Sudanese Youth Opportunity Update & African Crafts this Sunday

December is an exciting month for Sudanese Youth Opportunity!

Peter Nyok arrived safely in Kenya on November 30. After a year of hard physical labor working in a meat packing plant located in Oklahoma, he has saved enough money to travel to Sudan for 3 months. At his job, he used knives and cut meat all day long, resulting in extremely sore hands and arms. Peter said, “It’s the hardest job, I’ve ever had.”

At the airport in Nairobi, he was reunited with his wife. Now he plans to travel to see our 19 students attending boarding school near Kapanguria. After taking the students shopping, he will go to Southern Sudan where his 3 year old daughter and wife live. During his stay, he will start planning for his future business in Southern Sudan.

In November, we sent a new camera to Rev. Jacob, our student coordinator for our 4 Nairobi day students. Soon, you will be receiving new photos of your students as he plans to travel with Peter to see our boarding school students, too.

Every penny you donate through scholarships and African crafts sales, goes directly to these 23 students. Only a small percentage is used to cover our non-profit status under Hope With Sudan (3%) and our wire fees, about $15 three times a year.

In January, school opens a new term, and all of our students advance one grade. Thanks to our generous, committed sponsors, all of the students in our program have their school tuition and supplies fees covered.

***This Sunday, African crafts will be available for purchase during coffee hour. View samples here. ***

Items are $5 – $20 The proceeds from this sale will go towards a school gift for the boarding school, Sunflower Junior Academy.

A few of our St. Stephen’s Sponsored Students:

Chris Glancy’s student:

He successfully completed his 1st year of high school.

Rev. Judi & Rod’s student:

She completed preschool and is starting 1st year of primary school in January.

Hope With Sudan – Inspiring Video

Remember our T-shirt collection for Sudanese Students in August?
Watch the new video highlighting photos from Bol’s (Hope With Sudan program manager) August trip to Kenya.

Read more at HopeWithSudan.org

Steve Meikle Memorial Fund

Bob and Rev Jan Meikle have requested that in lieu of flowers, a Memorial Fund be established at St. Stephen’s in-the-Field in memory of their son Steve, who passed away on November 13, 2011.  Donations to this Fund are designated for Youth activities and ministry at St. Stephen’s. Please click below if you wish to make a donation using PayPal. Donations may also be made by sending a check to St. Stephen’s, Memo: Steve Meikle Memorial Fund.

Celebrating Thanksgiving: In-Gathering of foods for the needy in our community

View our photo gallery.

Jims Closet Outreach

We are planning a “Jim’s Closet” Outreach trip to an area homeless shelter on Sunday to distribute clothing and coats to those in need.

After the service and brunch on this Sunday we are planning to sort and load clothing and coats, then we will re-assemble at the church later in the day (around 4:30) to depart for the homeless shelter to distribute the clothing.

We are asking for volunteers to help with either activity or both.

This is the perfect time to help your fellow man by providing clean clothing and coats to those without a roof over their heads or adequate food and clothing.

Please come help this Sunday after the brunch or later at the shelter or both!!  It will change your life!

We will also make an announcement at the Sunday service as well.

Many Thanks,

Tony Pecora & Larry Lee

View photos from January 2011 clothing drive.

African Crafts – Come to the Craft Fair Saturday, October 8!

View more samples of African Crafts in our photo gallery.

Thank You from Sudanese Youth Opportunity

Photo taken Sept. 25 & emailed to us by school director.

Dear Members of Saint Stephen’s in-the-Field;

Thank you so much for your gift of $112 (check #705 received 09/19/2011) to Sudanese Youth Opportunity. This money you raised in your annual Fund Raiser will provide Polio Serum for each of the students we have attending boarding schools in Kenya. We are truly grateful for your support in many ways, but particularly in this effort to provide Polio Serum to these students. We want to be proactive when it comes to our students’ health, and you have helped us do just that.

All the students are growing and we want to keep up with that process. We have asked Dr. Nilsson to take photos of our students and send them to us. When and if that happens we will share them with all of you. Meanwhile, we applaud your enthusiasm and your belief in our mission to educate today’s Sudanese students to become tomorrow’s leaders in building their country.

