The 3rd week we were in Kenya we were invited to the Primary School Headteacher's House for his son's graduation from college. We made sure to go because this Headteacher seems to have unending patience with AMCC. This is a blessing because AMCC doesn't always have the funds to provide for the kids schooling. He also transferred a teacher from the school when he realized that she was against the kids of AMCC!
We had the opportunity to experience a Kenyan delicacy, ROASTED GOAT! As you can see here, they don't just eat the meat, but also just about everything else! Mmm!! Bon appetit!
The GOOD news is that the Thika District Social Development Committee wrote AMCC a 10,000Ksh check!!! This is about $135.00!! 
This can go a long way in Kenya! John invited the Board of AMCC so that we could all accept the check together! 
he beams have to be replaced with heavier steel and the ceiling has to be re-poured. It is good that John caught the problem before the construction went on any longer. Please pray that the Lord would help the chicken house be built in a sound and sturdy way. 
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A trip to Eldoret! -by Maggie
We arrived and were greeted by Marggie (what a great name!) who is John’s niece. They welcomed us into their home and we had supper with Peter, Naomi his wife, daughters Tabitha and Marggie and Baraka their son.
Through bumpy dirt roads we arrived at a scene where if you looked closely, destruction was hidden behind wild green growth. We were at the sight of much violence and terrorism during the 2007 tribal conflicts due to post-election violence. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932008_Kenyan_crisis)
Houses were abandoned after having their metal parts ripped out and roofs burned down. We saw where an entire school had been burned to the ground and then later had been rebuilt. Along the highway were groups of hundreds of tents where Internally Displaced People were still living after being forced from their homes.
The most moving scene was meeting about 12 people who had been at the scene when a gang of Kalenjins had come slicing people with machetes and burning houses. About 35 Kikuyu people, mostly elderly women and children, were hiding for safety in a nearby church.
The people we met began to recount their experiences that night; one woman running out of the church with her two children in her arms risking death by machete rather than be burned along with her children, one man who was sliced and thought dead while trying to escape, one family who lost a young girl in the fire.
Their stories were unbelievable- what could cause such brutality? How could human beings stand to cause children to burn to death locked in a church? We were without words, but Pastor John and Peter had many words of hope to share with the crowd. They spoke of God’s hand over that place and how he had preserved their lives for his purpose and how Kenya is going to be redeemed.
Peter told of a prophecy in Zephaniah 3: 10 "From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings..."
Cush is modern day Ethiopia, just north of Kenya. He and others believe that their town of El Doret, where so much violence has occurred, is the place where revival in Kenya is going to begin. They are praying for Kenya to become a city on a hill to all of Africa. Continue to pray for peace and the Word of God to come strong in Kenya!
It was an honor to visit these places and have the opportunity to understand the people more and what they have seen.
After lunch of roasted goat, we then had a fun chance to visit the Rift Valley Coca Cola bottling plant where Peter is the Quality Control Manager. It was really fascinating for us and answered the mystery of how they get the coke into those glass bottles! I especially loved the testing laboratory portion.
We were even given some awesome Coca Cola hats and shirts from Peter and his family!
What a refreshing and enlightening trip! We are so thankful to the Muhika family for hosting us.
LAND HO!!!
For a long time John has had the vision of buying land for AMCC. With land of their own, AMCC will be able to plant crops, raise livestock, and eventually to actualize John's vision for AMCC, to build a boarding school! We've found some for sale! 7 ACRES! 
I've done the best that I can of taking pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like, but it's a bit difficult because it's never been tilled or worked.
Here you can see the Northern boarder. The dead brush signifies the boarder and you can see right next door there is some type of crop, which means the land can produce!
Bogwa, not to be mistaken with John's brother, is this man's name. He went to highschool with John and he's the one that helped us to find the land. In this picture, he and John are bending down to show us the tap water line accross the road. This could be used for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing clothes for the children.
The water to irrigate would come from this HUGE river, HALF A MILE AWAY! Bogwa said that the river has never gone dry, even through Kenya's worst years of drought.
