A Brocades team has just returned from visiting the ladies in the village.
Each one of us were deeply impressed and encouraged to find the ladies on the program no longer on the verge of destitution; more confident of themselves, carrying a living faith in their hearts and hungry for the Word.
Little Stream has made improvements to her husband’s family home. The dirt floor and walls now have a coat of plaster and a few modest pieces of new furniture. Earnings from her handiwork have allowed for these little “luxuries”, made her the proud owner of 2 pigs, a growing brood of chickens and nearly enough savings in the bank to build a house of her own! Most important of all, inspite of her disabilty, she is thankful for her gift of sewing, natural genius for colors, her place in her family and a husband who. in her very own words, “treats me very well”.
Lydia now runs a little shop front selling haberdashery and fabrics. Though it is a struggling enterprise, and may indeed not succeed, she is nonetheless able to keep her children fed and in school, participate actively in her local church and help others in her community who are finding themselves struggling to survive, just the way she was a few years ago. Lydia has become the administrator for this handicraft program in the village.
Xiao Zhang’s brood of pigs have gone through intermittent bouts of disease. She battles tremendous fear whenever a piglet from a new brood dies and memories of hardships past, flood her soul. However, she has a fighting faith and a growing trust that her family will be well no matter what because God is with her. The handicraft program continues to help them through such seasonal downturns.
We were impressed also to encounter changed mindsets and attitudes. Much less afraid of change, we observed the ladies persevere to succeed when faced with new tasks. They understand the need to improve and expand skill sets. They work with much cleaner hands, through this continues to be a challenge because water is not as readily available as in a modern city like Singapore. And, they have also developed eagle eyes for quality control and spotting product defects.
We know that God has a Purpose for each one of them. Plans to prosper them and to each one a future and a hope. By His grace and plan, they have become fit athletes in the race of life and running strong.
