18 Girly Dresses for Nebbi from Lamont CRC

Colorful straw mats covered the dusty earth where the bare footed women gathered with their babies. Our chore was not so much to find women with babies, but more to keep the word from spreading like wildfire. Any time a gift is given, people will come…en mass. Today, though, the women’s ministry leader hand selected women whose children were close to the size of the dresses available and she did so in just the right number.

Early Friday morning the women spread themselves on their mats and patiently waited to see why they were invited to come. The gathering gave me a ministry opportunity to remind these hard-working maamas that God created women just as he created men, in his image (Genesis 1:27). And that God has qualities typically thought of as feminine – compassionate, loving, gentle – just like they do. The message: women are just as valuable as men. We also talked about the responsibility women have in raising their children, and because it’s primarily the women’s role to do so in this culture, they had the added responsibility to raise their children to know and love their Creator. We prayed together, and we laughed together.

These girlies were horrified of me. Look at their Domino hug.

Guessing the right size dress wasn’t always easy but the maamas were willing to trade until they found the dress of the best fit. But here’s the crazy thing. I had two sets of matching dresses…and there were two sets of twins who were exactly the right size. I had two baby sized dresses left over and wondered what happened. No, the women’s ministry leader said, two women are very pregnant and couldn’t come…those dresses are for their babies. I love the confirmation that you’re doing the right thing when weird little things like twins and unborn babies fit the gift exactly…18 dresses.

This group of mothers sent their greetings and appreciation to the children of Lamont CRC. And I send a thank you to the girls of Lamont CRC. Your efforts allowed me to minister in Nebbi, without you I would not have been able to go there. And thank you most of all for giving me the gift of snuggling babies and ministering to maamas, and for giving these maamas the gift of love and dresses for their girlies.

May God bless you!

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A Dress for Prisca from Kathleen

Clear snot ran down Prisca’s beautiful tiny lip. She cried…a lot. It wasn’t a whiney cry but an “I don’t feel good” cry. When extending my hands making the American “do you want me to pick you up” gesture, she was quite relieved. Children in Uganda don’t get coddled or cuddled much after they learn to walk – surely a crime somewhere. She snuggled up with her tiny black head on my shoulder and settled in. This happened several times throughout the visit (sometimes my job is so rough). Whereas the other children wanted to touch my white skin and run away, Prisca wanted to be up close and personal.

The final workshop morning, I sat in my blue plastic chair watching the day come into fullness. Prisca found her way to me and climbed up. As usual, the Holy Spirit highlights these kinds of children just especially for me. We walked hand in hand into my room to change her into her new girly dress (a perfect fit) and then back to the blue chair. Immediately after sitting down, Prisca sneezed. I felt it on my arm and wiped it away, with only a slight wince, like any mother would. Then Pastor Fred pointed out that “a little got on my blouse,” trying hard to be tactful and kind without wiping at the new problem. Yes, Prisca sneezed and I’m pretty sure every ounce of snot in her entire head was now spread all over my left…um…side. There would be no wiping this up. This was a shirt changer. Good thing I choose mix and match clothing when I go to the village.

The evening of the new dress was also film ministry evening and once again, in the blackness of night, Prisca found her way to my lap while the film played. Ya, gotta love God for kids like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Click here if you’d like to sponsor a dress for a girly too. The money is used to provide startup supplies to tailoring training graduates in Kamuli.

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A Dress for Rachel from Ayden

Rachel comes over almost every day
wearing her little dress.

You all remember Rachel, she is the youngest sister to Fahrid and Sharon. As a baby she was horrified of me, but since she got her little feet under her she is full of personality and quite happy to copy her sisters in all they do. I handed Fahrid a bag of pineapple, for her family for which she knelt to receive them as is the custom, and little Rachel squatted her little legs down too. When the children knock on the door asking for story time, little Rachel’s face is plastered on the glass looking inside. When I open the door the children pile at me for hugs and little Rachel is no exception. When Fahrid and Sharon repeat the lines of the Bible story after me, Rachel’s jibber jabber can be heard in the mix at just the right times. If the sisters run up the street to greet me with hugs, Rachel runs to me with hugs too. Just the other day the girls and their brother came for a Bible story on the front porch and left Rachel behind. She stood in her yard bellowing at the top of her lungs until I came and got her.

This tiny tot is often found in her birthday suit, in her sister’s oldest and holist shirts, or worse. It’s a bit like the value of clothing for a child who will simply wear those clothes out is nil. Fahrid and Sharon wear their little sponsored dresses constantly, although far from clean they’ve held up quite well. I started thinking…doesn’t Rachel need a little dress too?

