Sewing 101

Here's the first student for our new sewing class at Clarkston Community Center! She's a refugee from Bhutan, but she has lived the past 15 years in Nepal. She speaks Bhutanese, Nepalese, Hindi, and English. Oh, and she can embroider, knit, crochet, cross stitch and make paper flowers out of candy wrappers. So what is she doing in our sewing class?Learning how to use a brand-new modern electric sewing machine, of course. As well as making a doll blanket and scarf, meeting friends, and sharing her life story.

I was not disappointed about the turnout. We needed a slow start, because I'm counting on God to bring lots of women our way! The class began as the germ of an idea I had before we moved to Atlanta. Tim Cummins, our missions supervisor, provided two new sewing machines. Clarkston Community Center provided three more. They gave us a room, tables, and chairs, and they put the sewing class under their "seniors" program. Thanks, CCC! Early this morning, Tim, Kelly, and I began setting up the room. It was a lot of fun to spread out the goodies! I found the scissors for a dollar each at Big Lots. I bought the yarn and some other supplies at Walmart. Our pastor gave us the purple measuring tapes. Bennett Ekandem, our partner in missions, brought fabric and thread.

The dolls came from Dollar Tree at $1 each! Amazing.
Please pray with me for the new sewing class. It's an opportunity for women to meet and share their hearts as they create gifts for their children and pretty things for their homes. We have big dreams for this project. Stay tuned for what the Spirit will do!

Do you want to get involved in our sewing class? We need new sewing machines, cotton fabric, thread, yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and other craft supplies. Contact me at 573-480-3077. Thanks!

Giggles from Darfur!

Tonight I got a phone call that made my heart sing. Two Sudanese women I had introduced for the first time on Tuesday were visiting each other on Thursday evening. And like happy girlfriends, they called a third girlfriend (me!) and started giggling over the phone.
(photo removed by request)

These women haven't had much to laugh about. They both escaped genocide in Darfur, and they have many scars from their suffering. But suffering wasn't the topic of conversation tonight!

The regal beauty, above, has been in America for several months. She works hard to learn English. She lives with her husband and is expecting their first child. When we talk about the baby's birth, I can tell she's nervous. Her mother is still in Sudan. Who will help her?
Her new friend, of course! I'll be there for her, too. But this sweet woman will be the perfect model. She is the mother of three little girls, she's from the same tribe, and she speaks the same language. She has a soft voice, and when she speaks, she sounds almost childlike.

I love the image of the two of them giggling together in the home of the woman who has been here longer. They decided to call me, they said, because "we wanted to greet you!"

Greetings to both of you, too. And welcome to America!

How lovely are the feet . . .

My friends laughed when I took a photo of their feet. They don't know how much I love African feet! I love the feet of babies . . . old ladies . . . growing boys . . . old men . . . pretty mamas . . . (photo removed by request)

African feet go places. They tell stories. I wish the feet I meet could tell you all their tales.I have been trying to tell you the stories, and some of them are full of hope and joy.

But on Tuesday I heard a tale so sad I cried all the way home. It is a story too terrible for me to pass on to you right now. It is the story of a beautiful young woman whose tale of suffering broke my heart.

I have cared about these people as you probably do -- because they are God's children, physically and spiritually needy, and we want to help them. But now they are not just "people" to me. They have names, faces, and stories. And I love them.

When I'm able to tell you my friend's story, I will. Until then, join me in loving and praying for some of these real human beings who live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Just in from Africa!

This Wednesday I had the chance to do something I've dreamed of for a long time. I got to go to the airport and meet a new family arriving from Africa. As the daughter of missionaries, I remember when the newcomer from Africa was me! I joined Mike, the World Relief caseworker, in welcoming this lovely, soft-spoken woman and her three daughters. They are Muslims from the Darfur region of Sudan. When war came to their home, they fled to Ethiopia where they have lived for 3 years. The woman's parents and siblings also fled, but she does not know where they went. She has heard that many refugees from Darfur are living in Chad, and she plans to begin looking for her missing family members as soon as possible.My first sights of America always left me breathless. I saw that same sense of wonder, fear, anticipation, confusion, and joy in the faces of my new little family. Mike picked up a Chinese take-out lunch of rice and chicken -- exactly the foods this Sudanese family eats in Africa. How's that for a cultural melting pot?
While their mother signed important papers at World Relief headquarters, the three girls and I cleaned up the lunch and then drew pictures on the marker board. These two girls have been to school, and they knew how to draw many lovely things.
Little sister discovered a turkey that gobbled, a bunny, and several other toys. While most American children would be amused only for a moment or two, these girls were mesmerized and delighted with the stuffed animals.
Mike said they could take the toys to their new home. That's not all they'll be taking. African songs, traditions, beliefs, hopes, and dreams go with them . . . Slowly they will learn about America and begin to grow comfortable here. Pray with me that God's grace will abound and that their hearts will soften to the greatest Love of all.

Housewives and other funny things!

