hand made

With our first batch of clay ready,

it was time to get rolling...

Erica and I shared the morning with our friends at Eastleigh Pottery perfecting our bead forming skills and selecting bead designs for our first production with the women of Iftin. The ladies will begin their turn at training in March as we begin the true production phase of the project.

How do they get that hole in the bead?

Knitting needles,.. of course!

The English Literacy program is also doing well; the second class has advanced quickly through their studies and will be writing exams early inorder to move into the new core curriculum with class three. We are very proud of the students and all their hard work!

Last Friday, we briefly met the "Women in Focus" STM upon their arrival from Canada. Part of the group will be joining us in Eastleigh in the morning as we talk about women and sports with the Iftin group. We are excited for the opportunity for the women to come together and share their perspectives on the importance and joy of physical recreation.

On Sunday, we are looking forward to meeting with Carmin MacMillan, the director of Short Term Missions (STM) for Canadian Baptist Ministries. We will be discussing opportunities for future volunteers to join the Somali outreach projects with us in Eastleigh. We are praying for people who will come and share their gifts and talents, and most importantly their love with the women and children of the Eastleigh Community Centre.

IN PRAYER:

* Please continue to uphold our family as February 27th draws near. This will be our third attempt at going before the high court for Ava's adoption. We pray that we will NOT be bumped from the list again.

* Please keep the Iftin women in your prayers. They are, in many respects, breaking the rigid mold of expectations placed upon them by tradition, wagging fingers and scornful eyes. Already some of the girls have been criticized for their involvement in everything from school to the Friday football club. We anticipate further criticism as the women gather this coming Tuesday for a vocational skills training expo that we are having with the Vocational Training Centre (VTC). Many of the women have expressed interest in extremely non-traditional jobs for a Somali women, including automotive and journalism. We pray that God will protect these women as they step forward and in many ways step out before their community.