A few months ago, I felt strongly challenged to refresh my prayer life, especially as it relates to Muslims and women. This led me to pull out a book I have carried for the many years while living in North Africa and now here in Greece. The subtitle of the book is “ Longing to Call Them Sisters” A short paragraph from the book reads, “God’s goodness is the foundation that will enable us to identify with Muslim women.” Psalm 67:7 says, “ God, our God blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him” Co-editor of the book, Fran love, goes on to write, “we have a ‘God connection’ that helps us bless Muslim women. God’s blessing means that all His goodness is given to us in order that we may bless Muslim women”
This has recently been amplified in my life as I have spent the last three months teaching a group of four new women who have come through our doors to learn a new skill with the hope of finding employment within Creative Hands. Of the four women, three identify themselves as Muslim and they come from Egypt and Syria. These women are just ordinary women and they are looking for love, a place where they can feel a belonging which we have tried and continue to strive to provide for them. Yes, we teach them a skill but over the years we have learned that more than anything else, displaced women have more issues than just economic. They are seeking a community to be a part of, they feel lonely, isolated and strange because from the outside they are different, they dress differently and they speak a different language and so, already, these are barriers that cause them to look for someone, some people who would understand them and bring them out from the margins into the circle. This is what we aim to do through weaving and sewing.
Earlier in April I sat with one of these three women and spoke at length with her because she can now sew and weave a bit and I so desperately wanted to offer her a position within the team so that she could do some of our sewing. But on checking her paperwork I discovered that she could not be employed because she did not have the right documents and we talked through many options and I believe for now we have a solution which is going to help us move forward with her.
One of the things that came out as we talked about her future within Creative Hands was that she is desperate but here is what she said in her own words; “Please can you help me because I like coming here. I feel a genuine love from you and all the women here, I like coming here because I know I am safe and you care for me. Please allow me to stay because I have worked in restaurants and a few other places here and the atmosphere is not the same.”
This is how we at Creative Hands demonstrate the goodness of God. You enable us to do this through your prayers and financial support.
Thank you.