There's been a lot of laughter lately! What's so funny?

Finding armloads of dolls for $1 a piece at the dollar store. I will use these in the sewing class I'll be teaching at Clarkston Community Center in a couple of weeks. We will start by making blankets for these dolls. Tim and I got a big kick out of this unexpected blessing!Story problems? Not again! Kelly helps Ethan figure out what's being asked for -- addition or subtraction. Yikes, that's enough to make anyone laugh! Or cry!
Drawing a face for the first time in your entire life! This beautiful young woman put a lot of time -- and laughter -- into trying to sketch her little sister's face on my marker board.
"Housewife!" This word sent my friend into hoots of laughter. I was helping her learn how to fill out basic forms in English. I asked her what her job was. "Taking care of the children, cleaning the house, cooking food," she said in Swahili. I told her she is a "housewife." After laughing for several minutes at this new English word, she agreed that she is married to her house! "Yes," she said, "it's true, I am the wife of the house." A housewife! (photo removed by request)

New sewing machines! Thank you, Tim Cummins -- and Jesse and Ashley. What a great gift to start off my class. Another ministry partner is donating fabric and thread. Oh, boy! I can't wait to get started.
While we've had fun this week, I've spent a lot of time helping my refugee families deal with problems. We've had a little of everything . . . children getting bad grades, kids missing school buses, AT&T bills with astronomical charges, high fevers, unfaithful husbands, sorrow over missing loved ones, and yes, even some anger.

This child, who cuddles up next to me and begs me to take her home, is symbolic of the pain and suffering, confusion and fear refugees feel when they come to America. But she's a real little girl, too, and she needs your prayers. Karen is blind in one eye and has had a very difficult life. Please pray for her today . . . and for all of us.

Barry's books

I'd like to introduce you to "Barry." His nation of origin is Burundi, but he has lived most of his life in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Once, his family returned to Burundi for a short time. They had to flee again in fear of genocide. In all my years as a teacher and writer, I've never met anyone like Barry.

In the camp, he studied English with the enthusiasm of a graduate scholar in linguistics. He speaks with a thick accent, but his vocabulary and sentence structure are amazingly advanced.

Barry showed me the workbooks he used in Tanzania. They are worn, patched, and dirty. They smell heavily of kerosene -- no doubt from the lamp he lit in order to study at night. I can't imagine how they have not caught fire by now. But Barry loves and treasures these books with all his heart.
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested that Barry teach English to the other Burundian men in the complex while he waits for his classes to start at DeKalb Tech. The following week he told me that the teaching had not gone well. "They do not understand adjectives at all," he said sadly.

Barry loves to talk in English. He peppers his conversation with idioms and phrases he has picked up. Two favorites are "try your level best" and "according to . . ." Many of his sentences begin with, "According to . . . " but don't quite follow up as they should. Here are some of Barry's sentences. "According to how we go on the bus, we need to buy tickets." "According to this problem of the missing door, we should not look into the bedroom of our sisters while they sleep."

When I was visiting his family this week, Barry showed me the notebook he always carries. Page after page is filled with beautiful penmanship recording vocabulary words and their definitions. I asked Barry where he had found these words. He said he reads books and writes down every word he does not know. He owns a dictionary where he finds the definition.

Barry's dedication and zeal in the face of obstacles I can only imagine amazes me. He is soft-spoken, kind and loving to his brothers and sisters, a leader and protector in his large family, and eager to learn.

According to me, Barry will go a long way in his new country. He always tries his level best.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes...

I love this beautiful mother of three from Burundi. Her apartment -- in a complex with broken windows, empty vodka bottles, and scary people -- is always quiet and clean. She is a Christian whose fruit shows she's living the way Christ intended. Today, we were learning body parts. That's important for a mom who will take her children to the doctor. As always, we got a lot of help from Alice. Can you say "ear?"
Mom attempted to draw a face on my marker board. She spent so much time and effort on this assignment that I came to believe she has never tried to draw anything in her life.

Meanwhile Alice sat on my lap. We talked about hands...and feet...While I worked with mom, Alice decided those feet of hers needed to try on teacher's new white shoes.

When I got ready to put them on again, I noticed that Alice had kindly drawn all over them with a pencil. So what's wrong with that, huh? Don't you like the way I decorated your shoes?Yes, I do, Alice! Thank you very much indeed.

Refugees bring very few possessions to America, and I'm always interested to see what they chose to put in their bags. Some mothers bring the hand-carved wooden spoons they use to make their staple dish called posho. Others bring clothing crafted from banners proclaiming them to be under the protection of the United Nations. One young man has brought the English workbooks he used to study with in the refugee camp.

As always, this lovely mother brought out the hymnbook she carried from Burundi to America. She has a beautiful voice, and she sings hymns for me. Alice grows still, gazing raptly at her mother. It is a moment of peace and joy I treasure.
Thank you, Lord, for Alice and her mother. Bless and protect them always. Amen.