News from Kenya.

AMCC Update:
– Does anyone have a laptop that they want to donate to AMCC? It just needs to operate and have Word on it. John could use this to write emails to us while he is away and then does not have to spend money on the internet while in town. It will greatly increase his ability to communicate with us because he will be able to write any time.

– This chicken business is having difficulties but AMCC is looking to the Lord for provision.

o AMCC had begun to buy raw materials to mix their own feed in order to cut costs of rearing the chickens. However, the raw materials are no longer available for them to buy because two large corporations in Kenya have bought all the raw materials in Kenya. Therefore, everyone (including AMCC) is forced to buy from these two corporations who have jacked up their prices in addition to the rising cost of food Kenya. AMCC had no option but to buy their chicken feed, though it is 3x more than we were mixing for ourselves. In addition, the feed from these corporations is not as high quality as what AMCC had been mixing and so the chickens will require two extra weeks of growth (and two more weeks of overpriced feed) in order to reach their selling weight. Oh, Lord help the children at AMCC!
o One of the workers on the chicken business has had to leave to take care of some health issues with her hand. She was born with a hand that sometimes seizes up and becomes stiff and is unable to even comb her hair. AMCC paid her the salary due to her, but since they had no other money to assist her with her medical costs it was agreed that she should return to her home to deal with this. Our prayers are with her.
o AMCC is continuing to look for a better buyer for their chickens. The last cycle they were forced to sell to a middle-man who gave them such a low price that they had a net loss from the whole cycle! Pray for a much higher buying price this time as we are close to running out of our operating capital.
o The veterinarian who has been assisting AMCC with the chicken business is organizing a workshop on chicken rearing for the Board and staff members of AMCC on May 19-20. They are all excited for this opportunity.

– School
o Most of the schools that AMCC children attend just let out for their semester break. This is a fun and crazy time because it means the children are at AMCC all day, rather than being gone for 7 hours in the middle of each week day. Pray for them to have a wonderful time off and for the staff to keep their sanity with all of the issues that can arise from having so many children in such close quarters.
o 16 of AMCC’s students received prizes for finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their class at school this semester. The average class size is 50, so this is really an accomplishment. Almost half of AMCC’s students finish in the top 3 of their class!