5 Years Creative Hands

I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting especially when in March I remembered how the Lord led us to start Creative Hands. It seems like a lot of things in my life either start or end around March and so that month has come to mean a lot to me.

I remember that it was on the 16^th of March 2021 when Creative Hands was officially registered with the Greek government, a time that was very difficult because of the pandemic that the world was going through and yet in the midst of that valley, where many lives were lost and many businesses were shutting down God spoke and opened a door for us to step in and bring hope in a small way to many women. We have seen God at work in miraculous ways since day one and we have been able to serve women from different Nations including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan and we even had and continue to welcome Greek women who have been a tremendous blessing in helping us in our efforts to help the displaced women integrate into the local community with a bit of ease and we are forever grateful for every Greek woman who has come and learned, worked and helped at Creative Hands.

What Creative Hands is about!!!

As we celebrate 5 years of serving women through teaching them skills and giving them employment where we can I would like to remind all of us what we really are about. The one thing we are not is a Humanitarian Organization. Sometimes the women who come through our doors think we are and they find it difficult to understand that not all organizations are Humanitarian in nature. Having said that we exist to empower women in order for them to live sustainably. We are here to help displaced women find their footing and start on a journey that builds their sense of value, dignity, worth and we believe that when we train them in the skills we offer there is a discovery  of what they are capable of doing with their hands. We are grateful that even though it might seem very small, we as Christians believe the word of God that says, “Do not despise the day of small beginnings” We do not take for granted what giving a woman with no skill a skill and ability to feed her own child does.

Grateful

Last year some of our blog posts were on being a community within a community and truly we are grateful for the community we are in and the global community which we are a part of. We would not be celebrating 5 years today if we did not have people around the world who pray for us, give financially and those who have walked through our doors to our doors to purchase products. We have many memories of moments when we have stood waiting for God to provide so that we can pay our salaries and all the other responsibilities we have and people have come through. We have had months that have gone by without selling products and then people come and buy and we are able do what we need to do. There has always been an awareness especially to me as I handle all the administrative work that we live lives of miracles because I cannot explain how one day we need so much money, we pray and God provides. These five years have strengthened our faith to trust God and then do what we believe He has called us to do and we have been amazed. The story of God’s faithfulness is written all over our lives and we want to thank you. Thank you for being a part of our journey. I think of churches and individuals who have given over and beyond to what we do and truly we are humbled by such generosity.

As we celebrate this month we celebrate you as pour partners and what your represent to us. May the Lord richly bless you.

Cecilia, Michelle and Dustin and the women at Creative Hands