Good and faithful Blog-readers!

Karen's in town! (Mark's wonderful girlfriend). We picked her up from the airport in Nairobi on Thursday. It's so great to have another American around to laugh and speak "normally" to.

I went with Nancy to my first Kenyan wedding! Her cousin is the groom and I met about a hundred "brothers", "sisters", "moms" and "dads" of Nancy's. The wedding wasn't entirely different than weddings in the U.S., but the things that were different were a bit commical. Here, they bride is putting the ring on the groom's hand. They hold it high so all can see. The next picture is of me standing next to Nancy while the bride is wondering who the muzungu is at her wedding, and why he's in the picture.

The Minister of Parliment, whom we met personally and whom has announced that he will be running for President of Kenya in 2012, has given the workers till the end of the week to finish the electricity project in Kimata. You can see the man hanging the wires here and directly below him is the guy we hired to cut the trunk of the tree we got with a chainsaw.

Gladys stopped by again and brought some pants or "trousers" for some of the older boys at AMCC. For those of you who don't know, Gladys stopped by about 2 and half weeks ago and gave her life to Christ! John is pointing at her as if to say, "This is my spiritual daughter." which is actually what he said right before the picture was taken.

Every day John calls a "parade", which means all the kids stand together as he talks with them. Here he has just informed them that school starts again tomorrow after their month-long break. He has asked them to grab each others ears and repeat so all can be sure to hear and be prepared.

Two nights ago Mark and Karen made fajitas for all the kids! Haha, the little ones didn't like it so much. They said it was "beetta" (bitter) but John made them eat it anyway because it's culturally innapropriate to refuse food that was made for you by guests. Poor little guys. I felt sorry for them. I think it was the cilantro. Kenyans, generally speaking, don't seem to like a wide variety of spices in their food. Most things we eat are neither too sweet nor too spicy.

That's all for now! I love you guys!

Much has happened since my last update. Allow me to give you the "run-down":

Mark and I went on a two-day retreat at Tim and Dianne Bannisters, who are missionaries of about 20 years with AIM. They live about an hour southeast of Nairobi on large plot of land. Tim took Mark and I on a "game drive" not to be mistaken as a safari. We saw a variety of African wild game while we cruised onlong in his Land Rover. Among them were giraff, cape buffalo, wildebeast, gazelle and a few others that looked really cool but I can't remember their names. The giraffs actually came up into the yard at night and ate from the trees. The landscape was pretty awesome too.

We got back on Wednesday and discovered they finally chopped the tree down for firewood! It was more than we expected and should take us to about August! God answered our prayers in abundance! (That's Uticus in front of the pile. Very cool name)

John's friend who owns a generator and cuts hair stopped by and showed some of the boys how to use the new clippers! The kids finally got haircuts, which have been long awaited, and Mark and I decided to get them as well. Now I have a pretty cool black-guy Kenyan haircut even though I'm a muzungu. Basically the only difference is that he used the clippers on my bangs and tried to give me almost like a flat-top look in the front.

Thursday I experienced my first meeting with school parents at Mbari ya Ruga Primary School. I went on behalf of Teresea, one of the girls in 8th grade. The meeting was supposed to start at 9:00am so I left AMCC at 9:15 and arrived at about 9:45. After two hours of walking around and letting the children stare at me, most of the parents showed up so the schol board decided to start. They gave me a seat at the front with the school board simply because I'm white and I sat through the 12:00 - 4:30pm meeting which was spoken completely in Kikuyu. That's not entirely true. There were about 3 times totaling maybe 5 minutes that the principal communicated to me what they were talking about.

On Friday night we had the privelege of visiting the Mutwangu household, eating meat and potatoes, and giving back some new saucepans. Mrs. Mutwangu allowed AMCC to borrow a couple about 2 years ago. We used them so much that it wouldn't have been appropriate to give them back all black and beaten. So we used the money that some people donated to give her some new ones.

The fundraiser we've been planning and praying for happened on Sunday. Our friends the Gichane's, who live in Nairobi and have been our Kenyan family since we got here, showed up and brought a bunch of food with them. All but about 3 of the guardians showed (none of them bringing the amount of money they promised but rather other necessities and gifts like soap, toothpaste, t.p., shoe polish, fruit, tea). Thankfully the Board of AMCC all showed up and we had a wonderful time. The kids sang, many people proffessed the works of Christ in their lives, and we ate a lot of food including meat and chapati!

NOTE: Chapati is like a really thick wheat flour tortilla and is one of my favorite things to eat here. This pic was taken in the middle of the night before the fundraiser. They stayed up till about 3:30 preparing the chapati. They had blast!

