Africa T-shirts...

The t-shirts are here!!! They are awesome. They are a dark gray with distressed writing. The Africa in the picture is the design on the front with the verse on the back. They are $18 or 2 for $30. Email us if you want one - info@banytradingcompany.com. Thanks for your support!

Sale Day

Amanda and Stefani at the Grace Women's Event. It was a fun day and we were able to sell some of the purses, aprons, t-shirts, etc. God continues to provide and bless the business. For His glory!!!

SALE...SALE...SALE

Did someone say SALE???? It's true. Grace Community Church is hosting a Women's Christmas event this weekend. It's an awesome time to shop with a PURPOSE! There will be a number of booths with great items from all over the world.

Here's the info....

Ladies, come celebrate a “Country Christmas” with Women of Grace! Enjoy live musical entertainment and come early to do some Christmas shopping. Proceeds support local and international missions.

Date: Saturday, December 5; Doors open at 9am, Brunch and concert 10-11:30am
Location: Old Jacksonville Campus Auditorium
Cost: Tickets $10 each; Free for girls 10 & under
No Childcare Available

Tyler Campuses: purchase at the Downtown Ministry Center, multi-site church office, or Christmas event booth in the Commons.

Lindale & Athens: call or email to reserve tickets, pay at the door.
Registration Deadline: December 3
Contact: Crystal Smoker; 903.595.5249

We'd love to see you there...

Continued Blessings...

God continues to do AMAZING things!!! The school supplies sent in August arrived and are being used now. The students were very excited.

Have you been wondering what happened with all the desks??? Well they are on their way to Sierra Leone. In October, Amanda and Emily took a monsterous truck full of the desks, remaining school supplies, and clothes to Oklahoma City to the 4HIM office. They were shipped on the container and should be arriving soon. The kids should be able to use them after the first of the year. Next trip we'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Speaking of....our plan is to take a team in March. We are excited about the people God continues to bring along side us.

Prayer Needs:
-For the team the Lord is putting together for the March trip
-For the mission the Lord would have us do while we're there
-Bany as we continue to move forward with the Non-profit, make decisions, etc.
-For the kids, students, and people of Sierra Leone

Thanks so much!!!

School Supplies, School Supplies, School Supplies...

Just wanted to let you know how incredible the Lord has been in providing school supplies for the students of the Orphanage Vocational Training Center. Here's just a few things the Lord has done...
Pencils: 1646
Pens: 440
Pencil Sharpeners: 81
Scissors: 39
Staplers: 12
Staples: 85,000+
Spiral Notebooks: 256
Notebook Paper: 31
Copy Paper: 10
Dry Erase Markers: 84
Dry Erase Boards: 6
Chalk: 11 boxes
Crayons: 71 boxes
Glue: 70+

Many more things were donated and are on their way to Sierra Leone as I type. The container left a couple of weeks ago and the students will be receiving them by the end of September. The rest will be sent on the next container with the desks. The students were overjoyed when we told them on our visit. God is so good. Thanks so much to all who gave so generously!!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It's time again for another trip back to Sierra Leone. We are so excited to see everyone and continue building the relationships that the Lord has graciously provided. There's a team of 4 of us going, leaving on the 20th. Our main goals this trip are to minister to kids in some of the war wounded/polio camps. 4HIM has several church plants in areas surrounding Freetown. We're hoping to run some simple VBS type things.

We're also hoping to really have a chance to minister and dig in to God's Word with girls at the orphanage. We'll be studying a different woman of the Bible each night. Amanda and I are going to meet with the people running the Orphanage Vocational Training Center to continue moving forward with Bany sales/production. And, we're using it as a scouting trip for the spring in hopes of bringing a larger team to run some more VBS's in the surrounding communities. We will see what God has in store...

Please pray:
-We'll be able to reach the kids and families during the VBS
-Lord's Word would be exciting to the girls, that they will really be able to apply what they are learning to their lives.
-Wisdom and discernment when meeting with the school officials for Bany
-God will use us and that we'll be open to whatever He has for us. Courage to be bold!
-Wisdom in looking ahead for the team in the Spring
-Unity among our team
-Travel mercies

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We'll update and post pictures as soon as we get home.

Continued Provision...

