Update from Karen Hooper

Our final day in Rio Frio; emotions, heat and time were bearing down on us as we hurried to finish projects! (why does everyday seem hotter than the last??) As we talked in our devotions about being the women God created us to be, the question was asked:  what was the hardest thing for you this week?  For my ladies, it was not about the sewing projects (maybe they were not hard enough, Julie??;)   - instead, it was about saying good-bye, the companionship and the simple gathering of women that cared about each other and laughed together. Thanks to my intrepid translator extraordinaire, Patricia, we were able to do all the above as a group! (xoxo)

I  am so thankful that God had my eyes wide open to His hand in the details this week.  We  were going to hold the graduation ceremony and ribbon cutting at the unfinished sewing centre (aka. out in the hot sun).  But He sent rain just as we were going to head over - this resulted in us staying at the house we were set up in.  The ladies had the chairs set up on the porch in rows before you could say pronto, and we were ready to go ...with 2 pastors and 2 women (Carie and I) lined up to speak the potential for a long ceremony was apparent!

Encouragement, exhortations, and hope for the future were talked about.  For me, Philipians 1:6 was a verse that just encapsulated this week:  "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus".  Our team fully believes that the work in Rio Frio has only just begun.  This is a community that exudes a spirit of unity and desire to move forward.  The people are hard working and have a hope for the future.

Each group leader then had the opportunity to present a sewing basket to their ladies that was filled with a Spanish Bible and all the "fixin's" to start a small business (pictures to follow). This was an opportunity to publicly share how proud we were of what the ladies had accomplished and how they had impacted our lives and hearts.

We all herded over to the sewing centre next door to have a ribbon cutting ceremony in which Pastor Pastor (no typo - that is his name!) offered a blessing on the women and the centre as the workmen were installing the metal roof!

Our afternoon groups doubled as the morning ladies didn't want to leave - even with more rain coming!  Good-byes and hugs and "mucho gracias"" was said again and again.  One of my morning ladies had waited all day to find a time to pull me aside with Patricia and share with us the turmoil in her private life and ask for prayers.  We prayed with her for God's guidance and wisdom as she makes some hard decisions.  A reminder to me that human relational struggles are similar all over the world.

I want to take this opportunity to share how meaningful the sponsorships were.  To have a lady in Canada take an interest and send a card and picture to "a name" in Rio Frio was really hard to grasp for some.  The baskets and the daily hot lunch were such a gift.  They happily had their pictures taken in response and dutifully and lovingly filled out cards for Bethany ladies in return.  Thank you for your generosity; it added a lovely element to the week.

In closing:  Philemon 4-7 (paraphrased) " I will always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I have witnessed your faith in The Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.  I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you, sisters, have refreshed our hearts. "