GFA DAY 20: When God Sends a Sewing Machine

       I have been volunteering with a family of refugees who were recently resettled in my area.  One day one of the older kids asked me about a sewing machine.  He said his mother knew how to sew. I wondered where he had got the idea that they needed a sewing machine, and thought to myself that they must have seen one while walking around in a store,  and that was what had prompted the question.  I wasn't able to do anything about it at the time, and the question didn't come up again, and then suddenly, the Mom started talking about sewing.  Another volunteer had an extra sewing machine, so she donated it, and brings her own machine with her and the two women sew and talk…a great way to learn another language by the way is by practicing while you are doing something you like doing. For this lovely refugee lady, her love of sewing has also led to a job.

       All that to say that we all have those days when we don't know what to do or how to manage, and some people worry each day about how they are going to survive.  And even in those difficult situations, we can be sure of God's promises.  We can be sure that God answers prayers--sometimes in ways that we don't expect.

       Lalita is a widow in an Asian country. She lives in an area that often sees widows as symbols of bad luck--why else would her husband have died. It's bad enough to be widowed when you're advanced in age, and have adult children who can look out for you; but what do you do when you're young, and your children haven't even reached their teenage years?

       That's the position in which Lalita found herself. Widowed, with two small children. She worked hard to provide for them, but often there wasn't enough to feed them. Lalita would cry out to God, would beg God for help. And finally it came, in an unexpected way. Gospel for Asia has resources to do some things that go far beyond offering a handout: they do their best to also offer a hand up. As Lalita told a relative who pastors a GFA sponsored church about her situation and her prayers, the     Pastor told her not to worry, her needs would be met.

        People like you donate to GFA and some of those donations are used to purchase sewing machines. For just  $85.00 someone like Lalita gets a sewing machine. With that machine she is able to work, to earn a living, to buy food and clothes for her children, and just as importantly pay the tuition so they can attend school. As we have learned in the US, education goes a long way in helping to break a cycle of poverty.  You can watch Lalita's story here and see how you can help offer that hand up that so many people so desperately need.