Wow...the Lord truly continues to provide in so many, unexpected ways! Just this week we have finished our school supply drive with over 1000 pencils, 500 pens, 200 spiral notebooks, loads of paper, crayons, glue, staplers, dry erase markers, etc. We have been blown away by the generosity of those around us.

Another cool provision that the Lord brought out of nowhere is over 100 school desks. Through various people, we were contacted about purchasing these desks that a local school was going to throw away. Originally, the desks were 50 cents each, which dropped to 5 cents, which then someone purchased for us (without us even asking I might add!). We had a small team, 6 trucks, 2 trailors, and were able to move them in just under 3 hours. Not only did the Lord also provide the help to move all these desks, He provided a storage unit free for a month until we can transport them to Oklahoma City. How great is our God!!!

Newsletters

The August/September 2009 Issue of the Bany Trading Company Newsletter is now available via email. If you are not on our mailing list please email info@banytradingcompany.com to stay updated!!

Donation Update!!

We are so excited to report that your efforts have surpassed all of our expectations. The amount of supplies and resources that we have received for the Orphanage Vocational Training Center is AMAZING!! And we are still receiving donations every day!! Your faithfulness to the Lord's people and desire to further His kingdom through this ministry overwhelms both of us!! We cannot thank you enough!!

School Supply Drive

We are currently collecting school supplies for the Orphanage Vocational Training Center. Over 200 students are enrolled in the various programs at the school and they are lacking in basic school supplies. We will be traveling to Sierra Leone August 20th and will be able to transport some of the supplies at that time and send the rest via container very soon. Items needed are spiral notebooks, pencils and sharpeners, pens, dry erase boards and markers, chalk, erasers for dry erase and chalkboards, ledgers, staples and staplers, white copy paper, and flash drives (USB memory sticks). Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and service as we show the love of Christ to these students through providing their everyday needs and helping to fulfill their dreams of an education.

Collection Deadline: August 16, 2009
Location: You may drop off items at any Grace Community Church Commons area during Sunday services, Ellis Rehab Just for Kids during operating hours, or send to our mailing address.
PO Box 132890
Tyler, Texas 75713
Contact: Stefani Masten or Amanda Storer at info@banytradingcompany.com

A New Adventure

Have you ever prayed for new dreams?  Dreams that seemed to be meaningful, eternally minded, and for something way outside of anything you could do?  Dreams that make a difference?    Well - that's what I started praying about a year ago and God has definitely been working!

Amanda and I were fortunate enough to go to Sierra Leone last summer with an organization called 4HIM.  How incredible it was to spend time with the people of Sierra Leone.  It was after that trip that God began working in both of us and thus a dream was born - Bany Trading Company.

Sierra Leone endured a brutal war from 1991-2002 that resulted in the deaths and displacement of more than 2 million people.  During the war, many women and girls were taken and kidnapped by the rebel militias as sex slaves.  They were exposed to untold human sufferings and left with little hope for the future.  Many of the girls were released but already had unwanted children and were too old by that time to complete any formal education.  They had no skills to support themselves and as a result, many had to rely on sex as a trade for survival.  It was due to this challenge that the Orphanage Vocational Training Centre was started.

The primany purpose of establishing the school was to improve the living standards for these women, giving them hope through the gospel of Christ, while also giving them skills to support themselves and their children.  The school has 6 programs available including tailoring, hair dressing, tye-dying, catering, carpentry, and computer science.  The women are also taught literacy, numeracy, and business.  The ultimate goal is for the women to start their own businesses following graduation.

The school currently has over 200 students and 14 teachers.  As funding is always a problem, this school is no different.  The students are offered free education, which is unheard of in Sierra Leone.  They are asked to assist as much as they can with supplies for practicals but many of them are barely able to provide enough meals for their children or themselves.  The school faces many challenges and Bany Trading Company is hoping to ease some of the burden for these women and the teachers.  

So, what is the project?  The main component right now is the Purse Project.  We are having the women make purses out of their wonderful material and selling them here, with the proceeds going back to the women and to help support the school.  It is still a new project and we are working out a lot of logistical things but we are excited.  We are working on starting the company, getting a website, etc.  Please pray with us that God would continue to lead and guide our steps.  We are just two girls available to what God is calling.