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!

The most ambiguous post in the history of blogging

I went to this place. I can't tell you where or with whom or how I got there. I also cannot tell you who lives there and what they do. But it was neat.
We got to put on a leadership training for some older kids there and a camp for the little ones. I was honored to know them and had some special time with some girls there who don't get special time ever.
I also celebrated SongKrahn there! It is the Thai New Year and is also the biggest Buddhist holiday of the year. The tradition started with washing your elders hands with flowery water and washing the Buddha images every year, but it has resulted in the biggest water fight in the world! Every kid has a super soaker and they don't just dump buckets, but trash cans full of water on you! There is no mercy here!
Happy Song kran!!

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!

PMS= Partners Mae Sot

I just can't stay away from Mae Sot. I mean, it is a lovely town- how could I resist? Not really, I just got to tag along again with Kath (here are some of her beautiful pictures) to bring some medicines and learn about a Partners clinic way far away somewhere south of here.

I also painted a meeting room at the office there. My thrilling contribution to the work for freedom in Burma is a calming, mint blue color that will result in wise and peaceful decisions. I know. I will get all the credit when Burma finally opens up.










Oh and don't you just hate it when work just happens to have the tallest waterfall in Thailand on the way? Gosh, we had to drive and see it.







What a fun and relaxing day! And we swam with a monk.

















OH and I am off to Laos for another visa run! This is a crazy month of traveling!

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!

Ya don't have to live like a refugee! -tom petty

Well Tom Petty, actually a few people do have to live like a refugee. Count 50,000 in Mae La and in No Poh camp. Here are a few bad shots taken from the car...