Thursday, July 26, 2012

Women's Ministry Week




What an awesome week with the moms/grandmothers of the children at Point of Hope!!  Monday began with 21 ladies, who enjoyed morning coffee/tea, snacks and a Bible study of the virtuous woman.  Afterwards, the ladies were divided into 3 groups.  The groups were sent to crafts, the beauty salon, and health care.



The beauty salon provided haircuts/styles, manicures/pedicures, facials and makeup.  Most of the women were hesitant to get their hair cut, but after the 1st lady took the chair, the rush was on.  It was amazing to see the excitement on their faces as they left the chair with a new look.  For some, it put a smile on a face that we hadn’t seen.  For Margheurita, it was a whole new look at herself.  We teased her about having to beat off the men as she walked home that afternoon J  she told us that she wasn’t married and didn’t have a boyfriend, but she would today!!!  What a joy to see her smile and hear her talk positively about herself.  Leti got a new style.  She shared with us that her husband had been out of town for a week working and would be coming home on Wednesday, and she was excited for him to see her (can’t wait to hear about his homecoming).

Health care class provided blood pressure testing, basic nutrition, vitamins, stress management, dental health care and a general Q&A session.  All received new toothbrushes with a large tube of toothpaste.  Each parent was also given toothbrushes for their children at the school.

The craft project for this week was to create a quilted wall hanging.  I was quite surprised at how well the ladies sewed.  Many of them apparently sew a lot.  Monday, we appliquéd silhouettes of boys and girls.  Since many of them finished their work before the class time was over, I let them go ahead and sew hearts onto the other blocks. Tuesday we began stitching all the blocks together, then the rows.  Four ladies completed the quilt during the 1st session on Wednesday.  After pressing the seams open, I took the quilt (without the edges bound) and temporarily hung it on the wall in the entryway.  Once hung, I asked all the ladies to come look at their handiwork.  The look on Irina’s face was priceless.  She was so proud of what she did to make complete the project – I was so proud of what they all did!!!   
                                                         







One of the classes offered on Wednesday was simple home decorating ideas.  Judy presented some simple ways to rearrange your existing furniture to give your house a new look.  She also showed the ladies how something as small as a throw over the back of a chair could make a difference.



Each day increased in the number of ladies who attended.  Tuesday there were 27 ladies, and 35 showed up on Wednesday:)  What a great opportunity to continue a ladies group in the fall!!

After lunch on Wednesday, the ladies were given a ticket for a drawing.  Items given out included all the small items that Judy used in her class, as well as some hair/nail products from Sandy’s salon.  Each lady was also given a package of health care products.  As we said our goodbyes and gave out the hugs, we gave every person a large grocery bag with dried vegetables for soup, sugar, oil, and a restaurant sized can of mixed veggies.

The best part of the day for me was when several ladies gave me a big hug and kiss, and said they want to make more quilts.  Can’t wait ‘til September!!!

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