Thoughts on Friday

Friday was going to be a very busy day.
I would need to talk to the current sewing ladies, all of the staff at the school and finally the bead ladies.
So many thoughts, what to say?
There would be some changes coming, no one likes change.
I really don't like breaking the news that change is coming.
How to make this a good thing.
For me, I could see so much good, finally, good things are happening again in Haiti.
But, in transition, things are not easy.
Growing pains are exactly that, pains.
The goal, going to the next level.
Increase sales, develop a bigger market place, get wholesale contracts....
It takes time.
Time is kind of like "wait". No one likes to wait.
Again, it is a time of transition.
How do you talk about transition, the need to increase sales and develop products.
Wisdom.
Lord, I need wisdom.

I would meet with the sewing ladies first.
The ladies that started this whole thing.
I would start with telling them, again, just how this whole thing started.
How all the sewing machines got there and how the program started.
It started for me on my very first trip to Haiti, being held at gun point and with the death of a little boy.
These very women represented my dream and desire to bring hope to children, to keep families in tact.
My dream was real and sitting on folding chairs in front of me.
They all had money in their business accounts to help them in the lean times and all of them would be fine.
This wasn't about money, it was about hope and dreams, believing for the future.



Meeting number two, lunch planned for the all the workers and the teachers.
For me, to me, they are what I would call "Life Givers".
They are, the women who impart the vision I have for these ladies.
They are imparting new skills, new knowledge and the chance for a new beginning.
Yes, it is a lot work and takes courage.
But, when they graduate, they will have been taught more than just sewing.
They are teaching team work, community, discipline - all things they will need to be business women.
While I talked and Marjorie interpreted for me she lost her train of thought when I said,
"there are one hundred fifty-nine ladies in the sewing school".
What?
She stopped repeating my words.
We started laughing.
I counted out for her all the classes, the number of women in each class and she said, "wow, I had no idea".
Funny, right!
In four years, we went from John telling me,"if I had one graduate, I would be doing good", to this.

Last, but not least, the bead ladies.
These ladies are near and dear to my heart.
I believe they have the ability to achieve greatness.
I shared with them just how I came up with the idea for the bead program.
Day after day I would watch women struggle with their struggle in mastering the skill of sewing.
I prayed, Lord please give me an idea so that ALL these women can be successful.
It was my hearts desire to have every single women be successful.
Remnants!
Everyday we had tons of them, not being used.
Even the Lord used remnants, he often called them his "chosen" people remnants.
We would take the remnants from the purses to create something beautiful.
This is exactly what they are doing, creating something out of nothing.
Beauty from ashes.