In monetary value we raised just over 25,000 shillings (appx. $315.00) and maybe another $200 worth of food. Not too bad! The Lord is good and knows exactly what we need. We're hoping this will take us to the end of May. By this time we should be under way on our first income generating project, gathering avocodos! Please pray for this. So far, this is the only project that fits into our budget and has a decent return. They say for every 25,000 shillings invested, one can make a 10,000 shillings profit. We're really hoping this takes off in the first couple of weeks in May. If so, it's going to be a start to a whole new ballgame here.

The most important piece of news is about Jeffery. Do you remember the kid that tried to run away? Mark and I walked to another village to pick him up. We told him that we loved him and that we believed he was a good boy and we talked to him about having good character. Anyway, Jeffery's dad showed up for the fundraiser and was demanding to take Jeffery back with him. Mary's mom wanted to take her as well. When we told Jeffery and Mary this, they began to cry. AMCC has no legal binding on these children, so if their parents want to take them back there's not much we can do. It was really burdensome to my heart that Jeffery's dad wanted to take him. I believe that Jeffery is supposed to be here and I believe strongly that if he goes home, it will be devastating to his future and his relationship with Christ.

During the fundraiser John, Nancy, Mark, Jeffery, Mary and I all stood in a circle in the courtyard away from the others, held hands, and prayed together while the children cried. It was very sad but what else could be done?

Mark and I went back into the "church" room so as not to leave the guests by themselves. The food was served by the children, to the guests first, then the guardians and then to themselves. Before long I saw Jeffery's dad and Mary's mom join us with plates in their hands. I sat my food down and went to inquire from John why they hadn't left yet as they had threatened to. John said the children told their parents: "I'm not leaving even if you try to pull me away with a tractor!" (Evidently this is a saying in their mother tongue) How cool is that! What a testamony to John and Nancy's work at AMCC. This was the kid that was trying to run away about a month ago!

I believe God has a special plan for Jeffery. Twice the enemy has tried to tear him away and twice his plans have failed! We worship a God who fights for us in the spiritual realm. For that is where our battle is, not against flesh and blood! He is so good! Mark and I prayed for Jeffery last night; that the Lord would continue to protect him and make him the man God has planned for him to be. We are believing and trusting God that He has an awesome plan for each of these kids. Guys, please join us and praying for their them; for their futures, for their lives emotionally, spritually, physcologically, and physically. Pray that the Lord brings them up in the knowledge of Him.

I wanna thank you guys for reading this stuff (my blog) by the way. It means a lot to me and shows me that there are others that are bearing this burden along with us. Much love to you all and your families!

There are a lot of exciting things happening lately in our little village of Kimata. About a year and a half ago, when Mark first visted AMCC, a boarhole was drilled for the community to have water. However, the boarhole can not function without electricity and has been sitting dormant... until now!

Telephone poles have gone up already and the workers are preparing to hang to cable. So in the next couple of weeks Kimata should have electricity not only for the boarhole but also for the schools that the AMCC kids are going to! Praise God that they will be able to see their books in class now without straining! Just the other day the housing for the generator was finished and the water reserve tank was lifted into place.
ALTHOUGH, before they can hang the cable, some of the trees in the area must be cut down. The open field in the village square is government owled land. So John, being quite the thinker that he is, asked the local government to give us the only tree in the courtyard that is going to be felled. (that's a real word by the way) So "What are we gonna do with a felled tree?" you might ask.

FIREWOOD! Another prayer answered! God rocks my world! We prayed for firewood (so that when God provides the food we don't have, we'll have something to cook it over :) and He has given it! This is our tree in the picture with the telephone pole close by.

God's really cool in the way he works stuff out.

Speaking of cooking, we've been praying for saucepans. One of the two we've been using is not ours. The other one is broken and has a hole in the bottom. Everytime we cook, we have to use a neat cooking trick to patch it with maize flour and water. Also, they are a bit too small to feed all the kids currently. Mark sent out an e-mail asking a few different people if they wanted to donate a saucepan. We then realized we actually need 3, (two for cooking and another to replace the one we borrowed). The response: Four people wrote back and said they wanted to buy one so we bought the ones we needed and divided the cost four ways! Thank you guys soo much! The kids went crazy again with singing songs, dancing with the saucepans, and praying and thanking God for his provision.

Among other news, a small house church in Denver, (0f which i've been a part for a year and a half) sent a care-package to AMCC! We're super excited and even though we havn't recieved it yet, we're praying that it actually gets here. These are a few pictures of Molly and Sarah as they are sending us a "piece of home" in a jar full of Rocky Mountain air, dirt, and a pinecone! Haha! I love it! Thanks gals!

