Sew Alive!

I think I finally found my hallelujah
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life
Now all my dreams are coming true, yeah
I’ve been waiting for this moment
Feels good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)

We just returned from an ahh-mazing vacation to the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador. (Thanks Wyn and Carol!!) We planned a trip to visit a Compassion Center where two of our sponsored children attend. Daniel’s extended family also has children they sponsor there, so it was quite an anticipated event for everyone!

Today, I want to share from my heart about the ridiculously awesome stuff Compassion is doing in Pulingui, a small town located high in the mountains near Mt. Chimborazo, a place people have even rarely heard of.

While we visited the children and had a lot of fun with them (more about the later), we also got to see some of the other programs at work at this church. Through Compassion, they have set up a sewing center for the mothers of the community. We were told that mothers in this part of Ecuador are not taught a trade or how to make a living for their family, but are taught to have babies and breastfeed. The problem is that many fathers are absent from the homes and mothers have an extremely difficult time making it on their own with their children.

Compassion’s sewing center has changed all that for many women. The mothers can come three days a week  to sew, knit, and learn other skills. They can come for an hour or stay all day to make shirts, vests, skirts, pants, pajamas, and more. There is a little shop to sell the clothes, and they also give them to the kids at the Compassion Center for their birthday. The women are also able to sew clothes for their family and buy them at a discounted price…however, they are also able to earn money by sewing more items, so it usually cancels out and the women just sew more. These women are sew alive! (Pun intended 😉 )

A few years ago, they hired this woman to come teach the mothers to sew. She was not a Christian and didn’t want to hear anything about Jesus. She was there to teach. Period. After being surrounded with so much love and seeing Jesus come to life, she gave her life to Him and hasn’t looked back. It’s not even just the mothers God is changing – it’s even more!

The stories we heard are miracles. It’s such a beautiful thing to see these women empowered and feeling like a part of something bigger then themselves. After all, isn’t that what we all desire?

The mothers made all of these pajama sets for all of our kids!! Don’t they look adorable?!?!?

Empowering women – and in turn – empowering their children. I just love it.

It’s good to be alive right about now. Woo-hoo!