One of the places where Mother and Daughters Quilt Ministries donates quilts is a missionary couple who works in the Muslim community here in the United States. While the couple has asked we not use their names or share where they are located, we can tell you a bit about their work. This couple is in the process of building relationships with the Muslim people in their community. They have befriended their neighbors and try to meet needs they see as friends, not as missionaries. And it is working. The wife has developed several relationships with women in the community and has blessed them with baby quilts when new babies arrive. One family had a new baby, received a baby quilt which opened the door to a greater relationship with the mom. As a result, the other children in the family were also given quilts along with the mom. As this relationship has developed, an older son, who was living in the Middle East, returned home, disillusioned with his Islamic faith. Because of the relationships already established, the missionary couple were able to share the Gospel with this young man. Pray that his heart will be opened, and he will accept the truth of the Gospel. And this opportunity was all because of a quilt given to a mom with a new baby.
Lord, bless this couple as they minister to their Muslim neighbors. May Your love break through the darkness. Amen
Matthew 25: 35-36
"For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me."
posted by Sarah
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Today is our mother's 87th birthday. Happy Birthday to an amazing daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother! We love you dearly and are blessed to be your family.
I have been looking at old pictures of Mom from different seasons of her life and have noticed something similar in the pictures. There is a sweetness, a sereneness, a peace on her face in the pictures. From an adorable baby to a dear great-grandmother, the look is still there. It comes from inside her; not from make-up or fancy hair or jewelry but from an inner peace that she learned about as a girl which comes only from a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. Mom's life wasn't a bed of roses. She and Dad went through some really rough years when they were young. Having a large garden wasn't a hobby but a necessity to be sure there was enough food for the family. Making her own clothes, making clothes for her children, accepting hand-me-down clothes were ways she helped make ends meet. Mom worked right alongside my Dad as he farmed, even having the children ride on the cultivator as she drove the tractor so she knew where we were. Their farm never produced a lot but they worked hard and provided for their family. In her early journals, she makes notes about work on the farm, late nights birthing piglets, doing laundry, canning food and about how much she spent when she did go shopping. Her journals have notes about our Dad losing his job at Whirlpool and wondering how long he would be off this time, how many hours he worked at Baxter's (he was a butcher) and how much he made a week. Believe me, their lives where not about material things but about family and relationships. And this is where her beauty came from.
Happy Birthday, Mom! May you feel blessed and at peace today.
posted by Sarah
I have been looking at old pictures of Mom from different seasons of her life and have noticed something similar in the pictures. There is a sweetness, a sereneness, a peace on her face in the pictures. From an adorable baby to a dear great-grandmother, the look is still there. It comes from inside her; not from make-up or fancy hair or jewelry but from an inner peace that she learned about as a girl which comes only from a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. Mom's life wasn't a bed of roses. She and Dad went through some really rough years when they were young. Having a large garden wasn't a hobby but a necessity to be sure there was enough food for the family. Making her own clothes, making clothes for her children, accepting hand-me-down clothes were ways she helped make ends meet. Mom worked right alongside my Dad as he farmed, even having the children ride on the cultivator as she drove the tractor so she knew where we were. Their farm never produced a lot but they worked hard and provided for their family. In her early journals, she makes notes about work on the farm, late nights birthing piglets, doing laundry, canning food and about how much she spent when she did go shopping. Her journals have notes about our Dad losing his job at Whirlpool and wondering how long he would be off this time, how many hours he worked at Baxter's (he was a butcher) and how much he made a week. Believe me, their lives where not about material things but about family and relationships. And this is where her beauty came from.
Happy Birthday, Mom! May you feel blessed and at peace today.
posted by Sarah
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