This picture is hard to make out but it's a very important piece of the story! What we're looking at here are the beginnings of an electrical power plant! When it's finished, it will give power to the three nearby schools, to the new hotel that is going up a few miles away, and to surrounding residents. This means that the cost of land in this area is about to go WAY up!
Oh yeah! The cost! So on average, good land in Kenya is going for about $5,000 per acre. But this land is on sale for $1,650 per acre. The only problem is that it's all or nothin. All 7 acres or none. We've been keeping our eye out for land for a while, and this is by far the best deal. 
Remember Bogwa? We went to visit his mom and she told John that Bogwa wasn't saved. Bogwa was standing there in front of us so it was kind of awkward. Anyway, Bogwa invited us into his house and his wife gave us chai and chapati (tortillas). Both John and I got to share the gospel with Bogwa and his family. I told him that there would be many people from my country praying for him. So please pray that Bogwa comes to know Jesus! After all, the Lord could have sent Maggs and I to Kenya first for salvation to come to this man and his family and then for AMCC.
VISITING DAY
Praise God.We thank whose mercies are renewed every morning.AMCC-K ids and staff greets you all this new day and hope that all is well with you all.May the light of Christ continue to shine on you.
On Saturday 24.07.2010 was a visiting day at AMCC-K.Many guardians and relatives of Amcc kids came.We had a good fellowship and the word of God was deliverd by,Rev.Daivd Githeru of the Anglican Church of Kenya.The theme was on the Fear of the Lord.
The kids presented a good song title:Am the begging and the End says the Lord.Then we had lunch together and the kids and the guardians were all happy to see each other.
We organised that the guards will start prayer cells to be meeting to pray for Amcc.
On this visiting day we had three Reverends visting all to encourage us.We had Rev.David-Anglican Church,Rev.James-Emmanuel Pentecostal Church and Rev.Francis of Afican Indeoendent Church of Africa.
2 of the 3 preachers with Uncle Nick and Aunt Maggie
The guardians brough various items,Pinneaples,breads,tomatoes,sugarcane,milk.etc.We give God the praise for all these.The kids enjoyed feeding on these things .We got encourage to see the guardians to Anne Wanjeri and Naom Wanjiru who are in boarding schools but they felt good to come and visit with the others..
Thank you for your continued support financially and with prayers.
Than you Mark & Karen Dawson,Nick & Maggie Jackson,Broom Church,Ancient Pathways Church,Grace world outreach Church,Desi Starr,Tonny of Bread for the Bride, and all who has been supporting AMCC-K kids,paying salaries,Rent,Donating for chicken project etc.God bless you and continue to be with you.
Rev.John Muhika
Jambo! (John’s first post)
Praise God!Bro.Nick has taught me right now how to post messages on the blog .Am very happy with this.Jambo is greetings in Kiswahili.So receive greetings from AMCC-Kenya kids,staff,board ,my family and myself.May God's joy and peace be multiplied to you always.
I take this time to thank all of you,though a bit late for all your financial support and prayers towards AMCC-K.We really appreciate what you have been doing.Thank very much.All those who have donated towards rent,food,education,salaries and the chicken project,we want you to know that we are happy.It's a great joy to see you support these kids.Thank you very much.
From now on, i will keep you updated on what is going on at AMCC-K and the chicken project at least once per week.Also i will be posting AMCC -K prayer Calls,pictures of children participating in different activities,Pictures on chicken house,kids school performance reports etc.
Meanwhile,thanks once again for your continued support,on behalf of AMCC-K kids,Board and staff.
Rev.John Muhika
Short Video of Worship AMCC Style
The Return of the Wazungu!
Maggs and I are back in Kenya, and this time we came prepared!
We were welcomed with open arms and lots of smiling faces! I have to admit I teared up a little!
