THANK YOU!

Just want to say a huge "thank you" to everyone who has supported us (in so many ways) to make the dream of Samia's Garden come true! . . . thank you to everyone who prayed for us, encouraged us, and supported us financially (and an extra-special thank you to our friends who drove us to the airport!).  Our trip went so smoothly and meeting Samia was one of the greatest joys! . . . to visit with her family, spend time in her home, to hear about the process of her work and see where she makes her beautiful items . . . it was a trip of many dreams coming true!

Cheryl, Julie, and I all have bags available!  Please contact us if you are interested!  We have both bags and dresses for girls (sizes 2T-6/7).  Each item is handcrafted, unique, prayed over, and made with a lot of love!  All money goes to Samia and her family.

 

 

Pura vida! Costa Rica!

We are here in Tuis, Costa Rica!  Sami showed us her bags yesterday and they are AMAZING! She has about 40+ and each one is unique!

Won't be able to do pictures for a couple of days . . . hope to write again soon, but we'll see!!

Fundraising Goal Reached!

Just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who contributed financially to our trip!  We are leaving for Costa Rica with a total of $4205 raised and we are feeling so blessed and thankful!  I must admit, I feared that with having such a short timeline for raising funds, I thought we might need to do some more fundraising when we returned from our trip.  GOD IS GOOD!  GOD PROVIDES!  He uses people like YOU, like us, to accomplish His work.  What a humbling honor to join in the work God is doing all around the world!

As we pack and prepare these next few days, we would certainly appreciate your prayers!

Some specific ways to pray:

* Pray for our teammate, Julie, who is currently in Haiti.  She will return on Friday night (and we leave at 7:25 a.m. on Sunday!).  She is doing a medical mission and reading her updates, my heart is just breaking for her.  She has seen and experienced things down there that most of us never will.  Pray for her, that God will sustain her and give her energy to treat patients; that God will grant her wisdom as to how best help the patients when few supplies and little medicine is available; also, please pray for her safety for her remaining time down there, as well as her return to the U.S.

* Pray for our team as we pack.  We are taking down many donations that people have blessed us with . . . medical supplies, clothing, hygiene items, etc. 

* Pray for Cheryl as she works, packs, prepares, and works on the medical curriculum for the mission in Costa Rica.

* Pray for our family, as Ley and I prepare for the trip, and as I prepare to leave the boys for nine days.  The closer the time gets to leaving, the more anxious I feel.  They will be in very capable hands, but I've never been away from them for this long of a time.  All three of our kids have unique needs, fears, and issues, so please pray that God would give me peace about being away from them, and that they will have a great bonding time with grandparents, cousins, aunt & uncle, and Daddy!

Again, thanks to everyone who has made this trip possible!  Your love, support, and encouragement have been so amazing!

I am so excited to share Samia's Garden with all of you!

janine

Items of greatest need . . .

Here is the list of items most wanted from someone at the mission in Costa Rica:

* Children's Tylenol or Ibuprofen
* Immodium (generic stuff doesn't seem to work as well)

I believe that all sizes of clothing would be great, too (and that is easy to pack!).  I bet there are a lot of great sales out there on summer clothing!

Thanks for your support and encouragement!
janine

Labels ordered!

Yesterday I ordered labels that Sami will be able to iron on the clothing!  I'm very excited!

We leave for Costa Rica in just a about 2.5 weeks!

We still have a lot of money to raise to make this trip possible . . . please consider a financial gift so that the dream of Samia's Garden can happen!  Money can be given online through our church's website (www.renewcommunity.org) or checks can be sent to Cheryl, Julie, or me (made out to "Renew Community" with "Costa Rica" on the memo line).  All money given through the church is tax-deductible for the giver.  All money from the selling of the items will go to Samia and her family.  We are also hoping to include some other seamstresses in Costa Rica if this venture goes well.

Thanks!

How You Can Help!

