John Stanko

Thanks to you, I was able to raise more than $3,000 for the Give a Kid a Christmas Campaign. I sent the money over right away and here are two thank yous I received, with a promise of pictures after Christmas. This one is from Pastor David (pictured right):

Brother Stanko - on behalf of all our lovely children, my family and the staff, I have to say thank you. Surely for the last two days I had missed words of thanking God and you for serving together here in Kenya. Though far away you and your friends have become a big blessing by supporting us in our ministry here at Kenduiwo Children's Home. We received your double blessings.

I am writing from Mulot open air market biggest here in our county of Bomet where I took my wife Sarah, matron, and two other ladies to confidently do shopping for our kids. Surely our God does not leave his people to be ashamed.

Once again thank you. Let me continue waiting for them here in the vehicle since I am not good in shopping as they are. God bless you - Pastor David

The second one is from Pastor Francis:

Dr J - Thank you so much for the Christmas gift. We are shopping for new outfits for the orphans and they will shine like the rest of the children in this community on the Christmas day and beyond. We are very grateful. Will report back after Christmas - Pastor Francis

I appreciate your support and help to provide a holiday celebration for the children. I love what Pastor David wrote: "Surely our God does not leave his people to be ashamed."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Stanko household and from all our orphans in Kenya.

If you remember, last August you helped me raise money to help get orphans off the ground and into some beds. We purchased the bed frames but have been unable to purchase all the mattresses, since money given through Facebook takes 60-75 days to be processed and sent. I was able to send money last week and here is the report from Pastor Francis:

As soon as the rest of the money arrives, we will take care of those other mattresses and blankets. Thank  you for helping to make this possible, but keep in mind that the children have ongoing needs. Please contribute today toward their health and welfare by giving through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and God bless you for your compassion toward these children.

It's the beginning of September and school fees are due in Kenya. Here is what we need and here is what I have:

1. EOTOO Tuition for six orphans: need $1,775, have $1075
2. Little Mary's tuition: need $600, have $300
3. Upako Teacher's Salaries: need $625, have $100
4. Little Felix school fees: need $200, have $200
5. Banana library: need $900, have $0

That makes a total needed of $2,425. It is not unusual for contributions to drop off after we raised so much for the orphan's beds and library needs in August. If you can help with this current need, please give today, either through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. On behalf of our orphans and partners in Kenya, thank you!

My first visit to Kenya in more than a year gave me a chance to catch up with our partners and get updates on the various projects with which we have been involved. One of them was the brick-making business we helped establish for Pastor Francis and Upako Centre. I was delighted to find out how well the business is doing and how much it is helping them with their 23 orphans and school operation. Here is Francis' report:

The one brick making machine is now supporting part of the orphans feeding program and this is very helpful. We hire out the machine to local people in the community for a fee but we also produce quality bricks (when the machine is not hired) and sell in small quantities. This is a good project and we will [eventually] expand and add more machines. God bless our donors. Francis.

In addition to that, the delivery of beds continues at the Upako orphanage, with the latest ones arriving a few days ago. The money for the bedding is coming in and we will be sending it soon. These beds are handmade and I promise you they will withstand a nuclear blast! (I am including pictures that are a bit small, but click on them to enlarge and enjoy.)

 

I sense, or maybe it's because I want to sense, that someone is considering a significant contribution toward the work in Kenya. If that's you, don't be afraid. If it's not you, then join me in thanking God for His abundant provision and let's call the money in together. If you would like to contact me about a gift that would establish something in Kenya in honor of a loved one or as a gift of thanks to God, please contact me at [email protected]. If you would like to give to my work, you can do so online or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and let's have faith for a financial blessing for the orphans.

It has been a great 10 days for me here in Kenya. I have been able to accomplish so much with the Lord's help and I have another three full days to go. Thank you for your prayers and assistance. Here is a summary of my time so far.

1. I trained 435 leaders in the Bomet and Longisa Areas of the Africa Gospel Church. I provided a set of notes, lunch, and a tea break for all those who participated at a cost of $2,000, which included a new video projector that I donated to the Longisa Area for their use. My subject matter was a two-day seminar in each area on the Price of Leadership, in which we covered subjects like goals, purpose, time management, servant leadership, and personal development.
2. I visited with my friend Pastor David Koech at Kenduiwo Orphans home to pray for the 54 orphans (18 more were away at school) under his care and to talk to him about some long-range projects that will help relieve the pressure on him, his family, and his churches as they seek to care for those 72 children. I left $200 for the children.
3. I preached at Harvest Centre Fellowship and the title of my message was "Clash of Kingdoms." I simply discussed the reality of the war we are in between the kingdom of light and darkness and our need to participate in seeing the fullness of our victory in Christ achieved.
4. This coming week, I will visit our library in Banana, our school in Upako, and conduct some training for a group of lawyer and social worker friends here in Nairobi. I delivered money to the leadership in Banana for library furnishings ($1,700) and to Upako for the beds for 26 orphans ($2,700), which are being constructed and should be ready this week. I will post pictures when I have them.

I am now in need of the bedding to go with the beds, so I am asking you to give toward this project to get the kids off the ground and into a bed. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and God bless you on behalf of the children and our partners here in Kenya for all your help!

This is just a short note to thank you for your help in making my trip to Kenya possible. I delivered the money for the beds to Pastor Francis and Lillian, money to Pastor Peter for library equipment, and the new projector to Pastor David Koech and will begin training leaders today for the next four days. Now we need to work on the bedding to go with the beds for 26 orphans! I know I have asked you for much recently, and if it wasn't urgent, I would not ask. If you haven't given already, please consider doing so, using my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Let's trust the Lord together for another miracle.