Julia is the name of the new cook at AMCC. Thanks to her, John and Nancy can have a bit of a rest from the madness of trying to take care of 40 kids! Julia's child is the one in the picture. His name is John also, and he is terrified of Maggie and I! The only way we could get him to come close was to dance. John, .. and John, and Maggie are all dancing together.
Saturday we had the opportunity to go check out the chicken project! It's really coming along! 
You can see the front of the building here. The whole first floor and ceiling are completed. We're in a waiting process to ensure the solidification of all the cement on the first floor before we can move on to the second.
This is a picture of the back of the chicken house. John is in the suit, and his brother is the guy on the far right. His name is pronounced Bogwa. He's been helping out a ton with the project. 
The gentleman in the middle is John's dad. He's like a father to us here and has calimed Maggie and I as his children. Mr. Muhika has agreed to give up this part of his land so the chicken house can be built.
Over Mr. Muhika's left shoulder (on the right) is a huge pile of sand, some of which is hidden by the black water tank. Over his right shoulder (on the left) is a huge pile of ballast. These were left over by the first building supervisor's miscalculations. That's why we call him the "First" supervisor 
. We may not lose completely on his mistakes. 
If you saw the first picture of the chicken house, you will notice a lot of timber being used. This timber along with the ballast and sand could be used to make yet another floor to this two story building! That's right, it could end up being a three stroy chicken house! We're having the professional architect look at it.
SPIDER! We also saw this by the chicken house! John said it is one of the most deadly spiders in Kenya. Evidently it's venom inhibits blood flow from the vessels in your cranium back to your heart, which ultimately causes your head to fill with blood and explode!.....Okay I made that last part up, but I hear it's bad if you get bit.
When we left the chicken project and Mr Muhika's home, we met a guy name Ambrose. This man considers Pastor John as his mentor and greatly respects him. Ambrose had organized a prayer walk for this day. John wanted to be there to encourage him and pray for those walking. When we met them we found out that some of the group couldn't make it. So Maggs and I, being the experience prayer walkers that we are (www.forgottenchurch.com) decided to join them. Here we are walking down this road and joining our brothers and sisters in Kenya in prayer! We were excited because God had planned for Maggie and I to go with them on that day.
Sunday worship was refreshing. Those Kenyan kids really know how to do it! And now that they have a drum, they're off the hook. They also have this program now where several preachers come from different churches to share with the kids on Sunday! It's great for the kids to be hearing many different pastors. It will help them to discern the Truth by checking what the pastors are saying with the Word of God. It also adds accountability to AMCC!
After church Maggs lined the kids up and taught them some wicked awesome ballet dance steps! Haha, it was a blast. Here you can see Maggs teaching away and me in the back, ...clueless...
This picture is of a handful of kids that are FASTING! Ya that's right fasting. And it's on their own account!Everybody else was eating when I took this picutre. A few of them came up to John and asked about fasting. He started to teach them what fasting is and why we fast and they asked if they were allowed. He told them they could only fast a meal on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays because they had to eat on school days. So here they are on Saturday night, praying instead of eating!
That's about all we got for now, besides these cool shoes!
At Last!
AMCC is supposed to have started actual construction on the chicken house this last Thursday! Praise God! The rivers have not gone down enough to get sand out of them, but John decided that it would be better to just buy sand and begin building than to continue waiting around. So, Lord willing, they began clearing the land where the chicken house will go (moving and then re-planting avocado and banana trees), pouring the concrete, etc...
I'm so excited! John said that they will have ten men out there working on it, which is another great thing about the chicken project. It creates local jobs, which actually grows the local economy! The chickens will be sold in Kenya, and all of the money will stay there, helping the whole community. I'm so stoked for this, and can't believe it's really happening.
Rain Stop and Easter Images
A wonderful card from Dennis, one of the oldest boys at AMCC.
When I called John today he told me that he was unable to stand outside because it was raining heavily there. This is a bummer because there's where the good cell phone reception is at AMCC. It is also a bummer because there are multiple leaks at AMCC that have been troubling them since I was there last March.
