Ellie and I are back from our week in Nsoko. Lots of people have asked me how it went, and I just keep saying, "Everything went so smoothly, I can't believe it." It seems like everything you try to accomplish here is guaranteed to come with quite a few "hitches" along the way, but last week there were none. God even answered our prayers for a nice cool front to come through! As my friend Marissa would say, "Praise Him!" :)

 

 

 

We trained about 40 women during the week. 20 came to the community center on Mon-Tues and the others came on Wed-Thurs. I wasn't actually sure what all was going to be accomplished during our time, since I wasn't totally clear on the skill level of the women or exactly how many we'd have attending, but we were actually able to complete each 2 day segment with several finished products. The women were so eager to learn, and caught on quickly to the patchwork table runners.

 

 

Philile (seated on the far left)is the wife of the Pastor AIM works with in Nsoko, and also just happens to be a seamstress by trade, which works out great for us! She was a huge asset during the week as she translated for me, taught the women how to sew, helped to correct their mistakes, etc etc. She is really what is making the addition of the Nsoko women to Timbali possible, and will be facilitating most of what happens there with Timbali.

 

 

The group of college students that were also in Nsoko for the week helped me to get pictures and bios of all the women. This is Celiwe Makoma, and her story really hit us hard. She's only 19 years old, was married at 14, widowed at 18, and has had 2 children that have both died. Her only prayer request was that the 12 yr old orphan boy she is caring for will grow in his faith. When Celiwe was asked her birth date, she said October 15, 1989, which just happened to be the day she was being interviewed. Nikki, who was interviewing her, said, "That's today!" Celiwe smiled shyly and said, "Oh! I didn't know!" Ellie was happy to sing happy birthday (her favorite song!) to Celiwe.  We talked a lot about God's care for the women during the week, and the value that He places on their lives...I pray Celiwe knows that her life is precious to the Lord.

 

 

Ellie was an AWESOME camper. She slept well every night and seemed to really enjoy the adventure. The team that we were with was also a HUGE help with watching Ellie while I worked with the women and keeping her entertained.  Our tents were really close to the area where the lions at the game park are kept, so Ellie was excited to get up every morning and say hi to Lucky the Lion, and also to the ostriches that roamed around our camp. I thought these pics below were pretty funny. Can you spot the animals in the back ground?

 

 

So I hope you're getting a picture of what a good week it was. We put in long days, and Ellie was absolutely filthy most of the time (Nsoko is pretty much dirt, dirt and more dirt), but it was so amazing to see things coming together and to think about the possibilities for providing an income for these beautiful women. Thanks so much for your prayers...they were answered!

 

 

 

Zwakele, who is helping me out with Timbali things, kept things going here last week, and my office was filled with bags the women had turned in while I was gone. There are about 700 purses in my office right now, ready to be shipped to the US. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow. Please pray! Shipping issues have been a source of frustration lately!

 

 

 

Ellie LOVES to help in the kitchen. Here she is helping me make Tortillas (have I ever mentioned our "Mexican Food Ministry" here in Swaziland? :) Ellie adds her own African flare to her tortillas...most of them turn out shaped like Swaziland. :)