Sari Bari 1/19/13

Amazing first day!  1/19/13

Today was an amazing first day!  The team (there are 19 women on this trip) split into 2 groups to visit 2 Sari Bari locations.  It was sad not to see all of the women at both units but then again it was nice to be able to take time at 1 unit instead of splitting our time into 2 places.  We left the BMS at 8 am and arrived in the area around 8:45.  Our driver dropped us off at a completely different location than where we were last year.  I am not usually good with details and I am somewhat directionally challenged, especially considering that the streets all looked the same.  But surprisingly I found where we were supposed to go and we arrived safely at the center where we would be working that day.  I so appreciated the prayers of my friend Rebecca who later told me that she had prayed for God to lead our steps.  He definitely did.  If you saw the streets and market area you would understand that it is a miracle that we found the place.  The area that we were walking to was made up of alleyways, shops, and thousands of people.  Everything looked the same, every street resembled the last one.

Anyway we arrived at Sari Bari around 9:15 and set up for the day.  We dedicated one room to manicures and pedicures while another room was for our crafts.  Approximately 20 women came and we spent the day with them there.  It was so sweet that many of the women recognized me and Lauren from our visit last year.  They all thought it was pretty neat that my Mom was traveling with us as well.  

Many of these women are still living in brothels, which is very sad.  The happy part is that most of them are able to pay their "wages" to the brothel owner by the money they make working at Sari Bari so although many of them live in the brothel they do not work there.  If you are interested in supporting this amazing cause while also having some retail therapy for yourself visit www.saribari.com.  Their products are beautiful and made by some amazing women.

The women bounced between the manicure/pedicure room and the craft room.  Our craft this year tells an amazing story.  To see a link to the craft go to:

http://www.beadaholique.com/p-30647-supplies-for-project-c604-wire-birds-nest-charm.aspx

While all of this was going on tea and snacks were served.  The women felt badly that we wouldn't eat the snack since we were doing pedicures.  They wanted us all to stop what we were doing with their feet so we could eat.  They wanted us to be Mary, not Martha.  Pretty ironic.

After the morning activities we had a brief program for the ladies.  First Bree shared the Joseph story.  It is really hard to describe the concept that we used for the story but it's basically portrays the many layers of Jospeh's life on a canvas.  We start out by showing a blank canvas and then layer on colors that signify different periods of his life.  As we flip a page over the canvas you can tell that his life had highs and lows just like their lives.  Basically it shows that God uses the good and bad in our lives to paint a beautiful picture.  It was an amazing way to bring                            After we were done with the morning activities I left with one of the ladies to pick up lunch.  The streets were crowded and it was pretty unnerving.  But the young lady I was with took it all in stride so i stuck close by her.  After we purchased lunch from the street vendor we walked another few blocks to buy sodas.  Apparently that is a really big deal for these ladies and considered a very special treat.

After we ate lunch we shared a brief program with the girls.  Our interpreters did a great job in keeping up.  I'm so appreciative of them.  Today we had Deborah and Nehau.  After we were done with the morning activities I left with one of the ladies to pick up lunch.  The streets were crowded and it was pretty unnerving.  But the young lady I was with took it all in stride so i stuck close by her.  After we purchased lunch from the street vendor we walked another few blocks to buy sodas.  Apparently that is a really big deal for these ladies and considered a very special treat.

After we ate lunch we shared a brief program with the girls.  Our interpreters did a great job in keeping up.  I'm so appreciative of them.  Today we had Deborah and Nehau.  After we were done with the morning activities I left with one of the ladies to pick up lunch.  The streets were crowded and it was pretty unnerving.  But the young lady I was with took it all in stride so i stuck close by her.  After we purchased lunch from the street vendor we walked another few blocks to buy sodas.  Apparently that is a really big deal for these ladies and considered a very special treat.

After we ate lunch we shared a brief program with the girls.  Our interpreters did a great job in keeping up.  I'm so appreciative of them.  Today we had Deborah and Nehau.  

The rest of the blog was accidentally deleted and I am too tired to stay up and finish it.  I'm sorry!  Thank you all for your continued prayers.  Tomorrow is one of my favorite days, although that is hard to say as they are all my favorite days in India. :)  We are visiting one of my favorite safe houses, M.  I love these girls and have remembered their faces for a year now and can't wait to hug on their necks.