Best regards,

Sandra Mueller
Scholarship Director
www.SudaneseYouthOpportunity.org

Sudanese Youth Opportunity is a project operating under Hope With Sudan, a non-profit corporation recognized as tax exempt by the State of California. 501(c)3 non-profit Tax ID #26-1713611

Prayer Service Against Cancer – Friday, September 23, 2011 – 7:30 pm

Click here to print the flyer.

The greatest tool we have as a church is prayer. Come join us for the evening as we pray for everyone who has a relationship with this disease – patient, spouse, family, friend, care-giver, and medical personnel. We will also pray to stamp out this disease.

We will also provide the Sacrament of Unction: the anointing with oil and the laying on of hands for healing. And at the end of the service, we will offer our praises to God because even Job spoke well of God during his ordeal.

Invite your friends and your family and let’s join the battle the best way we as a church can – in prayer. You will leave this evening knowing you are a beloved child of God who wants you well.

Friday, September 23, 2011 – 7:30 pm

For more information contact the Rev. Judi Sato at:

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

7269 Santa Teresa Blvd.

San Jose, CA 95139

Map

408-629-1836

ssitf@sbcglobal.net

A Service of Prayer Against Cancer

Assistant Priest's Journal

Next month St. Stephen’s will be hosting a prayer service against cancer. This is something the Holy Spirit has been encouraging me to do since Maundy Thursday. I think we all know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer in the recent months. This is a wicked disease and it’s time the church does something about it. There are many wonderful opportunities to raise money to work towards a cure: walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, television marathons and recently I heard of a boat-a-thon to fight leukemia. In fact, many members of our parish have participated in these events and we have supported them.

As a church we have a more valuable asset we can contribute in the fight against cancer: prayer. On Friday, September 23rd at 7:30 pm we will hold a service of prayer at St. Stephen’s. We will pray for those who need healing. We will pray for family members and those who are caregivers. We will pray for medical personnel who treat the patients. And we will pray to stomp out the disease.

I invite everyone to come and offer your prayers on this most holy night. We will also provide the Sacrament of Unction: the anointing with oil and the laying on of hands for healing. And at the end of the service, we will offer our praises to God because even Job spoke well of God during his ordeal.

This service is for anyone who has any relationship with this disease: patient, spouse, family member, friend, caregiver, and medical personnel. Invite your friends and your family and let’s join the battle the best way we as a church can – in prayer.

God Bless,

Judi +

T-shirt collection for Sudanese Students

Hope With Sudan is sending Bol, program coordinator, to Kenya on August 3. He will be visiting Hope With Suda’s 55 Sudanese students living in exile in Kenya. In order to prepare for his leaving we would like to collect both boys and girls T-shirts (just for play time, not uniforms), especially grade school and high school.  The T-shirts don’t have to be new, just in good condition. Bol will return to the USA on Aug. 20.

Please bring donated shirts to church by Sunday July 31.

Contact Carol Pecora if you have any questions.

Thank You for the T-shirts for Africa

Thank you everybody for your generous shirt donations.  Six bags of shirts where collected and delivered to Bol for travel to Kenya.  During the month of August, Bol is visiting with the 55 Hope With Sudan students living in Kenya.

Bol was extra happy with the donations because there were even a few baby clothing items that will be perfect for his 2 year old baby.

Your laptop & digital camera donations are off to Sudan today!

4/1/11

Thank you for your response to last week’s donation request for operational laptops and digital cameras.

Samuel is flying to Sudan today with 3 laptops, 3 digital cameras & 1 photo printer all donated by St. Stephen’s Church and Almaden Episcopal Church members.

When I delivered these items to him on Wednesday, he exclaimed, “WOW….I won’t pack extra clothes and I’ll hand carry these items!”

Samuel’s New Scholar’s website & Facebook information:

(His full name is Garang (Samuel) Akou.)

http://newscholars.net/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Scholars-Empowering-An-Entrepreneurial-Africa/154123597936319

Sudan: Used Laptops & Digital Cameras Request

Garang (Samuel) Akau
Co-founder & Director, New Scholars
Empowering An Entrepreneurial Africa
www.newscholars.net
Kenya: +254 715 445 769
Sudan: +249 920 687 253
US: +1 408 469 1893

Notes from our Sudan Gathering

Last Sunday, February 29, over 30 people met at Almaden Episcopal Church to hear from 3 local Sudanese and to receive Sudanese Youth Opportunity student updates.

