THANK YOU! 2016 was a total success!
Annie Phillips
You shopped and pre-ordered and shared about us on social media; and we grew, our artisan partners met goals and felt your love. The image above is from our Rwandan partner's Christmas party. Through your donations and purchases, we were able to gift each woman a Bible, a hymn book, and a journal. If you can't tell, they were VERY HAPPY about these gifts. Tears were shed and shouts of joy shared. Many women expressed that they thought they'd NEVER own something so precious as a Bible. They couldn't believe it. Look at the joy you've given them! We can't thank you enough.
We have several great growth markers we'd like to share with you and a few prayer requests. We'll focus on More Than Sparrows, our Rwandan co-op partners, in this blog update. Annie and I were able to FaceTime with Jane, our NEW manager, and Cheryl, the world's most outstanding volunteer, back in November, and it was such a gift to us. We learned that, with Cheryl's guidance, the 34 women in the cooperative have created budgets, are earning a steady salary each month, and taking many tangible strides in growing and managing their business. We are so encouraged by this news! They are pursuing wholesale orders in Europe and Australia, so if you have any connections with shop owners, please email us (sarah@thesparrowstudio.com). And if you are in Kigali, please be sure to stop by The Shop Kigali- their retail spot.
Another great stride, as previously mentioned, is that the fabulous Usanase Jane has grown from being our interpreter and hands on helper to our official manager. Jane is generous, hard working, smart as a whip, and in the front right of the picture in a white dress. We are so excited to have her step into this role. And she is in the midst of filling a giant order for us. Please pray for her as she settles in.
Changes are also on the horizon for More Than Sparrows, Rwanda has passed a new law saying that co-ops can no longer meet in houses, which is what most co-ops do. Its what we do. Please pray for the right spot to open for them and for God to provide the finances they need to make the move.
Thank you, again, for your care and support. Great changes are happening in the lives of our artisans. Step by step and purchase by purchase we are seeing real growth. Y'all are amazing.
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