Musings from Graceland

YOU KNOW YOU WANT ONE

You love my new shirt, don't you? Fabulous color. Great design. And look how big my smile is when I wear it!

Now c'mon, you gotta admit that you would love to have a shirt like this...one that is awesome looking and puts such a happy expression on your face! And what would make that expression even happier is knowing the story behind the shirt.

This shirt is from Swaziland! These shirts are being sold by Timbali Crafts (a ministry of Adventures in Missions) to support African women who are working hard to support their families through sewing purses, table runners, and other fabric items. These are the same women who faithfully serve daily at carepoints providing food and love to orphaned and other extremely impoverished children. These women don't receive pay for their volunteer work with the children but they do receive pay when folks buy the Timbali products.

I had my friend Danielle Brower bring back three of them for me when she was in Swaziland back in September ministering at the Bheveni Carepoint. I have already paid for the shirts so that money is already going back to this beautiful ministry. But I'm auctioning two of them off to help fund our trip to Swaziland.

While in Swaziland, we will be exploring what living in Africa will be like for our family as well as ministering at carepoints. We'll have the honor and blessing of loving on some of the kids whose mamas are Timbali crafters. We'll also have the privilege of encouraging and blessing some of the mamas themselves. I can't wait to see the Bheveni heroes again. These women get up early, early, early to first take care of their own family before walking to the carepoint where they will cook meals for over a hundred kids, teach preschool lessons for the little ones, and do whatever else is needed. They may also spend some time sewing on a non-electric machine before they head home at the end of a long day to take care of their families again.

As of right now, the only way to get these fabulous shirts is to go to Swaziland and buy one...unless you've got the right connections and can get one through someone like Danielle or me.



So, if you'd like to be wearing one of these terrific, hard-to-get, Timbali shirts, here's what you need to do:

I'll be auctioning the shirts off til Sunday at 9:00 p.m. I have an extra-large and a medium one. They are cut with feminine styling. I wear a size 12 shirt and my large fits me perfectly, if I do say so myself.

Leave me a comment telling me what size you want and how I can contact you if you are the winner. Also, tell me how much you are bidding.

I'm going to start the bidding on the shirts at $14 plus $2 for shipping and handling if you don't live locally. Whoever has posted the highest bid by the time the auction ends on Sunday will be the winner!

Thanks so much and if you'd like to learn more about the Timbali Crafts ministry or order one of their beautiful handcrafts, just go to their link: http://www.timbalicrafts.org/


While there, you can even see the photos and read the stories of some of the Timbali women. You'll understand a little bit better why I admire them so much.