Balance...something we should all strive for in our daily living.
Well...as soon as I hit "send" on my reply to her...my little mind went into a tailspin of creative ideas and I ended up crafting out a little prototype for the craft class right then and there. I tried to take into consideration: the age of the child (although my Church Lady Friend said the mothers often enjoyed helping the kiddos (such a universal thing that's emblazoned in the hearts of us mommies, no?), the need to keep the cost of supplies to a minimum, the ability to pre-make some of the craft's components, the ability of the kiddos to complete the techniques used, time to complete the project, and the feasibility of transporting the supplies to Nicaragua.
Also, she mentioned that this year, in addition to the ability for our church families to sponsor each student for the year, our church was also going to be sponsoring + planting gardens for each family; as planting a garden for each family goes a long way to help them better their daily life! She wanted to go with a theme of "Reaping What You Sow." I looked up the Spanish translation (which will be printed out instead of the English version you see on my prototpe) of this theme. (Just an explanation of why it's not on the prototype. I want to get confirmation on the translation before I print it out).
Alright then, here are the pics:
The first three are dark as it was late in the day when I took them, and lighting is limited in our basement.
Add photo of each kiddo where indicated above and project=complete!
{NTS:Now all I need to do is find my stash of jute/twine to hang the project by.}
From my Church Lady Friend:
"One thing I notice on my previous mission trips, the women enjoy doing some handiwork at home. I might do this in stages allowing the moms to embroidery the stems and leaves at home and return the project the next day for the next step. I know this project will be placed in a prominent place in each home and a candle lit as they pray for their sponsors. It is truly amazing how the Nicas treasure such gifts.
5 years ago, I returned to a village where we did some house building and the laminated photo of my family I left for my Nica family was still on a wooden ledge in their home next to a candle. They explained how they prayed for me and my family each day. They continued to thank God for blessing them through knowing me! It is very humbling to me to think this Nica family who was once living in a hovel made of plastic, cardboard and tin could be thankful for their new 25’ X 25’ cinderblock house and still thanking God everyday for someone who was once a stranger but was now their sister in Christ!"
When I read that, I just thought to myself, "Wow. I am so very blessed. I need to do more. I want to do more. Such a little handmade item made such a huge impact on the lives of the Nicas. Such a huge impact it had on my heart. Pull on one's heartstrings big time, huh?
So, just wondering, what little something can you do today, to make a positive impact on the life of someone you don't know?
Or, better yet, what little something have you done today, to make a positive impact on someone you don't know?
Please feel free to leave a comment, this inquisitive mind wants to know. :)
Blessings and J.O.Y,
Suz
What a cute idea. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThose are soooooo cute!
ReplyDeleteWe gave some money in 2 different charity collection tins this morning- does that count?
We also left my mum and dad a 'love note' in the window of a charity shop in town. For Valentines, they raise money by selling you a paper heart, which you use to write your message before they stick it in the window for VD. Just need to give my parents a clue now to go and read it. We do it every year so hopefully it won't take long for them to find it.... :)