HOLY UNDERWEAR
A few years ago, I was in Zimbabwe and had a pair of 'holy' pair of underwear that had reached the end of the line, or so I thought. I threw it out only to have Sophie, our maid, approach me the next day.
"Would you please sign this release, Dr. Stanko?" she asked.
"Sure, Sophie, what is it?" I replied.
"It is a permission slip," she responded, "so that I can take the pair of underwear you threw away home with me to my grandson. The slip will let the guard know I did not steal it from you so I can take it home."
Needless to say, I was deeply moved. Something I take for granted and threw away was something of value to someone else. I wondered at that point what else I had that I did not value that someone else would, or what else I could provide for my friends in Africa that would serve a practical need.
ONE MORE TIME
No, the underwear I want for my birthday is not for me. It's for children in Kenya, who sometimes can't go to school because they don't have it. To date, I have collected some, but I want and need more. I did this a few years ago and called it the Petticoat Project. At that time I was able to gather 2,500 pair (and $4,000) to send over to Kenya. (We used the money to buy feminine products.) My sister-in-law wrote a blog entry three years ago entitled, "Why I am buying my brother-in-law underwear for his birthday" and then sent me $50. That gave me the idea to ask for more then, and I thought I would do so again this week and year.
So how about it? Are you up for buying an old man some underwear for his birthday? While you are at it, how about adding $5 to your contribution for the Sophia Fund to help feed widows and orphans? Next week we will resume our discussion of time, but for this week, it's time to celebrate my 63rd birthday by buying some underwear. Instructions on how to give are below. Have a great week!
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PETTICOAT PROJECT: If you send money, I will purchase the underwear to send over on your behalf to
Kenya. If you want to buy some and get it to me, please buy all cotton up to size 7 for young ladies. If you want to give some for boys, that's fine too. You can give through Paypal or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. If you have any questions or need a shipping address, please don't hesitate to contact me.
KENYA UPDATES: I have posted from great updates this week from the distribution of resources (including blue jeans) in our container. Please check them out and then give as the your heart moves you through my website or by sending a check to my Pittsburgh address.
A NEW PAGE: I have added a new page to my website that contains many of my spoken messages from the past along with my archived Saturday morning radio shows. This is my gift to you, made possible in large part by my son's untiring efforts to convert many of my old messages from cassette to MP3 files. Thank you J3! I hope you find things on this page that are helpful to you. I will update it from time to time as we convert other messages and as the radio show continues to gain momentum here locally.
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