I'm not sure, but I think I have become a victim of racism. Very mild racism but racism nonetheless. Many people here do not seem to value me as a person. They only value me for what they have predetermined is in my pocket. This is one of the more frustrating things I have come across while being here. People I have never met will ask me for money. They do not ask my name or where I am from, only for cash, and they seem to be surprised when i do not give it to them.

This is so with John and Nancy's families as well. To be fair, I must say that this is no one person's fault. Most racisms or prejudices come from a long history of events and everyone I have met has been extremely hospitable. However, their families are starting to wonder why John and Nancy are not sharing the money that Mark and I have given them. The truth is, we have given them no money for personal use. Some of the money that was donated has been given to buy food for the children, or for trasportation fare for necessary business for AMCC. We are seeing now that it is causing problems with the families, putting pressure on John and Nancy, and then on Mark and me. This pressure is due to most Kenyan's pre-concieved notion that all whites have lots of money and that they should be giving what they have. How to deal with this situation with grace, patience, wisdom and peace, is the greatest thing I'm asking to be prayed for over the next few days. (For Mark and I both)

I've been here for about 6 weeks now and I'm starting to realize how much I miss my girlfriend Maggie! Family and friends, I miss you guys too, but I'm not longing to hold your hand. ;) Currently Maggie is working with a group who are helping people from Burma in an International Displacement (IDP) Camp. She'll be doing this for the next two weeks. Please pray for her safety and for the Lord to move through her there. So, how does this relate to AMCC??

The good news is that Maggs is coming here! She already bought a plane ticket for June 15th and she'll be here for about a month! God is so awesome! So here's another thing you can pray for: That Maggie and I stay focused on the Kingdom first, both now as we are in separate countries and also when we are working alongside of each other. God is so good!

Also, we've recieved a few care packages! Praise God! Some one has sent spices for us to "mix it up" a little when eating gethari or ugali. I've never appreciated spices so much! Thank you guys!

The kids are currently on break from school for about a month. Many of them have done very well over the last semester. To reward them, Mark and I thought it would be a cool idea to take them to Mt. Kilimambogo! They set off the other morning with five of the kids and Nancy. I had to stay home to take one of the children to Mukarara for medical reasons. :( When they reached Kilimambogo they discovered that it was going to be much more expensive than planned. So instead, they went to 14 falls! which was just around the corner. (40 kilometers away)

As far as the self-sustaining project goes, we're back to the chicken idea! There seemed to be something fishy about the rice fields thing. Evidently the government officials in charge let some other people rent the land from them so they could rent it someone else to make a bigger profit. I'm not sure exactly, but we're not going to move that direction anymore. However, John's dad has given us a plot of land to put a chicken house!

This week we are researching all the costs before we move forward. Hopefully by the next blog, I'll be able to say that AMCC has initiated it's first self-sustaining project!

The greatest news this week though happened on Saturday! One of the kids' older sisters came to AMCC to talk to John about finding a job. She stayed for about 3 hours just talking with John about her life and the Lord. After a while, John came up to me in the classroom and said "Excuse me Nick, Gladys wants to get saved. Will you come pray for her?" I was ecstatic! We went in and I asked her a few questions about what she believed and we prayed together and she asked Jesus to be Lord!

The great thing about this was that earlier that morning I was thinking to myself about working at the children's home. I was thinking about how we don't seem to get to share the gospel much because of what we do. We're mainly wrapped up with taking care of the children. So it was awesome that the Lord is still using AMCC to reach out to his people as well as taking care of them!

How Awesome God Is

This blog is to show just a little bit of how awesome our God is!

BIDCO came again! Unsusptected and bringing more food! That's right, it didn't come from the pocketbook of the wazungu (whites) but from other Kenyans and ultimately from God! He is the God who answers prayers!

Also, a donor from the U.S. said that they would buy some clippers for the kids. This is a picture of John presenting to the kids the clippers. They're rejoicing cause they're gonna get shaved! They also prayed, thanked God for them, and followed it up with some good ole' Kenyan worship! (loud and in rhythm) Another prayer answered!
We've been praying for God to raise up other Kenyans to partner with AMCC. This is a picture of Mama Mutwangu who allows the kids to pull water from her 240ft well for free! She also donates bananas and other foods often. This woman is a blessing to these kids. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have water for bathing, cooking, laundry and cleaning.

This next picture represents the coolest part of my week. John Matotho is 15 years old. He was asked to stand up and give his testamony on Sunday morning. Instead, he pulled out one of the simplest and richest sermons I've ever heard. He spoke on the fruit of the Spirit. John was awesome and we didn't even know he was going to preach. He cross-referenced and asked questions from the other kids and taught and spoke with authority. I teared up a little just thinking about how the Spirit was using him. This is another prayer answered. Mark and I have been praying for the Spirit to move in these children, and to be the Father to the fatherless. God is raising them for his glory and his Kingdom!

