Thursday successes

Thursday was our fourth day of five with the students. It has been a challenging and exhausting week, and the hot conditions we work in can drain us of our energy. We brought six projects with us this trip to work on with the students. Four were different types of quilt blocks chosen to teach quilt making skills. We also brought a selvedge bag project and a sheer kimono.

Each day we got less completed on the projects than we had hoped. One issue is having fewer working machines than we have students. I knew that was a challenge and I had four additional machines donated prior to this trip. Three of them were shipped over by Missionary Flights International last month, but had not been released from customs in time for our arrival.

Thursday was a very successful day. We started with a Bible study that had all of the women very engaged. Most of the women completed their selvedge bag and were very pleased with them. The students brought in clothing they had made since our last visit and put on a fashion show for us. Then, miracle of miracles, at the end of the day our sewing machines arrived. We got the one in a cabinet set up and it sews beautifully!

Today we will unpack and set up the other two machines and try to wrap up the quilt block projects we started. It will be sad to say goodbye to these amazing women we have come to love and to our translators, but we look forward to our next visit.