This week the Lord gave me the good gift of feeling fairly decent, unlike I felt the last two times I got chemo. During days 5 to 8 post chemo the last two times, I was having a very rough time. This time not so much--even though it included having to meet with the board of Society of Indian Mission Monday which would usually stress me out something awful.
I found myself not so very stressed, and the board was simply incredible. I felt inspired, encouraged, and rejuvenated by their kindness and confidence.
Yesterday and today, Kristal Becker, wife of SIM interim president Mark Becker, came to spend a couple days with us Lucas ladies who were left behind while all the men folk of the mission attended the Men Arise Event in Rapid City this week. Kristal brought with her a sewing project spearheaded by Misty Peterson in orphanage work in Lesotho, Africa, as well as for Susan Carter and for another missionary in Peru.
Kristal and her army of seamstresses sew hundreds of these washable personal hygiene items for underprivileged and orphan girls in third world countries--girls who might be sent out to the cow shed a week out of the month, resulting in not being able to attend school and falling behind in education; girls who can't keep a job because they have no way to take care of themselves with dignity.
She showed us a picture of about 35 girls in Lesotho holding their hand-sewn bags of kits that Kristal Becker and her seamstresses had sewn and put together and then Misty Peterson distributed.
Hearing one story after another from Kristal of how girls are treated filled my heart with compassion and a desire to help.
I hadn't known what I'd be able to do while my men were gone to Men Arise because my life revolves around taking care of them, making food and bread and sending extra sandwiches along for BHE crew. Plus there was chemo.
But this week, I was so happy to be able to pitch in and help Kristal with the parts and pieces she pulled out of her bins she'd brought along for this trip to SD. First, yesterday we attached plastic snaps to 62 sewed pad protectors (my job being to choose, match, and pull out the four parts of the snaps from her snap organizer, and Hannah's and her job being to do the attaching with the tools) and today we finished sewing 10 more of the protectors from start to finish. That was enough for five girls since they give two apiece. Feeling I am making a difference for someone in need is huge for me!
While we worked on the sewing project, Crystal made her specialty Indian butter chicken and rice, complete with naan bread like she'd learned how to make while working at the Indian restaurant nine years ago in Colorado Springs with our friend Gaya.
All this while two new buds blossomed on the orchid that Jonathan gave me a couple months ago,
and two iris watched placidly from the vase of blue flax that I'd picked two evenings earlier before a killing frost.
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