Up until a year ago, I had no idea God could use a through-and-through crafter on the mission field! I was happily involved in a local ministry sewing blankets for children in crisis and trusting that “others” were more suited for the mission field. Worship leaders, sure. Evangelists, definitely! Crafters? Hardly.
I WAS WRONG! God sent me to Guatemala in 2013 with a team of ten women to alter dresses for young girls at an orphanage. While there we had a last minute opportunity to travel to a remote mountain village where there were women who wanted to learn how to crochet market bags. SERIOUSLY? Pick me! Send me! Yes! I was all in. Sometimes God just knocks my socks off!
Along with two of the women on our team, I spent two days working with the women of Parramos. They were so focused … they worked their way right into my heart. I would have stayed for a month! At the end of day two they brought me to tears as they expressed their appreciation. It’s humbling to see something so simple (to me) have such a profound impact. I was beginning to understand “need” at a much deeper level.
Fast forward one year … God opened the doors to Guatemala once again. This time I would have an entire week to work with the ladies and they were open to any project I thought would help them earn much needed income. As I prayed over their request I felt strongly that we needed to teach something that was sustainable … low-cost materials, quick to make, unique, durable, and good retail value. Enter, God!
God put a skein of crochet fiber made from stretch knit in front of my eyes. That was like tapping the last domino of a long line of dominoes … the ensuing cascade led me to the idea of upcycling old tshirts into market bags and/or baskets. After testing, it appeared to be a good match. 
One bag would require about 5 old tshirts and 2 hours of work. Selling price would be $25-$30 (depending on the market). This could be life changing!
With enough tshirts to test our idea, we spent the first two days just teaching them the process of converting the shirt into “tyarn” 
and then refining the pattern for a market bag.
To finish our work with the women we had to venture into the used-clothing markets of Guatemala. Fortunately God had gone before us and we were blessed with enough funds to be able to replenish the “supplies” so we could teach them how to make bowls. You should have seen their precious smiles; heard the laughter (especially as they were “stretching” the tyarn in preparation for crocheting…oh how they laughed…even now it brings a smile to my face!)
While teaching the women a marketable skill was our goal, teaching them about Christ’s sacrifice for them was even more important! Each day we had bible study before our crafting lessons began. We soon learned that two of our ladies are new Christ followers and leaning on His Great Grace even though they face tremendous challenges just to put food on the table. On our last day together we decided to do something different during our bible study. Rather than reading scripture or working on a lesson we asked the women if we could pray for them, for their families, for their needs. The rest is hard to write. They poured their hearts out! Husbands who have no jobs. Husbands who are fighting alcoholism. Abuse. Hungry children. Inability to send their children to school, forcing them to remain in the cycle of poverty. Unsaved loved ones. With hearts wide open, we paired up (one teaching volunteer with each woman from Parramos) and prayed concurrently. All those prayers rising up at the same time was the most heavenly sound I’ve ever heard! Tears streamed down! Love flowed freely! God was alive and powerful in that room!
After returning home, my heart’s been burdened for these beautiful women. Sure they can buy used tshirts once they are selling their products, but how will they get their initial inventory? They can barely feed their children. There is no way they can buy what they need to get started. My burden for their need drives me to pray over them daily. And here I am … watching God open a door “wide open” on their behalf!
There is a short-term mission team from Georgia going to Parramos in December … and … (this is GOOD!) one of them happens to be in Birmingham this week! WAIT! It gets even better! The team is willing to haul all the tshirts we can round up! I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read the email asking me to seek donations. It feels like Christmas Eve…there’s a miracle unfolding and I’m here, waiting and watching! Will the storehouses of the heavens open up and pour forth all that’s needed to get these women on their way? COME! Join me in this miracle? It’s crazy easy to participate!
1. Clean out your closet and dresser! All tshirts welcome! Undershirts. Turtlenecks. Team shirts. Mens/Womens/kids. Stained. Tattered. They all get cut into 1.5″ strips, then stretched/rolled, then crocheted … the evidence of earlier use disappears. That’s the beauty of this business venture!
2. Launder them if at all possible (the women only have access to a “washing station” where they hand wash everything and hang to dry. 
THIS IS “their” LAUNDRY ROOM!
3. Bring your stash to any of the following locations (No later than Saturday, Dec 6):
o The Jacobson’s (2005 Reed Rd NE, Birmingham, 35215 … leave bag/box on the front porch)
o Grace Klein Community (2652 Old Rocky Ridge Rd, Birmingham, AL 35216)
o Church at Brookhills (leave at front desk, mark bag/box “Parramos”)
4. Enjoy your clean closets/dressers and know you’ve been a beautiful blessing to some very precious women in Guatemala!
🙂
Linda Jacobson
Cell number: 515-520-9147