Books, Coloring Books and Pillowcase Dresses

In the last several days at Tabitha House I’ve discovered something I didn’t expect.  The children LOVE children’s books and they LOVE to color in coloring books.  Several teams brought a number of the books and crayons with them but I’ve hesitated to get them out.  I knew there were little ones that liked to look at pictures in books, but had no idea how excited they are to have a book read to them (even in English!) and to be able to color.  And they color very well!  There is no distinction between what a boy should color (e.g. trucks and cars) vs. a girl (Little Mermaid) and what colors girls should use vs. a boy.  They are just excited to color.  We had to have several discussions about sharing the crayons and only using one at a time because we had a couple of little hoarders, but for the most part they were very good at sharing the crayons.  At the end of our day I had them line up and display their pictures and then we would applaud their work.  My theory is that the best years of a child’s life in Burkina Faso is the two years when they are tied to their mom’s back.  After that, there is usually another baby on the way and the child loses that one-on-one attention from their mom.  They are assimilated into the “pack” of other children.  It's not that their moms don't love them anymore, but her attention and energy is spread in many different ways.  They crave attention, so having them display their coloring projects was as exciting to them as winning an Oscar or Emmy.  Thank you teams for the coloring books and crayons.  They are a huge hit!

And for all those who made pillowcase dresses, check out this sister act.  The girls love the dresses!  And guess what?  So do their moms!

On Friday, one of the women at the center had a little baby girl, after having four boys.  On Wednesday we will go to visit her and see the new baby.  A woman from one of the team churches made adorable little quilts for babies.  They are very light weight and are as cute as can be.  We will take a quilt and a baby outfit (one my little granddaughter quickly outgrew) to the new mom.  The other women will bring small gifts as well.  Thank you so much for the quilts and baby clothes.

A local jewelry maker named Zumana is coming to the center and teaching the women how to do a better job with their jewelry.  Several team members recently brought Modge Podge and that has given the beads a new shine.  The women really enjoy making jewelry from the beads made from magazine pages.  Thank you for the Modge Podge and for all those who are so supportive of the work at Tabitha House.  

Next week we will begin soap making.  A teacher is secured and the materials purchased.  Our hope is that the women can sell the soap locally. 

This picture is work happening in the children’s area.  The darker squares are chalkboards and can be used for children to practice their homework on the days we do not meet.  There will soon be an overhang so that the kids are always in the shade.  Several teams made this possible, and we thank you for such a great area for fun and learning.

The dolls have been remodeled to better reflect the modern day woman at Tabitha House and they are adorable!  We have several team members working on a website where you can purchase some of these items.  In the meantime, please let me know if you are interested in any of the product and we will send it to you via teams.

I only have a little over four months left here in Burkina Faso and there is still so much work to do.  I’m so thankful that God put me at Tabitha House and I know He has great plans after I leave.  It’s such an awesome privilege to be a servant of God!  Many thanks to all of you who support that ministry in SO many ways.  You make life much, much better for these wonderful women and their families.