join us Saturday night!

yall this is really exciting for me. I always try to make my austin friends feel sorry for me that they have all these friends that do super cool stuff…and I act like there aren’t people here that do super cool stuff in my small west Texas town…but that’s just not the truth!

a few weeks ago I was having a garage sale with Alison + Allison and some of those uber cool people were standing on my front lawn.  and I thought…let’s do a fun fair trade night together!  pretty amazing that in a small town there are more than a handful of us who work for or run groups that hand make fabulous things!  and who’s workers get paid a fair living wage!  just in case you didn’t know who all these people were…let me introduce you!

Noonday Collection..oh wait?  you’ve already heard of them? 🙂

No 41

No.41 is a ministry that was started in rwanda in march 2012, and i got to be a part of it when i was living there last year. we took 32 girls from our local orphanage and village and taught them the culturally relevant trade of sewing. our “office” was our living room, then turned into our back house. the bags that our sweet girls sew (that will be available for purchase) provide one meal a day for one year to a secondary school child in our village. (for one- 41.. get it?!) we started the feed program one year ago this month, and started feeding 870 students +36 teachers, and now one little bitty year later, the enrollment has raised and we are now feeding 1,200 students and teachers a day. the headmaster even said our school now has the highest national exam scores in the district. (!!!!)

there are so many ways to get involved, and i would love to chat more with you about that if you’re interested! or maybe you’d like to hear about the girls that stole my heart and how we’ve seen them grow, the HUGE ways God showed up when we had no clue what our next move should be.. or the time i fell off a moving motorcycle. that last one doesn’t have anything to do with the feed program, but it really is funny.. now that i’m ok, at least. really, there’s so much to say and i’m ready to tell you all about it. i’m so excited to share this with you guys- can’t wait for saturday. xo.

here’s our website for a less condensed version of our story and eye candy:)
http://www.no41.org/

Scarlet Threads

We started Scarlet Threads in 2009 when we were living and working in rural China with a small orphanage. We met some amazingly talented artisans struggling to eke out a living for their families, and at the same time, we saw children abandoned, in some cases, due to medical needs that their families couldn’t afford to treat. The orphan-care work we were doing, while vitally important, felt more like a band-aid to the deeper problem of children becoming orphans because their families couldn’t afford to care for them… and we wanted to feel like we were doing something about the root issue — poverty.

So, we started Scarlet Threads, partnering with Deng Jia to make beautiful anthro-style aprons… we’ve since expanded to other artisans working with other materials, and when my husband and I moved to Midland, we began working with local Burmese refugees to create an ADORABLE line of custom children’s clothing. We have a whole lotta different products now, but in every case the items are beautifully crafted by an artisan who is paid fairly while working in their home so they can care for their family. We’ve also expanded our efforts to include a fundraising program for adopting families and a grant program to help families with the high cost of adoption as well.

We see our artisans as our partners — not as our charity projects — and we are proud to connect you with their beautiful handiwork. We are so excited to meet all of you in person at the event next Saturday and show you the amazing things they create. As a very special treat, we will have all the samples from our Chin Collection Fall Line on sale!! This is a one-time chance get some adorable handmade children’s clothing crafted right here in Midland by Burmese refugees at some great prices!

To tide you over till Saturday, check out our website:www.scarletthreads.org

Africa Bridges of Hope

We share the love of Christ with the poor, orphaned, needy, and destitute in the Heart of Uganda’s capitol city, Kampala, by standing in the gap for children who would otherwise have no HOPE. Africa Bridges of Hope provides food, clothes, daily needs, and most importantly education through the help of people like you. We believe the Hope and the future of African nations depends greatly on the next generation of leaders. We desire to be a part of raising that generation in a family and love filled environment where Hope can be restored where it was lost and community can take pride in the future of their country.

We sell African jewelry and crafts to support our mission in East Africa. The children that we sponsor make our very special hand woven paper beads to contribute to their school fees. We have items ranging from Coconut carved necklaces and earrings, porcupine quill sets, hand carved serving spoons, bowls, baskets, drums, sandals, apparel, and much much more.

and music by Jami Stotts of Restoration Farm