Pattern to Live By
I just want to tell everyone how proud I am of two of Rivers of the World’s (ROW) staff members and the team of women they led in Belize!
3, ROW’s executive administrator, and Wuk, ROW’s executive coordinator, led the first ever sewing team into the Toledo District of Belize. During the week in Belize, the team worked with Maya women in 12 different villages teaching them how to use sewing patterns on treadle sewing machines. Four sewing machines had been delivered to each village. The Maya women set them up and were ready to go when the eight-member team arrived in Belize.
From Monday through Thursday, the team left their hotel at 7:30am and broke up into smaller teams to travel to several villages in the Toledo District. Each day was spent learning how to make clothing using patterns. This was new to the Maya women, who normally just used an old shirt as a pattern or simply measured the person who would be receiving the article of clothing. 3, Wuk and the other team members had an opportunity to teach the women how to put in a zipper, how to attach a collar and how to make school uniforms.
At the end of the week, on Friday, the ROW team traveled to Punta Gorda. The Maya women who attended the training also traveled to Punta Gorda. For some of these women, this meant leaving their homes at 3:30am and boarding a bus for the journey. The women gathered for a closing ceremony that moved many of them to tears. Christie, from the Toledo Maya Women’s Council presided over the ceremony and Adeliah Ishim, one of the Maya leaders, gave a project overview. 3 introduced the U.S. group of women and then presented each of the Maya women with a certificate of accomplishment. The ROW team was then presented with gifts of appreciation from their new friends.
Through the course of our lives, we have opportunities to sow seeds of love, kindness and mercy. These seeds then produce a harvest of similar fruit. Sometimes, though, we experience seasons where we reap sorrow, disappointment and even rejection. Regardless of our circumstances, we are given many chances to imitate Christ. Can you be as bold as the Apostle Paul when he said in Philippians 3:17:
“Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”
The way in which Jesus Christ lived is the perfect pattern for us to follow. The more we strive to emulate Christ, the more confident we will be to encourage others to follow our example.