LORD, you are so much more faithful than what we give you credit for! Be glorified Lord through AMCC and thank you Father for your provision!

Virtual Tour of AMCC

Hey guys! I wanted to give a picture (pun) of what AMCC looks like.

This is Kimata, the region we are staying in the Gatanga district.

AMCC is the place with the blue doors on the right.

The five blue doors mark the outside of AMCC

The Classroom is where all the kids study every day and also where we eat

The Store is for keeping firewood and food
This is the Office of AMCC

The Church is where we have church on Sundays and worship and pray every night

This is ..."just outside there". I call it a courtyard. The black tank is where we collect rainwater to drink, bathe, cook, and clean. The doors to the sides are the kids rooms and laundry is hung on the wires hanging from wall to wall. In the back you can see the "bafu" or bathing stalls.

The Kitchen is the first door on the left in the courtyard. This is where we cook the food over a fire and inhale unhealthy amounts of smoke.

This a picture of one of the bedrooms. There are nine beds. The ones on the left have a divider on each layer to make two beds. Their clothes are kept in a chest at the end of the bed.

And this is our room. John hangs his clothes on a line and in the back you can see the mosquito nets to help prevent malaria from mosquitoes. THE "CHOO"! This is where we poop in a hole! And the "Bafu". This is where we bath with a bowl!

Well that's AMCC. Now you've seen it! The only thing missing from these pictures is YOU! If you wanna come hang out in Kenya for a while and see what it's like to poop in a hole and bathe in a bowl, we could sure use the help. If you wanna visit, just send me an e-mail or post a comment.

I hope this has been helpful in giving you a better idea of where we're staying. AND I hope to see any of you guys here soon!

Praise God!

Last Thursday John had a meeting with the high-school kids' parents. They brought a bunch of the necessities for the kids (lotion, t.p., toothpaste, soap, shoe polish, etc...). *ANSWERED PRAYER* This is gonna be a huge help. John also informed them of the upcoming fundraiser we are doing on April 26. Please be praying for this! These people do not have much money at all. Mark did the numbers according to his old job and said that it would be the equivelent of him paying about $65 for a two pound bag of rice! They just don't have the funds. However, each parent has agreed to pay 1500Ksh (Kenyan Shillings) for the fundraiser! This is way awesome becuase most only make 80Ksh per day.

NOTE: Currently it is almost 80Ksh to $1.00

On Friday John met with the primary school kids' parents, and they brought a few things as well! We added them to the storeroom and are thanking God for his provision.

NOTE: So AMCC acts as both an orphanage and a children's home. Some kids' parents are deceased and others simply can not afford to feed them.

Sunday was the best day of all and the Lord showed His faithfulness in a great way. We've been praying for rain for a while because Kenya has been in a drought. We prayed Saturday night for rain and the Lord answered our prayers! It poured on Sunday three or four times in the morning! More rain means more growth in vegitation from friends and partners of AMCC, which means more food for the kids! Praise God! THEN, Sunday afternoon brought with it the sunshine and a pleasent surprise. Some employees of BIDCO Oil Co. showing up with cabbages, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, maize and wheat flour, cooking fat, rice, sugar and even clothes!!! Our God is King over all things! He knows our every need and want! They didn't bring any maize or beans! Halelujah!

We put our faith in Him to give us food and He has! It didn't come from the wazungu but from the God of Heaven and Earth and Kenya and BIDCO and AMCC and us, His people! He is soo good and He is so faithful!

Other than that things are becoiming quite the routine. Sometimes when we finish washing clothes, Mark and I will help to hang them.

Mark by the way rocks my face off! He's the best partner in advancing the Kingdom of God I could have asked for in this situation. We're quite the team and I'm so excited to be here with him. He's so dang smart.

So things are pretty awesome here, except for one incident that happened three days ago. Our landlord's son, Steven drinks too much and seems to cause a lot of problems around Kimata. So on Sunday morning i was awoken by a woman screaming bloody murder. John beat me out of the locked gate in the back of AMCC only to find Steven mauling his wife with a hammer! We ran him off immediately. Mark and I inquired whether we should call the police but John said that Steven had gone to jail many times and had paid his way out because of corruption. This is the only violent thing that has happened around where we live. Please pray for Steven and his drinking problem and for peace with our landlord's family. And for wisdom in dealing with Steven as he is an aquaintence of Mark and me.

Steven's wife had minor wounds and I think she has left Kimata for a while. Alas, God is good and will bring justice! I hope to be writing another blog in about a week. And we're up to 8 followers! Thanks guys! You make this time writing blogs worth while! Till then...