I wanted to start with this picture because it is typical of what you will see in Kenya. Many of the buildings are used as giant advertising boards and this one in particular is advertising the company "Darling". Underneath is a product description, "Highest Quality Hair Additions". An interesting marketing technique but it adds a lot of color to the place.
Before we came to Kenya We spent some time asking the Lord what He wanted us to accomplish in our short time at AMCC. One of the things that Nick heard from God was this: "As AMCC reaches out to help others in need, I will start lifting them higher." We wanted to share this word from the Lord with John but we were a little hesitant. How do we tell a man who is already raising 36 children with little and insufficient resources that he needs to start reaching out to help others. Hasn't he got enough on his plate already? But alas, John never ceases to amaze us...
And that's why we were blown away when John brought us to this place.
The lady standing next to Maggie is Shosho Eutycus, or Grandmother to Eutycus. Eutycus(you-tick-us) is a 15 year old boy who lives at AMCC. Both his parents died when he was young and his Shosho took care of him as long as she could until her blindness was too severe to keep him. She is a widow herself and has no one to watch over her. When John came to her house a few months ago, he found her in this location with only three walls surrounding her in a very small place. The fourth was made of plastic grain bags sewn together and was draped from the ceiling which had holes in it. He was very disturbed by this because this time of year the temperatures can drop to the 40s and winds and rains are very heavy. One night he couldn't sleep because he was overwhelmed at the thought that this woman was living in such conditions. The next day he began to rally the community; churches, other guardians of some of the AMCC kids, his family, his government connections etc... And began to raise money to build her a new home.
The same picture here, as shown above, is the results of his efforts. In about a week they had built her this new house with three different rooms. It's not much and it's made of iron sheet metal but it's a tremendous upgrade from her previous place. To her, it's a castle. She's no longer wet and cold at night and she's extremely thankful to John and the staff at AMCC. While we were there, she actually made the several mile trek, with only 15-20% of her sight, to AMCC to donate a whole sac of avocados. These avocados were cherished and greatly appreciated as we divided them amongst ourselves and the kids one night and ate them with our supper.
Another conviction that compelled John to reach out involved a girl named Valentine. This is the school that John's daughter, Agape, attends (her education is paid for by donors through theschoolfund.org as are a few of the other AMCC kids). Valentine is one of of Agape's closest friends. She is in form 4 (senior year) and is the president of a student established Christian outreach organization. The secondary school ( high school) saw her good grades and offered her a position at the school when she graduated from 8th grade. Unfortunately her father died when she was in grade school and her mother doesn't make enough money to pay the school fees. Because her debt is up to $500, the school is obligated to send her home until it is paid.
Education is of the highest importance in Kenya, even to the students. Valentine is making good grades and has a shot at college, but because she's being sent home due to school fees, she is starting to have anxiety attacks. When we were here visiting Agape, we found out more about this situation and John asked for a meeting with the principal. In the meeting he asked the principal not to send her home anymore and told her he would see what he could go about the fees. To our surprise the principal agreed! John doesn't have the money to help but he believes God wants Valentine to continue.
We remember the phrase that The Lord gave to Nick before we came to AMCC.
"As AMCC reaches out to help others in need, I will start lifting them higher."
We shared this word of the Lord with John. Not really as an encouragement for him to begin reaching out to help others, but rather as an affirmation that God is already starting to lift AMCC higher, because they have already started reaching out to others.
In the picture above John holds out a real treat! Boiled goat meat! Believe it or not Nick really missed it, Maggie on the other hand wasn't nearly as excited but she was a real trooper and ate her share. This is a picture of a man offering meat. This is John Kameru Muhika, who is the one, in a land that has been desolate and hungry, that offers meat. He is close to the heart of the Lord, and has seen the hand of the Lord do miraculous things. His faith is strong and profound. He gives, not out of what He has, but rather out of his faith in what he knows the Lord has. Surely he is a man of God and blessing to many!
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