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Konoweka Girly Dresses

The Konoweka ladies began their sewing practice by making girly dresses. The first batch, although in need of some refinement, was donated to girlies in the Banda slums where our group meets weekly. Don’t the girlies look cute?

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A Dress for Shelia from Molly

Colors and textures abound in this Gaba Road market. Friday is market day and this is by far the best market for making and selling handcrafts. I had my eye out for a little one who might receive a handcraft from you rather than me from her. Once spotted, I hunkered down and peeked around a corner to see her. Little Sheila was in her own world until the ladies around her drew her attention to me. Rather than scream and run, she raised her arms and ran to me. I swooped up this tiny girl and she was quite happy to put her fingers in all my face holes. Not sure how much I liked that part though. Her new little Valentine dress fit perfectly and her maama was so pleased. I would bet the folks who come to make purchases at this market seldom leave more than money behind. This little girl received a dress, a story, and a prayer.

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Girly Dresses in Prison

A quick visit of encouragement to the men of Bugembe Prison and they were eager to show me the progress they’d made in making girly dresses using the pattern my maama made. This is the same pattern the Konoweka ladies have and could be using, so comparing their efforts and their skills was valuable. What did I find? Two adorable girly dresses, using fabric donated by the Caring and Sharing women in Florida, almost perfectly made. The single stitch that joins the dress is tricky but they did an excellent job. The pattern is simple and the instructions are straightforward but comprehension is sometimes challenging because we just do things differently. What to do with these dresses? Let’s give them to the maama prisoners for their babies. All the men cheered! I’ll be exited to arrive and see a baby wearing the dress. Your dress sponsorship helps provide the supplies to keep these tailoring programs going while students learn. If you'd like to check out the girly dresses availaable for sponsorship, click here.

Kakira prisoners stand in readiness to begin their training program. This prison is smaller than Bugembe and so the pool of teachers is also smaller. This means that the tailor who was here, and who was intended to teach tailoring is no longer in prison. We wait for the next arrival, although we try not to wait anxiously. The cobra and shoeshine work, though proceeds with the guards and leaders thankful for the investment in their school of misunderstanding.

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A Dress for Hidaja from Maya

A pile of children surrounded me as I sat outside Pastor Newton’s small church listening to the ladies of Next Level Church deliver their Spirit-filled messages. All were happy to shake my hand or play peek-a-boo around the bent tree trunk. None, though, were interested in the photo of the small white girl except one. The one who was interested – the one who would not smile, would not talk, would not respond when asked her name – tentatively moved forward.

I motioned her toward me and she quizzically took hold of that small photo examining the front and the back of this stiff paper card. I pulled out the adorable dress that went along with the photo and held it up to this girl, a perfect fit. Hidaja (a teacher would later reveal her name) was a willing child…willing to be hoisted to my lap while she held onto that photo and examined the dress. A short time later, she even allowed me to slip the new dress over her solid frame. She clung tightly to her old dress, and to her new white-girl picture as well as to the adorable little card written to the recipient of the dress. I later had the teacher explain to her that Maya was a little girl in America who wanted to give Hidaja that dress so that she knows God loves her.

Having to leave her and the other children behind to attend to a few details, I soon found Hidaja standing next to me with her little hand in mine. And again. And again. She so refused to leave me that she wet herself (and my dress). We shared my lunch until it was time for the group to depart. This little one looked on wondering what would happen to me. Once the van door closed, this emotionless girl exploded with screams and tears until the teacher came again to comfort her. Oh why can’t I bring all these children home with me.

The van returned the next day to pick up the team speaking at Pastor Newton’s church and I hopped out once I spotted Hidaja. She came quickly to me and as I picked her up she lifted her legs around my waist and lowered her head to my shoulder. Those who hadn’t seen this girl with me the previous day stared with mouths agape. “She really loves you,” some said. And I really love her!

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Social Studies or Sunday School

Dear Social Studies Ladies,

Yes, that is how I think of you. You are the Social Studies ladies. Mom tells me she’s meeting the “ss ladies” and the closest I come to a quick reference is Social Studies. I chuckle at my inability to more quickly arrive at the words Sunday School, but then I think about the reality of your group. You are a great lesson in Social Studies. You have come alongside my mother, and thus alongside me and Jesus, in a very social way. Not only do you encourage one another in the Word, but you encourage one another by helping provide for and make these beautiful dollies and dresses. In doing so, you are absolutely fulfilling your call to participate in the Sunday School group. That’s what Sunday School is all about, isn’t it? About community, about sociality, about service, about being Jesus’ hands and feet?

