A quick review...After the end of our first "official" year we ended on a great note...looking back to see all that God did this past year was amazing and when it was all said and done we pulled in over $23,000.00! That enabled us to get our 501c(3) done, a website up and running, do a trip to Zambia, a fundraiser put on, marketing materials designed, buy a computer, buy product and have it shipped from the women, and all the other non-fun stuff of running a organization (paper, printing, stamps, bags, tags, P.O. box, web hosting, annual filings, etc, etc.). God is so faithful! This past year went beyond our expectations and we are waiting to see what God is going to do this year!
As I did last year, I am going to share the prayer requests we have for 2012 and trust that as we and you all pray, God will hear and answer!
First off, I want to thank and praise God for my husband Ben and our board of directors! They have been so wonderful in praying, giving advice, and knowing when to reel me in and let me go! I sooooo appreciate them! They have jumped of the cliff with me multiple times this past year when they probably thought I was nuts but followed me anyway! God continues to show up and be the real AWESOME God that He is as we continue to step out in His will for us and the women of Zambia. Pray for continued guidance, wisdom and faith as we plan and follow what God would have for us in 2012!
Now, for the things to pray about!
1. Please, pray for the widows and vulnerable women we work with in Zambia. For their health (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), for provision for what is left of their families, for safety and for continued opportunity for them to grow in their talents and skills, their relationships and their walk with God.
2. Pray for our partner on the ground in Zambia, Community for Human Development. Reberiah and her staff are dedicated to helping the women there and giving them the education and skills to pull themselves out of poverty and protect themselves against and deal with HIV/AIDS. Pray for them and their needs as an organization and for wisdom and eternal perspective as they work everyday with the impoverished women and children of Zambia.
3. We are pushing forward with finding stores, conferences and events to showcase the wonderful products that the women make in Zambia. We would like to be in 10 stores and be at 10 events by the end of 2012. To help us do that, you can pray and connect us with any store or coordinator for women's conferences, Fair Trade shows, world market type stores, etc. We are already in 4 stores...so just 6 more to go! Events will pile up quickly, so pray for wisdom in attending the right ones for the best exposure. This concept needs to expand quickly as we need to sell as much as we can here to keep the women in Zambia working so that they may be empowered by the opportunity to provide for their families. That their talents and gifts may be used to create beautiful products that are marketable here and around the world! That is the next step by the way, to expand our market to different places in the world as well! That will be a goal for 2013;)
4. Pray for the team we are bringing this summer to Zambia. For what we will be doing and the relationships that will be made and the lives that will be changed. We are looking to do a women's conference or "gathering" to address the issues women deal with in Zambia. We will also be doing more skills training with the jewelry and hopefully other products that we will market! We are very excited about this trip and what God is going to do in us and through us! Pray for safety, growth in our own lives, for the funding we will need, the wisdom in planning and the team's "oneness" and the grace and love to be all things to each other as we travel and stay in unfamiliar territory.
5. Pray also for Ben and I as we will be in Zambia together for the first time. This will be Ben's first trip and we will be tackling many things. Continuing the research for a shelter and safe house in Zambia for widows and prostitutes. Assessing other area's (other than Lusaka) for a shelter. The plight of the men in Zambia and their needs as that is one of the passions Ben has. Immersing ourselves in the area's of Zambia and visiting multiple other NPO's to gain perspective and advice, and praying and figuring out the finer details of what it would look like for us to be in Zambia full time in the future. This is a lot to do in one trip so we will need prayer to have things go as planned and run smoothly while we are there.
6. Pray for our fundraiser we will be having at the end of summer! After our first fundraiser this past Sept. 1st, and the success we had in that, we can't wait to plan our second annual fundraiser! Even now, we need prayer for the date and theme of the fundraiser and most importantly, the team that will again pull this together!
This is a start, a rough draft of what 2012 will hold for us. We want to be open to all that God has for us not only as an organization but as individuals. While we are doing our part in planning our year, we also have a blank slate waiting to be written on by God. This is God's story and we are thrilled to be a part of it!
