Yesterday we were able to present the women involved in the craft co-op with 8 brand new sewing machines! Up until this point, the women have been sharing just a few machines that some of them owned, or paying part of their earnings to use a neighbors machine, etc. These new machines mean a bigger profit for many of the women, and also means that each of the 8 feeding centers will have a sewing machine there for the ladies to use. Once the volunteers gather fire wood, haul water and get it on the fire to boil, they have a bit of waiting around time that will be perfect for getting some sewing done on the new machines. The money for the new machines came partly through donations specifically for the machines, and also through some of the profits from the hand bags. We are so thankful for how the Lord has provided!

Last year at this time we were just tossing around and praying about ideas of how we could help these women earn an income. While it still seems like we have a long ways to go, it is really great to see the craft co-op providing some much needed money for these women. Due to our small budget, we are still only able to pay the women after their bags have sold (rather than up front, which is a goal for the near future), but from the money that has come in so far from Christmas sales, each woman received an average of about $70 in Jan. In a country where 2/3 of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, that's pretty good, and we recognize that this is the Lord's provision.

The women started clapping as we brought in the machines yesterday, and later, after taking a few pictures (which I forgot to bring w/ me to the internet cafe today!!), the women gathered around and started singing praises and praying over the machines. It was so great to them giving thanks to the One who deserves it!

We've had quite a bit of interest from people that want to receive a shipment of bags to make available at their church, school, work etc in the next few months.

If you're interested in hosting a Timbali Craft fund raiser, please let me know.
It's a great way to get involved in meeting the needs of women in Swaziland, and you get a cool bag in the process!

Thanks for checking up on what we're doing in Swaziland. Ellie and I are doing well. We're happy that the summer heat is starting to get a little less intense. We're going to be having quite a few visitors and teams through in the next couple months (including my parents!), which always adds a little welcome excitement to life. Ellie has become a very busy 2 year old, and is always "organizing" something in our house. She's also developed a new fear of chickens, which is unfortunate for little girl growing up in Africa! She's was yelling at them more than running from them the other day, so I think she's working on conquering her fear!

That's all the news for today!