I want you to know that I love you so very much. Not only for your gifts of service or for your lovely relationships with one another. Mostly I love you for showing me a glimpse of the positive impact Surprised by Hope has on people everywhere, not just in East Africa. I know you’d be gathering and serving with or without this ministry, but because you are serving the people of East Africa through Surprised by Hope, I have the opportunity to see something happening in your lives that so blesses me.

Thank you. Thank you for being that beautiful servants Jesus designed us all to be.

Your daughter,

Leslie

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Valentine's Day Girly Dresses

The big red event is just four days away. No matter how much you recoil at the idea of another Hallmark holiday, you do want to express yourself to that special someone you love. If you’re like me, you reject traditional gifts – flowers, chocolates, a fancy dinner – in search something a little less traditional, more thoughtful, and definitely something with an awe factor.

Nine new girly dresses are awaiting your selection. They’re perfectly suited for Valentine’s Day with red lining, big pink and red flowers, and an awe-factor that keeps on giving. Sponsor a girly dress for $25 and watch the blog beginning in May for the story of the little East African girly who receives your loving gift.

Then…wait to see how your one true love melts with (com)passion over the story of the girly and that special dress. This is one Valentine’s Day gift she will never forget!

Baby 1

Baby 2

Baby 3

Small 1

Small 2

Small 3

Small 4

Small 5: Molly D.

Small 6

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A Dress for Samat from Sarah

The walk from my house to the main road (Entebbe Road) is plastered with children, of course. Just up from the first dusty corner, four particular children tend to greet me in a way that suggests more than simply doing so out of fun in calling out “muzungu.” Samat, Cynthia, Bobo, and Grace are always ready to welcome me for the morning by kneeling and shaking my hand. Well, grace is a bit little yet. The two older children speak very clear English and mimick anything and everything I say.

This day Samat was given her beautiful new dress, which fit perfectly. The mothers gathered with big smiles on their faces in hopes of receiving a gift for their child. And when the gifts were given, more children swarmed. It’s not hard to find children to give gifts but it is very difficult to have enough gifts for every child…of course, that is American thinking…children here seem to realize that not every child will always receive. Samat, though, was very pleased and each following afternoon on my way home she could be found waiting to greet me.

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A Dress for Vivian from Clover

Vivian’s tiny little feet didn’t fit any of the shoes we brought but she was just the right size for this cute little dress. She wasn’t very interested in visiting with me but she didn’t cry either. Her little nose ran and smeared all over her face. Her maama and jjaja were tickled with the interesting gift and weren’t concerned at all about the Christmas print on this dress. Another girl wrapped in the love of Christ because of the prayers over this little dress. Continue to pray for this family as the ground is covered with footsteps that claim this land and these lives for Christ.

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A Dress for Janus from Katie

Janus was a screamer. The moment she saw me she ran the other way. Even when offered this cute little dress with rocking horses on it, she wanted nothing to do with me. Daniel, on the other hand, was a welcome visitor in her book as long as he didn’t go near the muzungu. Daniel helped Janus slip the dress over her head and model for the camera. Nope, she didn’t want to see her picture after I took the snap. Through this dress, Janus is wrapped in Christian love, prayers, and the love of all of you who are praying that she grow up in Christ.

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A Dress for Wasswa from Donna

Nakato (youngest girl twin) and Waswa (oldes boy twin)

I spied a little tyke in her mother’s arms and sporting a tiny sundress. To prove how little Ugandan’s concern themselves with gender-based clothing, check this out. The baby dress Donna sponsored was the perfect size for little…who? I asked. The reply…Wasswa. Wasswa is the term used to refer to the eldest boy twin. Yep, I just gave a dress to a boy. Well…at least the dress was blue. Wasswa has a twin sister, Nakato. All twin boys somehow use the name Wasswa (eldest boy) and Kato (youngest boy) or Babirye (eldest girl) or Nakato (youngest girl). Perhaps Nakato will get the dress instead.

Wasswa and Nakato were really too young to care much about the activity swirling about them. They just stared and blinked and stared some more. Cute little things.

