““Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” — James 1:17”
We would like to share a personal story about the son of one of our hardest-working artisans. During our 2018 workshop, a young man walked into our classroom, and quietly started helping with the sewing machines. He already knew how to use them and when I asked him about repairs, he said he knew how to clean and care for the machines. An answer to our prayers for sure! His name is Reavladshy Jean-Baptiste, the son of Mardy Vela. (Shown at center in photo.) He returned the next day, and without waiting to be asked, began to help wherever we needed help. He is a very humble young man, very soft spoken, with a keen eye for quality work and an expectation of the same high standard from the other artisans. We asked him to be in charge of the supplies we leave in the village for the artisans to purchase and he has kept accurate records and has always had the money ready for us when we arrive. He receives a commission from Mercy’s Threads from the amount of sales he makes. He graduated from high school this past summer and shared with us his dream of going to a two-year technical college for electronics. Very few families have the means to send their children to college, but when our team with Mercy’s Threads heard about his hope for college, we decided to pay his enrollment fees and monthly tuition. He started this fall and sends each of us reports on his tests and grades through Facebook Messenger and continues to profusely thank all of the team for this opportunity. We are so proud of Reavladshy and are blessed to have him as part of Mercy’s Threads ministry.
To sponsor ladies and men to attend the Workshop, a donation of $25, covers the cost of their supplies, plus meals. Supplies include 50 skeins of floss, hoops, fabric piece, needles, scissors, thimble, seam rippers, instruction cards, bandanas, Handi-wipes for clean hands, a ruler, and a tract sharing the Gospel in Haitian Creole. Please know that 100% of the earnings are returned to the individual artisans and 100% of your donations help cover the cost of our annual workshops. All our travel expenses for the team are covered by the team members which God faithfully provides.
Blessings from the team of Mercy’s Threads!