As you know, our container landed in Kenya and the resources have been distributed to the joy of all who received. The children in this video are elated to receive some books. When a child doesn't own anything, even the smallest gift can seem huge. Some of the children you see in this video and picture are orphans and tonight they will sleep on the ground, the concrete to be more specific, with only a thin mat for comfort. I am asking you to help me help them get some bunk beds.

My goal is to raise $3,900 by the time I depart on Thursday, July 26 for their beds and for our library needs. $850 has already come in but I need your help to reach the entire goal. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

I am not being overly dramatic when I tell you of this need. Recently, there were heavy rains and the children had nowhere to sleep after the flooding. It is time I help get them off the floor and on to a mattress. Do what you can and together we will trust the Lord to put these children to bed soon.

I am pleased to report that after still more trials and tribulations, the long-awaited container has been delivered and some of the resources have been picked up and delivered to our partners. What kind of trials did we endure

1. We were "fined" $920 for an inspection certificate that expired before we could ship. The reason we could not ship in February or March was due to the weather (we had one pickup within the inspection time limit that had to be cancelled due to ice).
2. Due to new regulations, everything in the container had to be removed and then reloaded. This meant that our 17 pallets, which were shrink wrapped, had to be torn apart and many of the boxes opened for inspection. Then everything was loaded back into the container for delivery, but not according to the color code on the boxes. In other words, everything got mixed up. The boxes were not resealed. We were informed that even if we had shipped within the certificate time limit, this same procedure would have been followed, which begs the question: Why did I pay $250 on this end for an inspection that was still going to require an inspection in Kenya?
3. The container was delivered and had to be unloaded well into the night hour.
4. Upon unpacking, we discovered that 16 of our computers and 20 computer chargers had mysteriously disappeared.
5. I sent $900 this past week to help get the boxes where they need to be. This was for local truck rental and loading costs.
6. Meanwhile, I am still "offloading" the 2,100 pair of shoes, 16 bicycles, and six desks that the Kenyan officials refused to allow us to ship as informed during our U.S. inspection,

What a learning experience this has been, and truthfully, I don't think we will sponsor another container. It is time to refocus on some other needs that our partners have, and that is what I want to mention as we close this report.

The orphans at Upako are still sleeping on the floor of the school on mats. We have raised $300 for their bunk beds in the past, but I want to raise another $2,200 before I depart on July 26 to fund this need.

Then our library is in need of shelves, chairs, and tables at a cost of $1,700 (see the conditions of our chairs in the pic to the right; we had chairs to send but were prevented by the Kenyan officials). I would also like to have that before I go.

Therefore, I am announcing a campaign to raise $3,900 by the time I depart on July 26. I cannot do this without your help. You can give using the link on my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. If you would like to issue a challenge grant that would match contributions dollor for dollar, please let me know and I will get the word out.

Thank you for your help and let's help the orphans and children now that the container project is complete. They need our ongoing support and I know you won't let them down. Thank you, and God bless you!

CONTAINER UPDATE

I thought we had a confirmed pickup date for our Kenya-bound container last Friday. I paid $5,000 to the shipping company who then worked with a trucking company to schedule a pick up. That date and time had to be coordinated with a friend who was arranging a forklift to be present when the truck with the container arrived. All was coordinated until we received 10 inches of snow here last Wednesday, at which time the trucking company cancelled the pickup. Then the trucking company called on Thursday to inform me that they had changed their mind and could come on Friday at 2 PM for our scheduled pickup.

Unfortunately, I had released the help and the forklift and could not get them back in time. Now we have to wait till the week of  April 2 to start the process all over again, and that involves the shipping company, the trucking company, the warehouse where the boxes are stored, my friend, and my friend's forklift connection. This is a perfect description of how this entire process has gone since last September when we first began the procedure to ship the container. Stay tuned for an update.

(You can click on any picture to enlarge.)

DAVID KOECH

I received an email from Pastor David Koech asking help in securing a small tractor to help with water transport. It will also provide a means of support when they rent the tractor out. I have asked for a confirmation of what he needs, which at this point I think is $500-$700. If you can give to this cause, please do so through my website or by sending a check. Info to do that is below.

UPAKO CENTRE

Here is the latest update from Pastor Francis:

Thank you for checking on us/Mary is doing great and was with us two weeks ago when they came home for midterm holidays. She is in good health and doing well academically. Her academic standard is impressive and am happy for her. She will be coming home for a 3 weeks holiday starting 6th April 2018.

The teachers are doing great job at Dr. Stanko Academy and the children are gaining a lot. Thanks to you for paying the teachers. We have 12 teachers and we   are grateful for the help you are providing including paying five of them. However, I am requesting prayerfully that the payment be extended to the rest of them if  possible so that we retain them to continue giving service to the children.

We have not gotten beds for the orphans and still praying.

We are delighted that Joel Gray has accepted the position as director of AfricaBookBagz. Here Joel is pictured with our board (Cheryl is missing) at yesterday's meeting. We know you will be hearing more from ABB as Joel gets rolling with some of the ideas he has. It's nice to have young legs leading the charge!

Thank you for your concern and your help as we endeavor to serve our friends and partners in Kenya. You can donate directly through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and get in touch if you have any questions or ideas to raise funds for our friends.