A letter from Ellen Dozier in Guatemala
February 5, 2007
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Look what your money, and your prayers and concern, can accomplish! It started with a couple of hundred dollars from an alternative Christmas project sent by a Presbyterian Church in Iowa to the Sinódica (Presbyterian Women) in Guatemala. These funds were passed on to the Christian Service Committee who decided to use them—along with other monies, for a total of about $400—for a sewing project in one of the presbyteriales. The money went to pay for the purchase of two treadle sewing machines, bus fare for the instructor, Marta, several yards of fabric for each student, and miscellaneous sewing supplies such as a good pair of scissors and a tape measure for everyone.
Marta with her sewing supplies.
Every two weeks Marta packed up her basket with her sewing supplies and headed off to the community of Bujilla, traveling on a bus, a pick-up truck, and then walking into the community which is located on a rubber farm. The young girls in the class learned several different stitches, and they made aprons with button holes, snaps, hooks, and eyes. From there they learned the basics of operating the sewing machines; the next step was to make their own patterns for several basic skirts and blouses. At the end of 10 weeks, there was a graduation where each student wore the garments she had made and received a bag with sewing supplies, a gift from women in a North Carolina church. The gift of money from the church in Iowa could have stopped there and one could say that their money had been put to good use, but the story continues! Marta identified one young girl in the class, Candelaria, as someone with exceptional ability to sew and potential to learn more.
Candelaria’s work was on display at the Sinódica’s annual convention in November 2006.
With Marta’s encouragement and the help of Dina, another member of the presbyterial, Candelaria enrolled in a 10-month sewing class sponsored by a government organization that offers training in a variety of areas. Her parents borrowed money to pay bus fare, the registration costs and costs of materials so Candelaria could attend these classes, and on December 8, 2006, she graduated, third in her class, as a professional seamstress! Her partner church in North Carolina sent money, which is being used to buy a sewing machine for her to use.
Not only does Candelaria have new skills, she also has a new understanding of herself and what she can do. Last I heard she had enrolled in weekend classes in another nearby community to get her high school diploma.
The funds from an alternative Christmas project in a Presbyterian Church in Iowa traveled all the way to Guatemala where they have borne fruit in the life of Candelaria and others in her community. Others of you in the United States participated in this project. With your interest in our ministry, your prayers, and your gifts of sewing kits and more funds, all have contributed to a process that will bear more fruit in the years to come.
When you send a check to support mission work here in Guatemala, or in some other place in God’s world, you give much more than money; you give hope, the possibility for a different future, and the knowledge that others in Christ’s family stand with and support sisters and brothers they have never met.
Ellen Dozier
Mission Co-Worker, Guatemala
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 63
