be able to pay for food, rent, school fees, medical bills, their own salaries and for much needed hired help.

Some of the other things we are involved in currently are:

1. Renewing and updating the official AMCC website
2. Setting up a bank account for donations
3. Establishing a safe and secure way to transfer funds when neccessary
4. Social networking and fundraising for AMCC
5. Presenting to groups of people that are interested in partnering with AMCC

As soon as we have the $25,000, one or both of us will go back to AMCC to ensure the building and implementation of the chicken project. Grace World Outreach has decided to set up it's own account specifically for the chicken project! Praise God for that!

Our friends at AMCC are all doing well and in good health (relatively). I'll be talking with John in the next few days and will be updating the blog again as soon as anything happens.

That's about all the new stuff at this point.

God is GOOD!

I'M BACK HOME!!! I know it's a bit of a surprise but there's good reason for me not announcing my leaving on the internet. Let me give you a brief rundown of how the last few days went at AMCC.

A week from yesterday, I invited people over who have been instrumental in sustaining AMCC for fellowship to show my appreciation before I left Kenya. John's parents came along with the Mutwangu's and Daniel and his wife, Virginia, the shop-owners and even the Asst. Chief. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel couldn't make it on Sunday but came the following day. Njau (pronuounced "jow"), the butcher, couldn't make it either but sent us some me at with his brother. In the picture above John's dad is sharing some words of encouragement and wisdom to me and the children, which each person had an opportunity to do. It was one of the most encouraging times in my life and nearly the entire time I was fightin back tears. All the kids ate a hearty meal with us in the courtyard. It was an awesome day. In this picture the kids are raising their hands in response to John's question of who wants to grow up to be a doctor and help people.

The next day when Mr. and Mrs. Daniel came over, the Mutwangu's came back as well. We had a great time together eating and enjoying fellowship. I was happy to see them all hanging out together. They spoke in their vernacular because the Daniels and Mrs. Mutwangu don't speak English. Even though I couldn't understand a word, I felt at home amongst family. I enjoyed just being there and knowing that these people saw me their son and brother. They spoke more words of encouragement and thanks to me and then prayed over me. They also gave me a bunch of pure Kenyan coffee and tea to take home with me!

I was to leave on Wednesday so I made sure I got up early to see the kids off to school. This is a picture of them holding my bags and saying good-bye. Before we let them go to school I told them i wanted one more hug and for me to pray for them. The next picture is of me praying a blessing over them and asking God to continue to provide for them as He has for the past two and a half years! He is so good and faithful!

We stopped back by John's parents house, whom I now consider my parents in Kenya, to say goodbye to 'mom' and to pick up 'dad' so he could escort me to the airport along with John and Nancy. Here we are in the bus from Nairobi to the airport.

It was two and a half looonnnggg days of travel with a night in the Dubai airport, getting about 4 hours of sleep and none on the 10 hour plane ride the next day to D.C. After another four hour flight to Denver and feeling the tiredness set in, I was pleasantly surprised by my wonderfully amazing and beautiful girlfriend who flew into Denver two hours before I got there! What a welcome home! To add to the excitement of seeing the people I love and miss so much, I got to go to Bloom Church last night and see those who laid hands on me and sent me out about six months ago. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Oklahoma where I'll get to see my precious family along with so many loved ones from Grace World Outreach.

I have to admit that it feels so good to finally be home! As far as "the mission" with AMCC goes; It's really just getting started! Don't think this will be the last blog by any means. There's still a lot to be done from here so stay tuned! And THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for reading this and for caring and praying with us as the Lord continues to bring the Kingdom!

Another site seen daily here in Kimata. These women are carrying napia grass to feed their cows at home.

Speaking of home, Nancy's back! Upon her return, she brought with her various types of food including maize, avocadoes, potatoes, tarrow root and beans! These were donated by her family. I asked her what the best thing about going home was. She said that fixing her parents kitchen, which was days away from being totally destroyed, gave her great joy. The kitchen, by the way, was made from mud and sticks. Though the new one isn't permanent either, it is a great improvement from what they had been using. Maggs and I were very happy to have her back after two weeks.

About Maggs, SHE"S GONE! All of us here at AMCC were sad to see her go, though no one as much as me. She gave a speach to the kids before she left and they all hugged her to the point of collapse.

However, before she could depart, we welcomed Barbara and Chris who had just flown in from Holland. Barbara is the missions director from Grace World Outreach. Chris is her cousin who leads a college-aged ministry in Arkansas. As soon as they got to AMCC we put 'em straight to work pickin beans! (Not really; John and Nancy are way to hospitable/Kenyan to do that. I was the one who had to initiate the bean-pickin.)

It was a bitter sweet couple of days. I was excited to see a mentor of mine (Barb) but sad to see Maggs go. Of course the kids gave Barbara and Chris and even Maggs and I a warm welcome when we arrived. It was a huge hug-fest! When they wrap their arms around you, they don't let go until you pry em off or you're on the ground.

Mark's parents sent us a package! Thanks guys! The spices were much appreciated! It's amazing how a few spices can change a meal entirely. They also sent some good books for the kids to read and some biblical and educational decks of cards.

In other news, Paulo, the youngest got chicken pocks! Or small pocks, I'm not sure. Anyway we're countin on all the kids getting them in the next couple of weeks. This will be kind of a bummer deal but I guess they all gotta go through it sometime. Please pray that the Lord would bring quick healing and finances for the medical bills.

Finances! We have delivered our first mango order! We got a profit of 10,000Ksh which will help AMCC not to be in such great debt. Because the system is a bit different than avocado harvesting, we'll have to wait a week before we get the check. We didn't make as much as anticipated but we've got about 6 and a half months to figure out how to increase profits.

