House of Lydia - Women of Caracol

After going on 3 mission trips to Caracol, Haiti, the women there broke my heart with their faithfulness to God even in the poverty in which they live. I felt called by God to invest in them with my sewing skills and empower them to find work or at the very least be able to sew for themselves and their children.  On my most recent trip in 2016, Pastor Payot of the Church of the Redeemer, asked if I would teach the high school girls in his community to sew.  He and Pastor Ernest minister to this community within a compound which houses the church, an elementary school, an orphanage for girls, and now an addition of a high school. Overwhelmed with this opportunity I returned to the USA with renewed spirit to make this happen.  My daughter, who is a teacher and also sews, immediately jumped on board and my grandaughter also sews.  We want to make it a family effort to start, but the ultimate vision we have for these women is to give them opportunity to find work at a local factory or make a self-sustaining co-op that will make products to sell on a web site or other outlets.  We looked to scripture for inspiration and came up with Acts 16: 14 "now a certain woman named Lydia heard us, She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God". and Jeremiah 29: 11 "for I know the thoughts I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, l to give you a future and a hope".  This amount should give us enough for 4-5 people to go to Caracol including supplies which would include some sewing machines.