During our orientation meeting, Mark reviewed our schedule for Wednesday morning. He asked us to share Bible Study with a group of three women believers in a remote village. Bible study would be followed with teaching them a craft project in an effort to help them earn money. He said, “The last time we saw Anna, her hands were ravaged with sores where she’d been bitten by termites. She had been to the mound in search of food for her family.”
Mark developed the idea to teach them to create notecards. He would provide the supplies needed and would buy back the finished product. Enabling the women to make a marketable item was our version of teaching them to fish for life rather than giving them food for the day. It would have been easier to donate money; however, everyone in Niger will be saying “I believe in Jesus” if we start distributing cash. It’s a dilemma. We want to help, however, gifts can create false conversions.
I’m thankful for Terra’s artistic gifts and was relieved when she agreed to teach the women. Her assignment wasn’t an easy task. Women in Niger usually don’t attend school and can’t read or write. Explaining the purpose of a notecard was difficult. It took several attempts to describe which side of the folded paper was the front. Next they had to be taught how to hold a pen, and how to trace the outline of the wooden pattern on the fabric. Finally, Terra taught them how to grasp the scissors to cut the material and glue it to the notecard. Keep in mind there was no table or proper work surface. It took more than an hour to create the first finished notecard.
I will never forget their smiles of joy as they each proudly presented their finished notecards. Mark will return next week and buy all they have to sell. Some might look at these simple cards and shrug. But when I view the results of their efforts, I’m reminded of their joy. I may never see these women again until we meet in heaven. Until that time, I’ll remember seeing the light of Jesus in their eyes, in a country that desperately needs His light.
