What I am about to write about brings me so much joy!
This summer while I was in Africa I would text home everyday where my mom and Neil were taking care of the children. On the day I texted Neil about wanting to leave my sneakers for Teshome, I knew something interesting was going on in my mom. I texted Neil about it because he had just purchased me those shoes, but when he read the text aloud to my mother, her immediate response was to leave them and she would replace mine before I even got home. Now, my mom is a generous person, but this quick response made me think, "could Africa possibly be stealing my mother's heart as well?"
Coming home and starting to share stories, my mom wanted to hear every one of them. One afternoon after retelling some stories at her kitchen table with her neighbor, they came up with an idea to sew dresses for the girls in Africa. She texted me to see if I knew somewhere they could send them, and I was thrilled beyond belief!!! I sure did know where! The village of Busega in Uganda had me wrapped around it's finger and I thought of the children wearing ill fitting clothing, tattered clothing, and some no clothing at all. The wheels were set in motion, my mother's sewing machine started smoking pumping out all these beautiful dresses, and the two friend's vision In My Mother's Honor was born.
Miracle after miracle started happening. People stated donating money for sewing supplies and eventual shipping, donating fabric, and even dresses they made themselves. After every phone conversation I would have with my mom about this, we would just be in awe of what God was doing. It started with a brainstorming session at my mom's kitchen table and ended up with these beautiful dresses for the girls in Uganda!!
Total: 108 dresses and 40 pairs of short... all handmade and in about 4 months time!!
In this picture above, two things stand out to me personally. The dress in the front with the bird on the pocket was made by my wonderfully talented sister, Monica. She was the only one paying attention while my mother was sewing and what a beautiful way she chose to express her love though this dress on this sweet baby!! The second thing is the girl in the second row with the light color flower print dress. This is our sponsor daughter, Vanessa. Vanessa lost her mother a few weeks ago and is now an orphan. My mom was able to bring sunshine through her talents to Vanesssa just like she does for my boys here in the states. She's a good grandma :)
Pillow case dresses were the way to go. Easy to sew, or so I'm told since I can barely replace a button, and super cute. They can also grow with the children since the ties are adjustable.
This is one of my favorites. Think you don't have money to give to big organizations so you can't help? All you need to do is exactly what God had already given you the talent to do! In fact you can use what you already have on hand to get started. These beautiful dresses were made from my mother's curtains... how Sound of Music is that?!!! Melts my heart.
Girls are girls all over the world. A new dress that makes them feel pretty will also make them a bit giggly.
Okay, it doesn't get much cuter than this picture!! Don't you just want to scoop these three precious babies up?
Here's one of the most precious parts of the dresses. Each one has a tag saying "Made just for YOU by Jeannie" (or whoever made the dress). My mother and her neighbor had read some articles about children being kidnapped for the sex trade. In the article it talked about children looking like they belong to a group greatly diminishes their chances of abduction. Dresses of the same style and same tags are one step closer to this. What an awesome idea they had! Instead of placing the tag where the children could not see it, the loving hands put the tags on the front, near the bottom, and facing up toward the child so they could read everyday that someone had made their pretty dress just for them. It's important that they feel someone cares what is happening to them...that they are not forgotten.
Since receiving these pictures this morning and posting a bit on facebook about it, more people with big hearts and a talent for sewing are offering to join the cause. I hope to personally take the second batch to the village this summer. I can't wait to see what God does with these next few month and the newly energized Jeannie. I have always had so much respect for my mom, but I am so truly HONORED to be her daughter now!
What talent do you have that could be used to touch another corner of the world?