Thankfully, however, John had good news concerning the leaks! He was able to speak with the landlord herself (not any of the managers) and she agreed to fix the leaks that AMCC has been asking them to fix for the last 9 months. Praise God! John said they are likely to be fixed in the next week.
He also informed me of some unexpected costs for the children's secondary schooling. Here is a quote from John. "(Counting all), This interpreted means we need kshs.28,100/= ($369.74) which was not counted in the previous budget. We raise questions at the meetings which we were summoned to these schools. But it seemed as if it is only AMCC Which is opposing. All the other guardians and parents were agreeing without raising questions. We were told if we feel we won't pay then, we are at liberty to withdraw our children. Then, where do we take them. Tia."
This is a huge frustration to all of us. We paid the fees that these schools told us to pay up front for the whole year. Now they have told us that we must pay more, and if not, then our kids can go to school elsewhere. This, is injustice, and ticks me off incredibly. John has basically no recourse in this circumstance. We are praying that the children will be able to continue to go to school. Please pray with us.
Teacher Nancy returned from her trip to Western Kenya this week and was very energized by her trip. We are also thanking God that the cook, Julia Ndegwa, has gotten better from her sickness. I know that all are glad to have both of these women back working at AMCC.
John wrote to me in thankfulness that they have been given much food thus far this year. However, the food they have now will only take them to April 30th. They are also running out of firewood (their only source of cooking fuel) and fuel for their lamps (which they use so that the children can do homework after dark). Please pray with us for the Lord's provision for these and many things, and also praise Him for His provision thus far and what is to come!
There were equal drawings for Nick and Maggie and Mark and Karen.
Local Encouragement
John and Teacher Nancy receiving a large check from Bidco Oil Refinieries
I spoke with John this morning and he was in high spirits. He had just gone to the doctor yesterday and was told that his heart is doing just fine 75 pbm- praise God! John has lots of ailments, and I’m thankful that his heart isn’t one of them right now (hand, knee, back).
He also told me of the different donations that they had received in the last week! They were given 18 liters of of “cooking fat” (which we would call vegetable oil) by a small, local NGO. Then, a few days later, they were visited by their local Chief Samuel, who gave them 54 liters of
… you guessed it- cooking fat! The sister of the man who sponsored John to go to the leadership conference also recently gave them five pumpkins, and 88 pounds of maize! John says that “we’re giving God the praise” for all of this.
These are some home-grown pumpkins, enjoy kids!
On a related note, John visited with Bidco people again today, who told him that AMCC is on their website (check it out at ). John also spoke with the district coordinator for HIV/AIDS today and was told to go to that person’s office tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. John said “they will have something to tell me” (which implies that something good will come for AMCC from that office).
John also said that Mercy (who is in the post below) is doing well and is not in pain. He told her that prayer for her was requested on the blog, and that there was even a picture of her on the blog. Then he said that she smiled and “she just feels loved” when she heard about it. This is great, and is pleasing to the God that we serve: to make the vulnerable a misfortunate feel loved, because He loves them dearly.
Teacher Nancy left this morning for a three day “holiday” to go visit some family members who live in Western Kenya. She hasn’t seen them in years, but with her new salary she is able to do such things- praise God for this! Will you join me in asking the Father to provide for more money for salaries? We need to hire more staff, and pay our current staff more (they are currently on about half of what they should be paid).
The current cook at AMCC, her name here, has also recently become ill. She went to the clinic yesterday and received medicine. John met with her husband this morning before going to town, and told him that his wife doesn’t need to rush herself or be anxious to come back too soon. He said, “She should rest and take care until she is fully better”, which just reminds me how blessed I am to have John as a partner in caring for orphans.
On a final note, John said that soon he will be sending along some Easter cards that the children made to honor our Savior’s resurrection. He would have sent them today but for a power outage in town (no power= no internet). He said that many of them are nice, and that the children really feel encouraged by doing them. I’m just stoked to show them off!
Have any questions about AMCC? Or advice? Want to go visit them? Email me at: markdawson@amcckenya.org
