As many of you know, I (Mark) was fortunate enough to get to visit
AMCC last month for 10 days (June 6-16). During this time I was able to spend a lot of time
with John, the new staff, and of course the kids at AMCC. I also got to see the
school that most of the children go to, attend church where they do, and eat a
meal in John’s home where his wife, Nancy, lives. It’s the same place that I
went to several times back in 2009, and this time she also came to AMCC on
multiple occasions. It was wonderful. I can’t write down everything that
happened, but I would like to give you this summarized report of my time there.
Please read on!
There are three main takeaways from this trip:
1.
God is still moving through AMCC
2.
Increased Community Support for AMCC
3.
John’s health is improving.
I.
God is still moving through AMCC
God is still using AMCC to do wonderful work caring for
orphans and vulnerable and abused children in Kenya. God is bringing healing to
the wounded through their consistent and loving interaction with AMCC staff and
the other children there. For example, one 8-year-old child (whom I will call
Sarah) was not speaking the last time I was there in November 2016. She had
come to AMCC as a victim of sexual abuse from multiple family members. But just
now at AMCC she was speaking regularly in Kiswahili and English and was one of
the most joyful children there. We praise God for this wonderful
transformation! AMCC is growing more and more in their expertise caring for
victims of sexual and physical abuse, and they recently received 4 more abused
girls. We are praying that they too will heal and grow to learn about the
healthy love of God through their safe and supportive community at AMCC.
Children at AMCC continue to get good schooling and be
surrounded by a loving community. The most recent 8th grade national
examinations in Kenya saw AMCC’s children place 1st and 3rd
in their class of over 80 students at their school. They had the
highest-ranking boy and girl in school. Children at AMCC study on a daily basis
during the week during set-aside times dedicated to schoolwork. I also noticed
a real improvement in the level of English of kids at AMCC this time. This is
also a result of the emphasis that AMCC places on education.
II.
Increased Community Support for AMCC
AMCC is experience a real increase in community support. The
local government office for children’s homes trust AMCC and is now regularly
placing victims of abuse with AMCC. They were also invited to a government
sponsored event celebrating the “Day of the African Child” where they performed
poetry, John prayed, and AMCC even received a donation of food. The government
also heard about AMCC’s troubles with food debts and decided to inquire more.
After they did a kind of audit of AMCC’s finances, and concluded that AMCC is
doing a good job stewarding it’s finances—there’s no mismanagement or shady
business going on. Based on this, the government actually called a meeting with
AMCC’s different creditors and instructed the creditors to stop harassing AMCC
to pay their debts. They said that AMCC will pay them when they are able to,
and if a time comes when the business is truly hurting, they said they
guarantee the debts. After this the creditors are no longer calling John every
other day accusing him of being a thief and other nasty things. We praise God
for this because it has been a great encouragement and has lifted a heavy
burden from his shoulders.
to celebrate their birthdays with the children of AMCC and brought a very nice cake to AMCC to divide up and share with the kids. I met with the local chief on several occasions and he is very supportive of what AMCC is doing.
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| John is in grey and purple here, praising God in the Kikuyu language |
III.
John’s Health is Improving
As many of you know, John Kameru has been the unfortunate
victims of several different motor vehicle accidents. The most recent one broke
his ankle severely and requires surgery. Unfortunately, infection and
sub-standard medical care has kept John in bed, on crutches, and on heavy
medications since late 2016. But when I visited him now John was finally free
of the crutches and was able to walk even medium-length distances on his own.
The times when we did go for more than a mile did affect him negatively in the
night and the following days, but not so much as to get him down. His mind was
sharp and clear since he’s not longer regularly on the medication, and it was a
joy to interact with him. He was even joking with me more than I’ve ever seen,
and that really gave a sense of joy and peace.
IV.
Three main prayer requests
As you know, AMCC is a place based on prayer. They pray
daily for many things and invite you to join with them in asking our Father to
do His good work. Would you please pray for the following?
1.
New staff: there are three new staff at AMCC: John,
Penina, and Joseph. Please pray for their training, that they would do their
jobs well, for motivation and compensation for them to stay (being a volunteer
is not valued in Kenyan culture).
2.
Provision: please pray for God’s provision
through many different means for: food, medical bills, staff salaries, and
school fees.
3.
Children: please pray that the kids at AMCC
would grow in the knowledge of God, heal physically, emotionally, and
spiritually, would get a good education, and would grow into helpful Christian
members of their community wherever they are.
If you have any other questions about AMCC or my time there,
please don’t hesitate to contact me to ask!
In Christ,
Mark
