Getting Our "Sew" On!

After two awesome weeks of Spring Teams, the blessings continue to flow with a two-week Sewing Class!  A wonderful sister-in-Christ, and good friend of the Social Work Site, felt the Holy Spirit encouraging her to accept an invitation from Daisy to come and teach alterations to some of our women. 

Well… encouraging isn’t quite the right word.  According to Carie, He ‘bugged her’ and wouldn’t let her say No.  And, we’re so thankful! 



Learning how to properly pin before starting to sew.

Along with Carie is her sixteen year old daughter, Kaitlyn, who has been studying (and speaking!) Spanish for many years.  She’s doing an awesome job of translating for her mom!  Another friend, LaVonne, has been helping keep the little ones entertained while their moms are learning.

We have two groups, a small group (3-4) of our Young Women in the mornings, and a much larger group (12-15) of Adult Women in the afternoons.  We’ve spent the week learning the ins-and-outs of altering pants and jeans.  Next week we'll tackle tops and blouses.

A family affair!  Sister Rosy and Alice getting help
from Carie while Alice's daughter watches.

The women are learning what can, and cannot, be altered.  They are learning the correct way to alter.  That doesn’t always mean it’s the fastest way!  It takes patience to pin everything before sewing, but it saves time later ripping out bad stitches. 

Some of the women were in a class with Carie in the old Social Work Site three years ago.  Others are new, and have never used a sewing machine.  No matter their skill level, those willing to listen and learn are already 

The afternoon group taking notes.

showing improvements. 

As important as all of this is, for us, the most important thing is how all of this connects to the Gospel.  One young woman brought in a very nice pair of pants that had been sitting unused for an entire year, because she didn’t know how to take them in to fit her slim frame. 

Daisy used this as a jumping off place to talk with the women about their lives.  How many of you have things in your lives that aren’t right, aren’t fitting, that seem useless?  God can help us to fix those things, but we need to do our part. 

Nanci's smile says it all.  First time on the machine, but thanks
to Carie & Kaitlyn's tutoring, she hemmed a pant leg!

We need to fix them the right way.  That isn’t always the easiest way.  The world can tell us that it’s fine to just do it badly, but we are working as to the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23). 

Our prayer is that through these classes, the women can learn a skill which can help their families, and possibly even be a small home business.  More than this, we pray they can learn to see the value in doing things correctly, whether sewing a hem, caring for their children and companions, or learning more about Jesus.