Bloom church in Denver sent AMCC a couple of letters, which were super encouraging to the kids. In response, the kids will have the oportunity to draw or write something back the Bloom this Sunday. THANKS BLOOM! You guys rock!

This guy is Robert Quiring. Mark and I met him I think the 1st week we were here. He's from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma! Robert has been instrumental in my psychological well-being while in Kenya. To have another Okie around has been tremendously encouraging. He was in Kenya for about a year and has been involved with African Evangelistic Outreach. He's also opened up his place for Mark and I whenever we needed it. This pic was taken a few days before he went back home. I'm gonna miss ya Robert!

That's about all I know at this point. God is so good and faithful! May he lead our hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance!

I have been withheld from publishing a new blog post yet again until today. The reason this time, I won't give right away but you'll find out as you keep reading. This week I've taken pictures of what I've been doing from my standpoint in hopes to allow you to "see what I've been seeing" in a way. They are placed arbitrarily throughout this post because most of it is about one topic.

This boy's name is Dennis. Late Saturday night when most of the kids had gone to bed, Dennis and a couple others were finishing up with their kitchen duties. I was just entering my room when I heard Dennis scream and then yell, "to be burned". We hurried to put his foot in cold water to ease the pain. Evidently as he was scooping boiling water out of a large saucepan when it tipped over and poured on his foot.

After Maggie had nursed him, I took him to the hospital where he was admitted for three days. One of the doctors there became suspicious and was wondering why Dennis was working in the kitchen at all. He notified the Criminal Investigation Department, whereupon John was summoned and drilled with questions for nearly two hours.

At first I was kind of mad at the doctor for notifying the government, but later realized that he was doing what any good citizen would do who suspected child labor. The question arises, "Is there 'child labor' going on at AMCC?" To answer this question, we have to look carefully at what "child labor" means. One thing is for certain, no one is working here for any type of monetary compensation for any person, not even John and Nancy. The children are not involved in any type of money-making activity whatsoever. The "labor" they are involved with consists of: pulling their own water for laundry, bathing, and cooking; participating in general cleaning on Saturdays and keeping their dorms clean throughout the week; separating edible maize and beans about once every other week; and for the older ones, carrying out basic cooking duties about every third day.

This type of "labor" is comparatively lax when considered that the children at AMCC would be doing actual "child labor" or involved in the sex industry if they weren't here. Also, many children who live with their grandparents or single parents have the same chores, if not much more. In other children's homes in Kenya, children are working in fields harvesting after school and over the weekends. This however is not considered "child labor" because most schools have an agriculture program.

Also it would be a very different story if AMCC had the funds to give John and Nancy salaries or had some type of sufficient income. Obviously the most ideal situation is for AMCC to hire a cook, but currently that is impossible because of lack of funding. Hopefully, we'll be able to change that one day.

So John passed with flying colors with the Criminal Investigation Department. For each question asked, he gave very detailed descriptions and explainations. And after each question, he would ask if they needed further clarification. He's also the type of guy who wouldn't flinch in this sort of situation. He's very calm and collected and he always speaks the truth. However, they've given him "2 weeks to think about it". I'm not sure what this means. I think they're suggesting that John hire a cook or they'll shut him down, in which case they would be acting like the criminals for forcing these children to turn to child labor and the sex industry.

Why are they so harsh?, you might ask. I suspect that they think we (the white people) are paying AMCC and that John is withholding the money. There are not many things in this world that frustrate me more than ingnorance. Because from ignorance are concieved racism and prejudicism. But what can you do? Maybe I can have a chat with them, that'd be a hoot! Anyway, please pray about this situation because it is pressing and they don't seem to be messing around. God is good and He has a plan!

So guess who's got malaria!! This was the reason I wasn't able to write this until today. But today I'm thanking God because He has brought healing and I'm feeling great! For about three and half days I was out of commision and looked like this. Simultaneously with contracting malaria, the four and a half month span of eating getheri for most every meal caught up with me as well. Evidently I'm suffering from some "erosion" somewhere in the middle of my digestive track. All I know is that I was waking up at 3:30am with a lot of pain in what felt like my upper stomach. The doctor is telling me that getheri is out now, so I'll have to find other stuff to eat. I'm not entirely dissapointed but it will be a pain trying to always eat what no one else is. Because of this "erosion" in my digestive track and the malaria, this is a lot of what I was looking at last week each time I had to hurl. So while I pukin and loungin all day, Maggie has been a rock-star girlfriend and missionary. She jumped right in to doing everything from taking kids to the hospital, cooking almost every day, and traveling to about every village in our district. It's clear that God brought her at the right time.

I also promised John and Daniel that I would put up a post about Daniel (the shopkeeper next door) and his family. He has very much deserved some recognition. This is Daniel and his family standing in front of their small "duka" (shop). God has used this man and his wife numerous times for the sustainability of AMCC. They are just next door so any time we need salt, sugar, bread, tea, maize, beans, kerosine, phone credit, ...you name it, they have given without question. They've allowed AMCC to go into great debt in it's times of greatest struggle to keep the kids fed. The Lord has really used this man and his wife for countless blessings for AMCC. There's no doubt he deserves a shout out. I just hope he'll be able to see this picture one day.

OH YAH! I almost forgot to mention, WE GOT OUR FIRST MANGO ORDER!!! This is huge! We've been praying that the Lord would provide and He has heard our prayer! He is so faithful! Please please please pray that the Lord will bless John and his brother Bogwa as they put their hand to work in this business. We're hoping that the profits from this will be able to carry AMCC until we can establish a year-long self-sustaining project. God is so awesome!

There's more exciting news about next week, but I feel if I make the blogposts too long people will become board with reading them! So I'll let you know all about it in a week. Thanks for reading, careing and praying. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perserverence!

Nick