Scarves are Peru Bound!

As of this morning the scarves we knit for the Mission Crafts Ministry at my church are headed to Peru!  This is the 8th year we’ve gone on this mission and we do work at an orphanage there.  The first year was general cleanup, then we built a new dorm for the girls the second year, a kitchen the third year, etc.

This truly was a labor of love and an awe-inspiring example of God’s perfect timing.  Rosalie, the leader of the mission trip, asked if we could make 75 scarves….and we had one month to do it.  She then said that if we couldn’t get all 75 done that if we could at least do 28 that would take care of the workers and the interpreters so that they at least would know that there are people praying for them and that God loved them.

That’s a lot of scarves for a brand new ministry!  There were 3 of us that knew how to knit and we taught a handful of ladies in the church, two of which took to it like a duck to water.  And a funny thing happened as the due date got closer – we started hearing from people that were knitting at home for us, and we began to think we really might make the goal.

One of our ‘behind the scenes’ knitters was my mom.  She told me right off the bat when I told her about this ministry that she would make a couple of scarves for me.  Ever dependable, she brought the scarves to town when she came for Brooklyn’s birthday party.

 

And another unexpected blessing – I got an email from Melinda from Tales From My Empty Nest that she would like to knit scarves as well!  I’ve read Melinda’s blog for some time and am convinced that if we lived in the same state we’d be great friends.  She loves the Lord and her family and she just happens to be in the same life stage that I’m in.  I love to hear the stories of her family fun.  The photo above does not do her scarves justice.  Her box arrived on Monday, the day of our mission meeting.

When I arrived at the church we started unpacking and counting all the scarves.  Our total was 73!  And lest we might have had any disappointment at all that we didn’t make the magic 75 – let me tell you what happened next.  Rosalie all of a sudden started laughing and finally was able to explain – 2 of the children at the orphanage are infants….and they wouldn’t need a scarf!  73 was the exact number of scarves needed for the workers, interpreters and all the children.  Coincidence?  I think not!  As my grandmother always said - “It’s not odd, it’s God!”

And I leave you with one last photo from Monday night.  CJ showed up with an hour to spare and asked if we would teach her to knit.  I was working with Gail and showing her the purl stitch, so Sandy worked with CJ.

Do you see the little helper on CJ’s lap?  That’s Miles and he is 4 months old.  He was so intrigued watching the yarn and kept trying to grab it.  We were delighted with his antics and we did warn CJ that she wouldn’t be able to knit with Miles on her lap for very much longer at all!

Ah sweet blessings!  I so enjoy having a wonderful church home, family and friends.