Sudanese Speakers:

John Pandak works at at our local Safeway. He told of his driving three others for five hours to vote for the South Sudan Referendum in Phoenix, Arzona. It was his first time ever to vote. Sudanese were required to go to their voting places twice! once to register and once to vote. It was a hardship that the Sudanese were more than willing to participate in. The outcome was nearly 99% in favor of establishing their new country.

Ben Makit has a security job and is finishing up his Global Studies major San Jose State. He is supporting eleven students in his Sudan family. They are in school in Kenya and in Uganda.

Samuel (Garang) Deng returned from Africa on February 11. He answered questions. He said people of the New South Sudan (to be declared July 9th) are currently getting help in writing a constitution for their new country. He talked about Abeiya where the South Sudanese oil fields are. The outcome of a new oil revenue sharing agreement will have a huge bearing on the long-term stability of South Sudan after the referendum. Sharing oil revenue was key to the Comprenhensive Peace Agreement, which brought Sudan’s long-running civil war to an end in 2005. Samuel said the Chinese have come in to run the fields. Currently crude oil (South Sudan has no refinerys) is piped to ports in the north. That will remain the process unless there is trouble with the north. Meanwhile South Sudan is trying to arrange for piping their oil through Kenya. The most exciting news was that Samuel is getting would-be Sudanese entrepreneurs together with American business people so that new businesses can be established and mentored in South Sudan. Learn more at Newscholars.net. Ben and John are returning to Sudan for visits; one in April and one in May. Carol said SYO would be glad to help with supplies etc. when they go.

Carol presented the latest reports of students progress handing out students grades to sponsors. And Sandie spoke of Dr. Nilsson, the Head of School at Sunflower Junior Academy. The school in Kapenguria is in the north west of Kenya, in a beautiful wooded area. But it is outside the delveloped area and has no water or electricity. All that must be brought in. The school has a dispensary, with nurse and dentist. When we told of how many of our students were struggling to catch up to the high standards of this school, Samuel and Ben and John all said that the children would indeed catch up and do well. And raised our hopes, telling us that students attending this kind of Kenyan school have gotten into and done well at UC Berkely.

Meanwhile, Peter Nyok continues to work hard at a meat-packing company in Oklahoma. He is supporting his wife and daughter in South Sudan and many other children he has rescued who live in Kenya. Peter sends his best regards and prayers for the work of SYO.

Do you have a used laptop computer you would like to donate to John or Ben? They would be happy to carry them back to Africa on their upcoming trips.

Would you like to hear about how learn about how you can help new Sudanese graduates living in Sudan? Visit Samuel’s website at Newscholars.net.

Contact Carol Pecora if you would like more information.

Sudanese Youth Opportunity, Join us for a gathering on Feb. 27

Sudanese Youth Opportunity (SYO) is hosting a gathering at Episcopal Church of Almaden on Sunday, February 27 at 3:00 pm.
Our presentation will include a discussion led by local Sudanese on Southern Sudan news and student updates from our scholarship coordinator,
Sandie Mueller.  Refreshments will be served.  Everyone, especially those sponsoring students through SYO, is invited to attend.
SYO supports students from the Southern Sudan who are attending boarding school in Kenya, coordinated by Peter Nyok.

WHAT: Sudan Referendum Discussion & Update on Our Students

WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3:00 pm

WHERE: Episcopal Church of Almaden, 6581 Camden Avenue, San Jose, 95120

RSVP: Please reply to carol@sudaneseyouthopportunity.org if you plan to attend.

Our students attending Sunflower Junior Academy

SudaneseYouthOpportunity.org

Outreach Projects: Food for the Poor & Clothing for the Homeless

Clothing for the Homeless

We help approximately 2000 homeless per year. The Invision shelters run from Sunnyvale down to Gilroy. We collect clothing and cash. Jim Clancy buys new bulk underwear and socks. During  Nov. 31 – March 31 bring your items to church anytime & drop them in the narthex and label them. We need clothing for both men and women, but we serve 90% men. Therefore, we are in need of more men clothing donations.

Food for the Poor

Click here to view our photo gallery of our recent “getting ready” and “delivery” trip to a local shelter.

If you have any questions, contact our Vestry Outreach Liaison, Wanda Bryant.