A New Plan...

It’s funny how things turn out. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem to matter what you plan, God has other ideas! There are quite a few things that I’d planned to do on this trip and now I’m here it doesn’t look like they’ll work out and other opportunities pop up instead. The news of my women leaving for Saudi really got me thinking. What if they didn’t have to go? What if there was some way of helping them earn some money? Was there really something I could do? I’d been chatting with one of my friends on the team about sewing and suddenly it struck me… what if I could teach them to sew, what if I bought a sewing machine and taught them to make simple things, like trousers, or bags, or cushion covers? Could they sell them at market and earn a living? The more I thought about it the more it sounded like it might work. I decided to pray about it and see what happened.

My mum’s best friend and her husband have always been like 2nd parents to me and my brother and sister. They’d spoken to me before about giving some money towards some of the work here and this sounded like the perfect opportunity to start something new. I found out the cost of a second-hand sewing machine and let them know my idea. I had a text back the next day saying that they would love to help and were able to send the money not just for one machine, but a 2nd one and also some extra money to buy fabric as well!

Throughout my last trip and again with this one I’ve been amazed at how God not only provides for what’s needed but provides extra too. It’s just like the loaves and fishes story, not only was there enough to feed the five thousand but there were twelve baskets left over. Ever since I first thought about coming away like this I trusted that, if it was the right thing for me, that God would provide what I needed. Finances, visas, support, new friends, cheap flights, a job when I got home - everything fell into place, I didn’t have to worry about a thing. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s not always going to be this easy! But God is good and He promises to provide and I have to trust in that, there’s no point in doing this otherwise…

I was chatting online to one of my old friends last week, he said he’d been reading my blog and he felt like he didn’t really know me anymore. Writing a blog makes me feel pretty vulnerable, it can be pretty personal stuff. It’s taking your thoughts, dumping them on a website and letting anyone who wants to have a read. A blog can expose some of your deepest thoughts. Last time I went home I know some of my friends had been reading my blog and expected some missionary stereotype to come back in my place. I think maybe I should have turned up to the pub with socks and sandals, and a huge leather-bound bible under my arm. (sometimes I wonder if I actually look like a stereotypical missionary here, I think abiding by the Muslim dress codes doesn’t really help! But no, I don’t wear socks and sandals here or carry a huge bible under my arm! I think I would be thrown out of the communities pretty fast!) Writing a blog means that people (anyone and everyone!) can read about some of the things that you don’t really talk about, or things that you would just share with certain people that you trust. People, if they know you, can see you in a different light. But I’m still me though! It seems like sometimes, people don’t know what to do when they find out you’re a Christian, sometimes it’s even a great conversation stopper! When I first starting telling people I was coming to the Philippines and that I was going to work with an urban poor team they were really interested and chatty, as soon as I mentioned that I was a Christian and going to work with a other Christians some people just didn’t know what to say, it’s funny to watch! Some people just don’t know what to do with that piece of information. I had responses that varied from ‘that’s nice’ or ‘o right’ to some people who just ignored the statement completely. In a society that is trying so desperately to be all embracing, politically correct, culturally aware, diversity accepting, sometimes being a Christian can seem pretty radical (or loony, depending on which side of the fence you sit on) For me, it’s the best thing ever, I know I have a purpose, that I have someone who loves me unconditionally, that my life means something, that I’m not just on this earth to get a good job, a big house, and try to earn more money. I’m here to serve, to try to do something good, to make a difference. And the feeling that that gives is something that not even a huge pay cheque could even come close to giving. I’ve always loved my life in London, work, the social life, but now I love it in a different because it affords me this work in the Philippines and makes me realise how fortunate I really am. I feel like I get the best of both worlds (c:

So anyway- Back to the sewing class! I put the proposal to my team leader and have been given the go-ahead to start the sewing class to see if can actually develop into a sustainable livelihood project. The idea is that, if they can sew well enough, they can sell the things at the market and can earn 50% of the selling price, the rest of the money goes back into the project to buy more materials. Maybe, just maybe, it might provide enough money to mean that the ladies wouldn’t need to go overseas to work…