Hermana a Hermana

What voices!
The three women and lone man (let’s call them the Les and the Pharmacy Divas) who work in the pharmacy start our mornings with a capella hymns in 4-part harmony. God himself must be listening to such beautiful praise sung in His honor.
Today we saw another 90 patients, mostly children. We also got to spend some time with the women of the Hermana a Hermana (Sister to Sister) program. SIFAT provided the seed money to help these women start a cottage industry – arts and crafts – to help support their families and improve their lives. The crafts they do – making jewelry and backpacks and painting aprons – can be made at home. This way they don’t have to go out to find a job and leave their children at home.
With 80 percent of the families in poverty as of a few years ago, many family members leave the area or even the country to find jobs. The second largest source of income in Ecuador, aside from oil money, is money sent back to families from people living elsewhere.
These women make beautiful products, much of it from seeds they find in the rain forest and shells from the sea.
They told us the story about necklaces made from taura (I don’t know if it’s spelled correctly). It’s a particular seed from the rain forest.
The women saw the movie “The End of the Spear” about the missionary who died in the Ecuadorian rain forest while trying to bring the Gospel to the indigenous people here. The women of the Sister to Sister Program make necklaces from these seeds in memory of the American missionaries who died trying to introduce Ecuadorians to Christ.
If that makes you cry, you’re not alone. Several of us were in tears.
Everyone I’ve talked to feels that money spent buying the works of these women’s hands is well spent.
We continue to do our best to serve God’s people in Atacucho, this poor neighborhood in Quito, Ecuador. We appreciate your continued prayers.
Peace of Christ