Sew what

The big day came.  After a long period of studying, learning, practicing and going over some accounting and lessons for small business owners...the first group of students from the sewing ministry officially graduted Monday. 

God brought this about and helped it come to this point through so many people...quite a few women that have brought their skills and time to teach and bring materials, those that have donated machines, material, furniture, and of course Ada, Keylim, Erlinda and Maria, through Dora's daily teaching, and Jana helping oversee things. 

 
The pictures that Jana took, as she directed the entire effort that day, show the different students with some of what they have made in their time studying, along with the sewing machine they received upon graduating.  The idea is that they will be able to use those machines in their homes to help provide for their families...making what they need, making more to sell...that sort of thing. 



Jana in her charge in supervising the sewing ministry, will track their progress in the coming months, see how they do and how we can help them to be successful, but ultimately it will fall on them to put in the work and find outlets where they can succeed financially doing this.  

Checking in on them will also help guide how to structure the next season of the sewing ministry: what needs to be changed, what should stay the same, what skills are more "valuable" day to day, what new skills might need to be included...as we are all learning in this process and want to continually figure out how to best use this to God's glory and help the women involved the best way possible. 
 

Eventually when we get our own souvenir store built in 2013 (part of the plan for the second floor of the clinic) we will probably be able to give more work as well to make some special items for sale to groups made from recycled materials (purses, skirts, pillows, perhaps a few quilts, etc.) not something designed to be full time work, but definitely a bigger boon economically when those sort of things come along. 

Additionally for the second floor of the clinic we hope to build a room two to four times the size of what they are using now, with a layout that is more suited for the sewing ministry to better teach, and even hopefully to have the ability to teach more students at a time.

For the time being, join us in prayer that these four women can begin to put their skills to use, profiting economically, and growing closer to God, and for the preparations in 2013 to welcome a new group of women, that God would make obvious who to include and how to begin!