Update from July 7th

July 7^th

We got to go visit Maison Dorcas today! It is a ministry that reaches out to Muslim women who become Christians by providing employment and a place to live for those who are shunned by their families. Although not all Muslim families react this way to conversions, it is not uncommon. It is especially hard for women to be kicked out of their family, because they lose all financial security and support, their home, community, nearly everything. Maison Dorcas provides a place of employment for these women, as well as giving them community and helping them find a new place to live. They learn to sew here, and they have their own little shop with lots of beautiful purses, stuffed animals, jewelry, and other things they have sewn or made my hand. They also do embroidery work and other sewing jobs for a number of businesses in the city. For many of these women, this is their first job. They are taught not only to sew and how to manage a small business but also have chances to take math, computer, and literacy classes, A lady named Janet Welsh, who has been a missionary here for over 20 years, created and runs the place. We got to meet her and talk with her about the mission and her story, which was so neat. It really opened my eyes to more of the needs here culturally. It is important to meet the physical needs as well, not just the spiritual needs. The women at the shop were telling us that they’ve met a lot of Muslim women who want to become Christian, but because they can’t support themselves on their own and don’t want to face the anger of their families they remain where they are. The women had some heartbreaking stories they shared of their own experiences. Through the Maison Dorcas though, most of these women are back in good relations with their families because the families see that they are able to support themselves respectably on their own. It was an awesome experience and I'm really glad we got to go!