Hobbies

"I think it would be good if you had a hobby," said my sweet husband Trey shortly after we arrived in Haiti.  Before you gather your pitch forks and come to rescue me, know that this statement was said in love and has been the cause for some very exciting events.

I have been a student for as a long as I can remember.  The concept of not having homework or a test to study for is a very surreal experience for me.  Due to a sudden change of lifestyle and moving to Haiti where we have no where to go in the evenings, no t.v. to watch, and no regularly planned activities at night our life patterns are changing quite a bit.

Instead of relaxing during the still evenings I would find my brain would RUN WILD with worry, anxiety, or a feeling that I needed to be doing something.  It was on one of these evenings that Trey suggested I find a hobby.  I have never been in a season of life where I was able to choose what my night time schedule looks like.  So, what is a girl to do...I googled "Hobbies."


I wanted a hobby that would not simply be a time killer, but would be beneficial to myself and others around me.  A variety of hobbies came on display such as; learn another language (already doing that), learn to sew (not quite feeling it), take a dance class (I live in Haiti, where am I supposed to do that?), make jewelry, etc.  The idea of jewelry making really stood out to me.  

During some girl talk one afternoon with my friend Deborah (missionary with BHM) I shared with her I was thinking about making jewelry.  As we chatted connections began to be made and ideas formulated and we "stumbled" on an organization in Haiti called the Apparent Project, which trains men and women in Haiti in a variety of trades.  Within the week we contacted the founder of the organization, Shelley Clay, to find out more information about the jewelry making.

Through several long conversations, a lot of planning, and a great amount of logistics to sort out, I am beyond excited to share with you that we are in the very beginning stages of creating a jewelry program for women within the churches of Haiti.  I have had a number of conversations with the pastor of our church, Pastor Edrice, about beginning a program in the church for women to be able to support their families while still staying at home.  Pastor Edrice selected 3 ladies from our church to begin this program and to hopefully train more ladies in the days ahead.

A few weeks ago the three ladies selected, my mom who was in visiting, and myself traveled down to the Apparent Project to receive training in making jewelry.

Not only am I a far cry from crafty but learning a new craft in another language, whoa!  At one point the girl who was training me called over her friend, who spoke English, to help explain the thing I kept doing wrong.  I wish I could have explained to her that I understood what she wanted me to do I just simply couldn't do it!   

The ladies so enjoyed their training and have been very eager to begin making jewelry.  I have been gathering supplies for the ladies to begin making their own jewelry.  Just last week our good friend Scott visited and brought our last necessary material, our paper cutter.  This past Thursday the ladies, Deborah, and myself gathered at Thomassin Church to begin making jewelry.

The pictures below show Madam Pastor Edrice and Madam Amanda working hard in the sanctuary with their materials.  Cereal boxes and a paper cutter, classic jewelry 101 :)

The ladies are so excited to have begun working on their first couple of pieces.  As we worked together on Thursday they shared how excited they were to have something they could do that they knew would help send their children to school and would make things better for their family.  I am thrilled to see their first pieces reach completion and look forward to being able to provide an outlet for their jewelry to be sold.

Each piece of Jewelry will come with a business size card attached to it with a picture of the woman who made the jewelry and also a short description of her.  The other side of the card will have the name of our organization and a brief explanation of the purpose of the project.  The name selected for the organization is:

Kouri Deye [koo-ree, day-A] 
Kouri Deye, is a creole word and translated into English means Pursue.

The key verse that led to the selection of this name is Proverbs 31:27.  This passage describes how the Proverbs 31 woman looks well to the way of her household and is not idle with her time.  By making this jewelry the women within the churches of Haiti are looking well to the ways of their household and are not being idle with their time.

  

Below are two examples of the jewelry that the ladies are making.  The rolled beads are made by rolling cereal boxes.  I made the bracelet you see below out of a Cheerio box.

 The necklace is long and can be wrapped around the neck to be a shorter and doubled.

I have been looking forward to sharing this on the blog for quite sometime, but was waiting for all the little details to get worked out.  I look forward to keeping you up to date with things from here on out (which means shorter posts).  Please keep the women of Thomassin Church in your prayers.  Pray for guidance for me as I continue to figure out a good "system" for working alongside of these women.  The Lord is definitely STRETCHING me and I am eager to see where He leads.