I'm in the drive thru line at Chik-fil-A writing my first ever blog on my phone. That will purposely keep me succinct!
I've been in my car a lot today. This afternoon I drove halfway to Denver to meet Angela to give her a bunch of purses and jewelry that a couple of Colorado Lifetree Adventures' teams brought back from Haiti earlier this summer. It was the final leg of the journey for these handcrafted goods and I was honored to be part of it.
Driving my shiny red Mazda3 down the interstate, I thought about the women whose lives were represented in the goods in plastic bags in the trunk of my car. I don't know their names but I can guess some of their stories.
Teenage mom raped by a family member, thrown out of her house and trying as hard as she can to make a better life for herself and her child.
A woman with four kids who found out about Heartline's program by word of mouth. Her kids have different fathers because as each previous father abandons the family, she has to find another man to help support her and her kids, but now no one wants to be with her because she has so many kids so they are alone. Today, she is learning to read in addition to learning to sew.
A college graduate who defied the odds and made it all the way to her graduation but can't find a job because they are scarce in Haiti. So now she is learning to sew and make jewelry.
So many different stories and lives waiting back in Haiti for these purses to make it to the Haitian Creation store in Colorado, to be sold so that they can receive their hard earned dollars.
And today I got to be a very small part in making sure that happens for each of them.
I am so proud of the women in Haiti who work so hard to rise above the din and chaos and heartache of life, who have stories that I will never be able to comprehend and a dignity I can only hope to someday have.
I've spent a lot of time in the last year thinking and praying about whether or not I should someday go and live and serve in another country, maybe even in Haiti. For now, God is being pointedly silent about that (which I know causes my boss to breathe a sigh of relief) but today as I drove these purses down, I was reminded of a verse in Esther.
At this point in the story, Esther has married the king and become queen, and she has discovered that an evil man has a plan to kill the Jews. Esther, who is Jewish herself, is in a position to do something about it and her uncle reminds her of this by saying, "Who knows but that you have come into this position for such a time as this?"
I'm not on the verge of saving a nation or anything, but I had this clear picture today of once again knowing I'm exactly where God wants me to be. Today that position involved making sure those purses got to Angela so she can sell them and those Haitian women can get food on their tables. On Friday, that position involves flying down to Peru with about 100 pounds of clothes, books, tools, toys, and other gifts to give to a Shipibo village next week, ironically called Esther village.
Who knows what it will involve a month or a year or 5 years from now, but I do know that God knows and He will continue to put me where He wants me for such a time as He wants me there. I'm grateful for each chance I get to be part of something bigger than my safe Fort Collins life, even when that something is as small as carrying precious cargo down to a Starbucks parking lot at Exit 235 on I-25.
If you'd like to purchase some of these beautiful purses and jewelry, and learn more about the women who make them, check out Haitian Creations
(I cheated and finished this at home...but most of it was written in the drive thru, I promise.)
I've been in my car a lot today. This afternoon I drove halfway to Denver to meet Angela to give her a bunch of purses and jewelry that a couple of Colorado Lifetree Adventures' teams brought back from Haiti earlier this summer. It was the final leg of the journey for these handcrafted goods and I was honored to be part of it.
Driving my shiny red Mazda3 down the interstate, I thought about the women whose lives were represented in the goods in plastic bags in the trunk of my car. I don't know their names but I can guess some of their stories.
Teenage mom raped by a family member, thrown out of her house and trying as hard as she can to make a better life for herself and her child.
A woman with four kids who found out about Heartline's program by word of mouth. Her kids have different fathers because as each previous father abandons the family, she has to find another man to help support her and her kids, but now no one wants to be with her because she has so many kids so they are alone. Today, she is learning to read in addition to learning to sew.
A college graduate who defied the odds and made it all the way to her graduation but can't find a job because they are scarce in Haiti. So now she is learning to sew and make jewelry.
So many different stories and lives waiting back in Haiti for these purses to make it to the Haitian Creation store in Colorado, to be sold so that they can receive their hard earned dollars.
And today I got to be a very small part in making sure that happens for each of them.
I am so proud of the women in Haiti who work so hard to rise above the din and chaos and heartache of life, who have stories that I will never be able to comprehend and a dignity I can only hope to someday have.
I've spent a lot of time in the last year thinking and praying about whether or not I should someday go and live and serve in another country, maybe even in Haiti. For now, God is being pointedly silent about that (which I know causes my boss to breathe a sigh of relief) but today as I drove these purses down, I was reminded of a verse in Esther.
At this point in the story, Esther has married the king and become queen, and she has discovered that an evil man has a plan to kill the Jews. Esther, who is Jewish herself, is in a position to do something about it and her uncle reminds her of this by saying, "Who knows but that you have come into this position for such a time as this?"
I'm not on the verge of saving a nation or anything, but I had this clear picture today of once again knowing I'm exactly where God wants me to be. Today that position involved making sure those purses got to Angela so she can sell them and those Haitian women can get food on their tables. On Friday, that position involves flying down to Peru with about 100 pounds of clothes, books, tools, toys, and other gifts to give to a Shipibo village next week, ironically called Esther village.
Who knows what it will involve a month or a year or 5 years from now, but I do know that God knows and He will continue to put me where He wants me for such a time as He wants me there. I'm grateful for each chance I get to be part of something bigger than my safe Fort Collins life, even when that something is as small as carrying precious cargo down to a Starbucks parking lot at Exit 235 on I-25.
If you'd like to purchase some of these beautiful purses and jewelry, and learn more about the women who make them, check out Haitian Creations
(I cheated and finished this at home...but most of it was written in the drive thru, I promise.)
 |
| The Haitian Creation women hard at work on manual sewing machines! |
 |
| You know you want one! |
No comments:
Post a Comment