Holiday Women's Tea

Last Sunday night, all the women of my church gathered for a holiday tea and dessert. I went last year and felt a little overwhelmed. There were so many women, most of whom I didn't know. This year, every room was packed with women from all over the world but I knew most of them because of FORAI. Not only has FORAI helped many families in St. Louis, it's also helped me to connect with the people in my community. I had a great time visiting with the women, holding their babies, singing Christmas songs together and reading scripture in different languages.

FORAI products were available to purchase at the party since so many of the participating women were there.

Throughout the night, the younger girls made beautiful paper ornaments in the kitchen.

FORAI at the Saturday Market

Last Saturday, FORAI had a booth at our neighborhood farmer's market. I worked the booth during the morning shift with another volunteer and a participant named Geeta. She was so sweet to hold Lazarus and keep him warm that cool windy morning.

We've been trying to bring more participants to the sales for two reasons. One-people love meeting the woman who made the items they are buying. It makes the purpose of the entire organization seem more real to buyers. Second-it encourages the women so much when they see people admiring their work. It proves that their hard work is truly paying off.

We had a lot of people stop by, both to buy things and just to hear more about FORAI. It was fun talking with people about why FORAI is so special. At one point, I was alone at the booth and a man walked in. He looked like he was in his 50's but was trying to look more like 30, wearing shiny black shoes and blazer over his tight expensive jeans. I thought it was strange, but I was happy to have another person to talk to. He walked in confidently with his right hand extended.

Man: "Hi. I'm Russ Carnahan."

Me: "Um, hi, uh, I'm Bethany Robbins" I said reluctantly with a grin. Why in the world did he think I cared what his last name was? I proceeded to go into our shpeal about who FORAI is and what we do. Half way into it, he interrupted me.

Man: "Well, this is great. You know, I'm a congressman here in Missouri and I often vote on things that affect immigrants and refugees here in this great state. I love what you're doin' here and I'd appreciate your vote."

Then he gave me a thumbs up. HA! Seriously, a thumbs up! I couldn't help but chuckle. I tried to save it by saying "Oh, cool. Uh, I just moved here (kind of a lie....we've been here over a year now, oops!) so sorry if I didn't realize who you were." Yeah, not sure if that saved it. He gave me a forced understanding look and said "Well, I'd appreciate your vote" one more time while walking away from the booth.

I felt kind of stupid, but then I felt sort of bad for him walking around assuming everyone knew who he was and would immediately treat him like a celebrity. Maybe if his jeans weren't so tight.....

Either way, it was nice that he stopped by. We handed out a lot of cards that day with information about the organization and our website. Hopefully, business will be picking up these next few months as we enter the biggest shopping season of the year. Who knows, maybe Russ Carnahan himself will come to another sale and buy something nice for his wife.

Happy Birthday FORAI!

Today, we celebrated FORAI's first birthday. It's crazy to think that we've been meeting together for that long! It's been a busy year with lots of challenges, but God has used it all for good. The women's skills have improved significantly. Many of them have been able to buy their own sewing machines and other materials. Since becoming a business, we have needed to teach the women about a lot of new topics. Today, we spent our ESL time talking about checks and how to cash one at the bank. Most of them come to the meetings regularly and are now getting paid regularly. I pray that in time, the women will be able to help support their families with income from FORAI. We will be busy this fall with selling merchandise at home parties and markets. Pray that these sales will bless the women both financially and emotionally. FORAI gives them hope, something to work toward. Sales give them encouragement, that what they are making is beautiful and worth while. I have enjoyed my involvement in this ministry. Not only have I gotten to know these amazing strong women, but I've grown closer with the other volunteering women in my community. I look forward to another busy year with FORAI.

FORAI-ever growing

It's been a while since I've given an update FORAI-Friends Of Refugees And Immigrants was started by some church members last fall. It is not a ministry of the church but definitely ministers to many women in our congregation. It's a micro business for the refugee and immigrant community here in St. Louis. The group of women is so diverse. We have women from Liberia, Burundi, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan and Iraq. Each month, more and more women are coming to learn a new skill in hopes to provide for their families. Many women have already learned so much about sewing, they have bought their own sewing machines and are able to work on projects at home! In many ways, it's growing too fast and we can't keep up. Still, it is such an encouragement to see the growth and change this little group has brought. FORAI will soon be a licensed non-profit organisation and I couldn't be more excited.

One of our newest projects is jewelry making. The Nepali women especially love this project and are very opinionated when it comes to taste. We've been making necklaces out of paper beads (that are also hand made). Earrings are another new project we've added to the list this month.

These are the paper beads drying on toothpicks.

There are many house parties scheduled for the summer, products are being sold and projects are completed every day. The women are working hard and it's been very successful so far. All of these things are great, but what gets me most excited about FORAI is the fellowship between the women.

At the beginning of each meeting, we have a small Bible study. Last month, Tika (a Nepali woman) gave her testimony with a translator. The translator (the young girl to the right) didn't seem too confident, but Tika specifically wanted her to do it since she was a Christian.

In the middle of Tika's testimony, a conversation began between all the Nepali women (the rest of us being left out) and then an older Nepali woman began translating instead. I can only imagine that the women felt they weren't hearing the whole story, so another woman took over, only this woman was not a Christian. She continued translating the redemptive story of how God changed Tika's life, reminding us all of the true gospel while she herself was Hindu. All I could do was pray that God would use that experience, basically preaching the gospel to others, to change this woman's life, too!

Between FORAI and being the nursery coordinator at New City Fellowship, I am getting to know the women and their families more and more. It has been such a blessing to be part of this organization. These women have been through so much, more than we Amercans will ever be able to imagine. FORAI gives them a way to provide as well as a hope for their futures. Soon, there will be products for sale on the web site (which is still under construction). You better believe I will let you all know when you can start buying!! Until then, if you live in the St. Louis area and are interested in hosting or attending a home party, let me know!

FORAI

FORAI stands for Friends Of Refugees And Immigrants. It is a micro-business that was started by some women at my church (New City Fellowship). It is in the very beginning stages. We meet once a month for Bible study and English practice while making greeting cards, purses and more. I am working particularly with the printmaking and card making. It's been challenging so far, because most of the women do not know how to draw. Still, it's been fun teaching them something new and just getting to know the women at my church and in my community. Yesterday was the second meeting I have been to. More and more women are coming each time and it's very exciting!






Most of the women who come are either from Burma or Nepal. A few others are from various African countries. We provide child care so that the women can actually get some work done, but the babies don't always want to be away from their mamas. The little girl below is named Kim Kim. I've had her in the nursery before. I think she is about Eli's age. Anyway, she was SCREAMING in the kids room, so I thought I would hold her in my sling while I worked.

She got very comfortable very fast.

For now, we are just beginning to sell the products in small house parties. Hopefully by next summer, there will be a web site. You will hear all about it when that happens.