2015 Mission – a message from my heart
Michelle Stark
For those of you who know me, you know it was a tough thing for me to post Patrick’s blog.
His kind words were overwhelming.
This mission has been different from any thus far. During each of the past 9 years, we carried up to 70 fifty pound duffel bags filled with medication, school supplies, blankets, coats, shoes, book bags, and so many additional needed items.
Donations this year were equally as wonderful however, airline transport proved to be a great challenge and we shipped more than 3,500 pounds by boat. This meant me packing 32 boxes of donations, most weighing over 100 lbs. We shipped the first 17 boxes out by March expecting to see them at the end of May (just before our arrival) and then shipped second half out by May, expecting that by the end of June we would see them as well.
The first group of boxes arrived more than 7 weeks late. We visited the kids and had to be very creative in disbursing supplies to them. We focused almost completely to information gathering, counseling and encouragement. Thank God that the bags we carried had just enough supplies to sustain us! By the time the first set of boxes arrived, we put ourselves on turbo speed: unpacking, sorting and delivering all we could. We traveled cross-country with relief supplies in hand. THANK YOU DONORS! Despite the wait, these donations have been a huge blessing!
Today we sit in Nairobi. Again…we are waiting. Most of the sponsor gifts to their kids are in the boxes that have been sitting at Mombasa Port, waiting for someone in the government to release them. What a conundrum!
I’ve just returned from the airport where I changed my flight from September 1 to September 29. All this to say; I still don’t know when we will get the boxes. I miss my son, my family, my shower, the smell of clean clothes coming from the dryer, my bed and the ease of doing my work in my office… but I am determined to do everything I can to get these donations to the kids and others in need.
To each of you who have helped to support Matanya’s Hope, thank you. Thank you for your donations, your sponsorships for these precious students, your encouragement and prayers. To those of you who are with me in Kenya, thank you from the core of my being for your time, your love and your dedication to this mission. We are joined together by hope; all of us.
As we move into the September month, let us stand in faith. Even the unknown shall be made great when we make our first priority the children.
Blessings,
Michelle
