Stiching Ministery

When we travel to Guatemala, we require each person traveling to commit to only bringing a carry on for their personal use. We then use their allotted suitcases for humanitarian goods. Most people are not thrilled about that idea at first (mostly the girls who want to bring more clothes/hair dryer etc), but once they see all the donations we bring they are excited about it. On most trips we have taken over 1000 pounds of donations. One of the items we bring are sweaters and blankets made by the ladies in the stitching ministry in our church. From the very beginning we have done this.

When we first came into contact with Sister Ana Christina, and asked her what she needed for the children. One thing she asked for was warm clothing, like sweaters. We were shocked by this, after all the center is in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The question was, isn't Central America always hot. The answer is, it depends on where you are at.

The Nutritional center is located in Guatemala City. The elevation is about 5000 feet. A lot of the children live in the mountains and at greater elevations. When we were at the mission in San Lucas, the temperature during the day was in the 60's and 70's and at night 50's and 60's. Great weather, but not what you expect for Central America in July.

The sweaters made by the women in the stitching ministry are beautiful. They are hand made, either knitted or crocheted. They are soft and warm, and we have learned that the kids love colorful sweaters. The brighter the better, and without the American color/gender issues we are used to. This July we let the kids choose their sweater. A boy about 10 years old picked a pink sweater with a bunny on it. He loved that sweater!

The first time Michelle took sweaters to the center there was a boy who was blind. She put the Sweater on him, and his face lit up. He told Michelle, "I can't see, but I feel like I look really handsome. I feel like this is something very expensive."

We gained a lot of insight from Fr. Greg at the San Lucas mission on the last trip. He talked about things that you cannot get a Guatemalan to talk about. One of the things he discussed was the philosophy of the mission. Part of the philosophy at the San Lucas mission is the dignity of the person. These sweaters not only keep the children warm, but they make them feel good about themselves.

The sweaters are very special. We really appreciate the amount of time and love that the stitching ministry puts into making the sweaters. The ladies who make the sweaters, pray for the health and safety of the child that will wear the sweater. They also pray for the child's family. In return, the children at the center pray for them, as well as our church, and all the people who donate to help the Center and the people of Guatemala. The boy in the green sweater with stripes on it is Lester. You can see his photo below in the post from August 11. What and amazing transformation!

We all know how good it feels to have something new. Most, if not all, of these kids have never had a piece of new clothing. You can see how they are feeling by the smiles on their faces.

On a trip a few years ago, there was a girl named Fatima. She was 9 yrs old. She had this "lost" look in her eyes, such a deep sadness, something I had never seen before. We put the sweater on her and she got this big beautiful smile on her face. Sister Ana Cristina looked at us and said, "If there was any child in the world that needed to feel good about themself right now, it's her". She went on to explain that Fatima had come into the center two days before. She had been beaten and raped. I was so proud that someone in our little town of East Tawas had been so kind to make something to comfort this broken child. The person who made that sweater was so loving, to make and donate something that would literally cover this child in love and prayer. Someone she didn't even know.