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A Dress for Kisakye from Ashley

I had my eye on this particular dress because I used African fabric to make it and Ashley saw its beauty too. This is the only dress where I used the African fabric just like the dresses the Konoweka ladies will make. The dress was earmarked for Kisakye…well…because she and I share a Luganda name and because she and Kisakye’s education sponsors come from the same church. It’s fun to see what happens when a whole community comes together to help a family.

Kisakye was the perfect fit for this dress and she proudly wore that dress all day. Her mother was excited about the cute little style and all the mothers oooed and ahhhed as she emerged from her changing place. I’m not sure Kisakye cared a whole lot but she didn’t refuse, which was a start.

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Konoweka Women Sew Girly Dresses

The women used paper sacks from Tororo Cement to practice using the sewing machine along with a few small scraps of fabric. They’d obviously learned to use the sewing machine but the idea of using a pattern and pins seemed foreign to them. We began by looking at a finished girly dress to examine the intended outcome and we talked about how to get there. Then we reviewed the girly dress pattern instructions and proceeded through those instructions step by step.

The concept of laying the pattern on the fold and cutting two pieces simultaneously was confusing to the women. As we progressed, however, they began to see how and why the pattern must be cut in this way. Pinning the pattern to the fabric was another new experience. Placing pins so that the scissors could freely cut around the edges or so that the sewing machine could continue without stopping was another complex task the women mastered after some time.

I sat with the first daring woman as she sewed the dress, again following the instructions step by step. Machine control was a challenge given that the manual pedal doesn’t easily allow for slow stitching. Practice, practice, practice. Once the whole process was finished they were so proud…they oohed and ahhed over the surprising result. Tasked with as much practice as they could muster, I look forward to delivering more machines and seeing the progress they’ve made in developing their skills with the machine.

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A Dress for Ruth from Marion

Ruth – not the same Ruth who received a dolly – responded a bit like Sarah. Watching the flurry of people closing in on the muzungu, she stood paralyzed while her mother pulled the dress over her head and all the other children looked on. It’s always important when giving more than one gift to a select individual to try to have gifts for all but this group seemed to understand that when the dolls, dresses, and shoes were gone…they were gone.

 

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A Dress for Sarah from the Schumperts

As the children were piled in front of me, parents expecting gifts for all, little Sarah was a little unsure about the whole thing. She easily went along for the ride but the look on her face was one of uncertainty. Her jjaja stood behind her in reassurance as Sarah allowed the dress to be pulled over her head. The fit was perfect and, although the pictures don’t show it, she cracked a grin as she evaluated her pretty new seersucker dress. Jonathon stood next to her continuing to admire his new shoes (more about him later). The two tromped around for the rest of the day with their dress and shoes while most of the children removed their dresses to preserve for another day.

 

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A Dress for Maria from Lucy

Little Maria watched all the hubbub from the safety of her mother’s arms. When the women figured out that I had gifts only for those who would fit the gift, they began searching for the right size children and Maria was one of the lucky ones. Unwilling to descend from her perch, two ladies pulled the little pink dress on over Maria’s head. Lowered to the ground to show off her new duds, Maria seemed swallowed up on the wide dress. Length was an important factor in the crowd’s approval of the dress and this one was perfect.

 

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A Dress for Gloria from Sharon

The children in Oyam district seem to have little in the way of clothing that doesn’t somehow expose the skin due to rips and seams that have come undone. Only three larger size dresses were made and Gloria was the recipient of one of those dresses. She proudly smiled as the dress easily slipped over her head. Her mother was so thankful.

When I look at the dresses the girls were wearing and notice the beautiful and bold patterns on the fabric, I see that our simple patterns are a bit different than what the children might be used to. Still, they seem so willing to receive their gift. I’d hoped to find at least one child wearing her new dress the following day, to no avail.

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A Dress for Hilda from Nancy

Hilda chatted away while her maama tried to eat her Christmas lunch. A little hole in the wall “restaurant” was open on Christmas as were so many other income producing shops in the Kikubamutwe slums just outside Kampala. Rice and chicken for my Christmas meal was just enough given the limited menu of local foods offered in such places. Christmas isn’t about presents or having some fancy meal (even though some bbq ribs from Rio Grande did sound yummy).

I slipped up close and Hilda became even more animated. Jibber, jabber, jibber, jabber. Because maama was eating, I didn’t ask that Hilda try on the dress, but I’m sure she would have been adorable. Several Ugandan maama’s commented about the dresses and that there would be a good market here for such things. For now, a gift for Hilda and her maama is just a tiny reminder that God loves them both.

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