Mission Trip - Day Four

Day four of the mission trip was another day of sewing - and you know I had a wonderful time. This first picture is in the new sewing room built 2 years ago by volunteers. Ellen (one of the long-term volunteers) is shown here where I've been working this week. Long-term volunteers stay 2 or 3 months and serve in a variety of ways. Ellen has been here November and December and has been in charge of the sewing room. How cool is that! Her husband, Ted, is working out in the warehouse unpacking boxes as they are received from the many churches that send their donations here. That navy fabric you see here is what we made the drapes for the stage out of. Well I say made, really it's almost made. Today as I was halfway through serging the bottom so we could hem them the serger quit. We have three sergers in this room and all three quit on us this week! I don't have a serger at home but those of you who do will surely understand when I say the bottom looper thread won't stay threaded and no matter what words I uttered under my breath I couldn't get it rethreaded. And neither could Ellen. Since the hangers for the drapes aren't in we couldn't hang them anyway but I wish we could have finished the hemming.





This sewing room is just wonderful. It has wonderful lighting, rows of sewing machines (all donated Berninas) and sergers (all donated Janomes), two cutting tables, lots of shelves, ironing boards and irons, even a washer and dryer. Ted built a stand with a bar where bolts are placed and can be easily rolled onto the cutting table for cutting. Bolts of fabric (also donated) are used to make school bags, receiving blankets, baby shirts and jackets, and today we even made Christmas stockings to be given to some children here in this area when they hadn out commodities. That's another service offered by this facility.


I'm sure you've notice that I've mentioned "donated" over and over. Everything here is donated by churches and individuals from all over America. And I mean everything from the needles for the sewing machines to the toothpaste that goes in the health kits. Most of the labor is volunteer and care is taken to be kind to our world - they recycle extensively.

UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, Louisiana is making a difference in our world. Last week a large shipment went out to Zimbabwe. Last month a large shipment went to Texas. Doesn't it just make you smile when you think of all the prayers said over the things shipped? When you pick up the newspaper tomorrow and you read all the bad things that are happening in the world, think about this place....it might not make the front page but it's way more important than what those headlines are telling you.