*Pray!  Pray for our team (Cheryl, Julie, Janine, Ley), for Sami and her family, for the language school and mission in Tuis, Costa Rica, and for the people of Chirripo.
* Give!  We are raising money as a team to cover airfare, the cost of staying with host families during our visit, medical donations for Chirripo, etc.  The total cost of the trip (for the 4 of us) is $4,000.  Please see information on the right about giving financially.
* Buy!  We will bring Sami's products up to the U.S. at the beginning of August.  We hope to be able to sell her things at local farmers' markets, through word of mouth and group meetings, by posting pictures on the blog and facebook (and we'll see how God directs us from there!).  Utah friends, Janine & Ley will be out in August, so let me know if you'd like me to bring out some items!
* Share!  Share the story of Samia's Garden with your friends and family.  If you would like to help us sell Samia's items, let me know (we will need volunteers to cover tables at the local farmers' markets in August).  If you know of a group where we can share the story of Samia's Garden, please contact Janine, Cheryl, or Julie!  If you attend a Bible study or Mom's Club, we would love to share Samia's Garden with your group and bring some items along to sell (this would be great in the fall).

Size 24 month dress modeled!

This is the dress shown on my adorable niece that is pictured on the right side.  How cute is she?!

Donations for Chirripó

Our team is collecting donations for the indigenous people of Chirripó.  Cheryl and Julie (the two nurses on the team) will be traveling there to do a medical mission for three days.  We are accepting the following donations:


* baby blankets
* clothes (new or very gently used), all sizes
* travel-size hygiene products (Pert is especially good because it can kill lice)
* OTC meds like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Benadryl
* antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, antifungal cream, and vaseline
*  band-aids

If you are interested in donating any of these items, please contact me (leave a comment or email me at mamiowl@hotmail.com), Julie, or Cheryl.

Thank you for your support and encouragement for Samia's Garden!

Items Available

This is the only item (set) that we currently have available.  There will be many more once we return from Costa Rica in August! (tote bags, baby/little girl dresses, & women's shirts)

This is a set:  a table cloth with 4 placemats.  This would be great for a picnic table and/or to give your dining room that "vintage feel."  Suggested donation for the set is $25.

Please email me if you are interested in either of these items (mamiowl@hotmail.com) or leave a comment.  I can arrange shipping or local pick-up (southeastern PA).

Trip dates

Our team of four will travel to Costa Rica from July 25 until August 3.  We will pick up Sami's items, spend time talking with her about her products, help out around the language school, and two members of the team who are nurses will travel to do a medical mission to the indigenous people.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support!

Janine, on behalf of Cher, Ley, & Julie

Preparing the soil . . .

Our story, from the beginning, has clearly been orchestrated by the Master Gardener.  God had been preparing the soil long before we ever knew what He was doing . . .

At the beginning of 2010, Cher spent three months in Costa Rica attending language school and doing medical missions work.  When she returned, she shared with several of the house churches in our community about her trip.  Cher returned to the U.S. with some items that her host mami, Samia, had sewn.  I (Janine) bought a dress for one of my nieces and as I was noticing the details on the way home, I casually said to my husband, "I would love to get some of Sami's work up here and sell it for her.  It's amazing!"  My husband replied, "You need to get in touch with Cher."  So I did!

We had breakfast later that week.  I confessed that I have no business knowledge whatsoever, but I love the idea of families supporting themselves by using their creative talents and abilities.  During the next couple of hours, the soil turned, the ideas flowed, and the Gardener's work was becoming evident . . .

We decided that Cher, my daughter Ley, and I would make a trip to Costa Rica to meet Sami, experience the culture, and try to discern how we could partner with some of the people there.  Cher spoke with someone at the language school and found out that the trip to Chirripó (where they do medical missions trips to the indigenous people there) would take place at the end of July.  After much prayer and confirmation (including Cher being able to take off from her brand-new job!) that this trip should happen for sure during this time, we decided to begin praying about a fourth person going with us (who would also be able to accompany Cher to Chirripó) . . . two days later, we had our fourth person, also a nurse!  She "just so happened" to have off work already for a wedding and other trip that ending up getting canceled!


So here, we are, dreaming, watering, getting our needed sunshine, waiting for the flowers that will bloom from this garden.