Blessed by Visitors
We were excited to receive two visitors for two weeks in February!
We originally met Dr. Shirleas Washington here in Beira in 2016 when she came to support and be part of an evangelism crusade, and we’ve stayed in touch with her ever since. She lives in the St. Louis area and runs a nonprofit called Scholar Ministries, and she is involved with prison ministry, prayer networks, and worship conferences. She preached/shared eleven times in different churches in their thirteen days here, so she felt well-utilized and we’ve heard many testimonies from several of the people who loved her sessions.
|
|
|
Kacie Starr Long runs a sewing ministry called Sew Hope in Florissant, Missouri, and she came to teach and share with the sewing school. She also has done a good deal with prison ministries, and both Shirleas and Kacie got to share at the local jail while they were here. Kacie was able to visit several of the students in their homes and helped them tailor their own dresses for the sewing school graduation! Speaking of which....
|
|
Sewing School Graduation!
|
|
|
Kacie and Shirleas were a tremendous help with our fundraising campaign to make sure all sixteen of the students received a sewing machine, which was a huge blessing. The graduation was amazing and we held it on the last day the visitors were here, so they got to give the machines away and celebrate with the ladies!
|
|
Here are some amazing stories of the resilient women who take part in the school!
It was beautiful to see multiple generations of the sewing school celebrated at the graduation. Carla taught Maria (who still works with us as the head teacher), Maria taught Fatima who started a new daughter school in her church, Fatima taught a lady named Cristina, and Cristina taught two sisters, Sara and Catarina! It's so wonderful to see the vision expanding and lives being changed through the kindness and patience of one woman helping another, who then helps another, and so on!
Sara and Catarina lost both of their parents, so they needed to become self-sufficient at a young age. Even though they were from a daughter school, we invited them to participate in the special classes that Kacie taught and graduate with our other students. Before this they had not attended the Mother School. We were impressed that they were the first to arrive every day, so we thought they must live nearby. In a brief conversation we found out no, they live quite far away and they started walking each day at 5:30am to get to the sewing school by 8:00am! When Kacie heard their story, she paid for their bus fare for the rest of the time that they were coming to class. Now they have their own machine at home, so they don't have to walk as far anymore!
|
|
|
|
Sara and Catarina walked 5 hours round-trip every day to attend Kacie's special sewing classes, we are excited that they were able to graduate and have a brighter future now that they have a sewing machine!
|
|
Domingas is another great example of resilience and dedication. We were sad to hear on the morning of the graduation that her house had collapsed in the rains the day before, but SHE STILL CAME to the graduation to celebrate, dance and sing, and receive her machine!
Domingas is a single mom who lives with her 5-year-old son Moises and her mother Luisa. Thankfully, a kind neighbor took them in and gave them a safe place to stay temporarily.
We would love to raise funds for Domingas to help her rebuild, please let us know if you would like to help with this.
|
|
|
|
Domingas standing on the ruins of her house that collapsed in the heavy rain and wind on the day before the graduation.
|
|
|
Florinda was walking to the sewing school one day in January when she got hit by a car and broke her leg. She had to miss several weeks of class while she recovered, but she still came bravely to the graduation with her brother! Their father had been a renown tailor in our city, but he passed away when they were young. Florinda is so thrilled and honored to be able to carry on the family tradition of sewing.
|
|
|
|
Florinda came to the graduation with a broken leg, but having to hobble on crutches didn't stop her from getting her sewing machine! Thankfully, her brother came along to help her take it home.
|
|
There was another tropical storm system named Cyclone Freddy that crossed the Indian Ocean, hit Madagascar as a category-3 hurricane, then came our way to Mozambique. Thankfully, by the time it got to us it had reduced to a category-1 storm, but it has still caused considerable flooding throughout the lower half of Mozambique.
Tens of thousands of people in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are now displaced and will take some time before they can rebuild.
|
|
|
Praise Reports
- For the blessed time we had with the visitors Shirleas and Kacie.
- For the wonderful graduation celebration and the dedication of these resilient women.
- That Cyclone Freddy was not as destructive as the devastating hurricane we had in 2019.
Prayer Requests
- For wisdom as we seek to move our offices to a new location, that we would find the right place for an affordable price.
- For a quick recovery for all the thousands of people who were affected by the flooding.
- For all of our graduates to be able to start successful tailoring businesses.
|
|
|
|
Thank you for reading, please keep us in your prayers!
|
|
|
|
|
