In the late 1980’s Randy Stensgard and Francis Ranogwa were roommates at a Bible college in Germany. As Francis and his older brother, Kefa Kadenge, began taking in orphans and starting Shangilia Children’s Home, Randy had an open invitation from Francis to visit Kenya. In 2006, God provided the opportunity for Randy to lead a group of high school students on a short term mission trip to visit Pastor Francis and help in his ministry. Shortly after that trip, Love for Kenya was established to provide a way for people in the US to partner with Pastors Francis and Kefa through project development, financial support and the coordination of missions trips to Kenya.
Pastor Francis Ranogwa: Francis and his wife Florence have been in ministry for over 35 years. They have six children: Rachel, Jimmy, Kevin, Eric, Krista, & Mark. Francis and Florence’s ministry has included pastoring a church, starting two orphanages and two schools as well as founding the Love for Kenya ministry. Francis is currently a pastor in Eldoret and is the head of his church’s denomination in Kenya. He is also the president of Love for Kenya and is on the board of Shangilia Children’s Home.
Pastor Kefa Kadenge: Kefa is Francis’ older brother and he has been a pastor for nearly 40 years. Kefa, his wife, Lonika, and their extended family have all been an integral part of the ministry of Shangilia Children’s Home and its community outreach in the neighboring village of Lusiola. Kefa and Lonika live at Shangilia where Kefa is the director. Together they oversee the children with the assistance of a small staff. As the number of children at Shangila continues to increase, they are developing plans for growth and are training leaders for Shangilia’s future. Lonika is also a nurse and runs the small medical clinic in Lusiola.
Pastor Randy Stensgard: Randy and his wife, April, have two daughters, Brook and Paige. After serving for 10years as a youth pastor in Colorado, Randy returned to Minnesota in 2012 to take a position as the men’s pastor at a church in the Twin Cities. The Stensgard family has a deep love for their friends in Kenya and has been instrumental in creating Love for Kenya and introducing others in the US to the ministry and helping them participate in what God is doing there. Randy and April have led numerous trips to Kenya and continue to strengthen and increase the relationships with our partners there. Randy is the president of Love for Kenya in the US and April serves on the board of directors.
Pastor Solomon Mukunza: Solomon pastors a church in Nakuru, Kenya where he also directs an outreach ministry to young men and the community. Solomon and his wife, Mary, have a young daughter named Eliana and are raising 8-10 additional children who were orphaned or abandoned by their families. Solomon is on the board of Shangilia Children’s home.
Pastor Timothy: Timothy Mulehi pastors Calvary Evangelistic Church and school in the Kibera area of Nairobi. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and houses more than 1 million people in an area of roughly 2.5 square km. In the midst of Kibera’s bleak and discouraging backdrop, Timothy provides the message of God’s love and hope to his congregation and the surrounding community, provides places for street children to eat and sleep, oversees the school and encourages others to share their love with Kibera.
