The idea that "There is no us/them. There are humans fighting for each other, humans more aware of each other, humans believing God wasn't playing games when he called us His family, effectively binding us together despite the barriers that always made us think we were meant to stay apart." (Father Greg Boyle)
Imagine for a moment what it might be like to be a stranger. To be in a place where you don't know anyone. Don't know how to communicate with anyone. Don't know how to get around anywhere. To be totally misplaced.
According to Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of Great Britain, "the Hebrew Bible in one verse commands, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' but in no fewer than 36 places commands us to 'love the stranger'."
In Barbara Brown Taylor's book, An Altar in the World, she asks the question "why?". "Why should we love the stranger"..... "Because we have been strangers ourselves, the Bible says. Because if we have never been strangers, then that is because we have never left home......You shall love the stranger first of all because you know what it is to be a stranger yourself. Second of all, you shall love the stranger because the stranger shows you God."
We are so thankful that there are ministries like Ekata Designs who take the calling to love the stranger very seriously.
Ekata is on the ground in Memphis, TN working diligently to teach refugee women how to make beautiful jewelry, a small step to helping them become independent in their new life.
This is an excerpt from their website:
"Ekata Designs currently works with Refugees from Bhutan. These women are ethnically Nepali, but for the past few generations they have lived in southern Bhutan. In the 1980s and 90s the Bhutanese government began to discriminate and threaten these southern Bhutanese. Fearing for their lives many fled to refugee camps in Nepal. After spending up to 20 years in these camps without being accepted into Nepal and unable to return to Bhutan, many families were relocated to the United States with hope for a new life. Yet life in America is not without challenges. Overcoming trauma from the past, learning a new language and culture, finding a job and becoming self-sufficient is a difficult process.
The Bible says that God defends the cause of the fatherless, widows and strangers in the land. As followers of God, we are instructed to love the strangers living among us and to fear the Lord (Deut 10:18). Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a refugee from Somalia, once said: “There are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice.” Ekata Designs was started to break the silence surrounding the plight of refugees and empower them to succeed in their new life. We are privileged to work with several strong, beautiful, and talented refugee women in Memphis, TN teaching them to make and sell high quality jewelry. This is a small step in helping them become self-supported."
Aren't these jewelry designs beautiful!!! I have only seen them online, I can not wait to see them in person! And you should totally click here and see the beautiful faces and read the stories of the women who handcrafted these pieces. And I can't help but wonder if the women behind Ekata, the founders and the artisans, have somehow both learned a little something about strangers becoming friends, learning of their Kinship. How taking the time to be with one another regardless of background or even the ability to speak the same language has allowed them to witness in each other Jesus on earth. I am so excited that these women will be selling their wares at the Marketplace this year.
The next vendor I want to tell you about has learned that she has sisters on the other side of the globe. Her name is Tara and her motto is "Do for one what you wish you could do for all" (Andy Stanley). Tara founded No.41. No.41 uses fashion to provide sustainable employment and empower vulnerable women in Rwanda to create change for themselves and their community.
From their website: "No.41 started on a whim and a prayer in March 2012, with the intent of teaching young women from the Noel Orphanage in Gisenyi, Rwanda (ages 18-25) not only to sew, a culturally relevant trade that would always sustain them, but to give back to their community through a feeding program supporting local schools.
The first No.41 bag was sold in May 2012 and today we employ 20 women from the orphanage, as well as 10 from the surrounding village. We have 8 mamas better caring for their 12 children and 19 of our young women are now enrolled in university. In February 2013, No.41 opened our first feeding program, providing a hot, healthy lunch to 900+ students and teachers, daily.
No.41 is about empowering young women. Our goal is not to give them the world, but to show them that God has already given them everything they need to go out there and take it. When you join with us, you are truly changing the world FOR ONE"
The first No.41 bag was sold in May 2012 and today we employ 20 women from the orphanage, as well as 10 from the surrounding village. We have 8 mamas better caring for their 12 children and 19 of our young women are now enrolled in university. In February 2013, No.41 opened our first feeding program, providing a hot, healthy lunch to 900+ students and teachers, daily.
No.41 is about empowering young women. Our goal is not to give them the world, but to show them that God has already given them everything they need to go out there and take it. When you join with us, you are truly changing the world FOR ONE"
Do you see the picture of those cute bags up there? The purchase of one of those bags provides not only sustainable income to the woman who crafted it, but it also provides 240 meals to a secondary student in Rwanda.
For $75 you get an adorable tote bag AND you provide:
FOR ONE CHILD, FOR ONE MEAL, FOR ONE YEAR
Maybe every lady on your Christmas list would want one?
And also check out these adorable aprons....
The purchase of one of these kitchen essentials will provide 68 lunches to one child! Talk about gifts that give! Every time you cook you can think about a child who is offered a free lunch because of your purchase. That is how you begin to change the world FOR ONE.
This ministry is doing amazing things. Not only are they providing the sustainable income to their employees, but it is the employees who have started the food program in their community. Sisters helping sisters helping sisters. I love it.
If you haven't heard of our next vendor then you are in for a treat! Noonday collection works with artisans all over the world... working to help provide sustainable income to it's artisans...helping to make all of us a little cuter....and also helps to raise funds for adoptive families. So many things.
Noonday is sold through a network of folks called Ambassadors. We had the fabulous, Rebecca Daniels, represent Noonday last year. You can read our write up here. This year, Alecia West, who is our very own noonday representative right here in Jackson, TN will be at the Marketplace to share all about how Noonday is using fashion and design to help brothers and sisters in other parts of our world gain sustainable employment.
And do you know how Noonday was founded?! Jessica Honegger, founder, had a home show to sell items she had found on a recent trip to Rwanda. Her family was in the adoption process to bring home a child from Rwanda and she thought this would be a great way to raise some funds. The rest is history!
A small glimpse into how these products are made:
Y'all. I love Noonday. A Lot. Their products are so unique and so beautiful. True story....I never really wore jewelry at all until I started buying Noonday products. Now...look at me!
In all seriousness, I feel like we have been given the unique gift of affluence here in the west. We can use our money, our influence and our abilities to join arms with our Family here and across the globe. I want to be a person that turns away from valuing things and seeks ways to value people. In my personal life, over the past two years, I have learned so much about how we don't make decisions in a vacuum. The way I choose to spend my time, my money and my voice can have negative or positive effects. All of those things were never really mine to begin with. I am FAR from perfect but I long to embrace my kinship with humanity. Will you choose to join me?
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