Janet Storton has created a ministry called Sisters of the Heart in Kapchorwa, Uganda. She left last Monday to meet with the U.S. Embassy in Uganda to recieve a grant she had been awarded to further her efforts. Sisters of the Heart is a ministry that teaches women to sew and gives them opportunity to provide an income for their family. They also create micro-loans to encourage people to create ways to sustain themselves. As I sat down with Janet over coffee to talk about her upcoming trip, I was surprised by a few things.
Christine, who I wrote a post about earlier, is one of the key women in the Sisters of the Heart ministry. What doesn't Christine do? She is amazing in my eyes. Sisters of the Heart was started because Christine begged Janet to teach the ladies to quilt. Janet agreed and the ministry morphed out of Christine's desire. Now Janet has recieved a grant to buy more updated sewing machines and she is applying for a grant to build a vocational school. To me this is breathtaking in several ways: Christine has a desire to create hope for her community. Janet has a heart that is available and hears their need. The government actually applauds Janet's efforts by giving her a grant. Here are two beautiful women living right out of their hearts where God is speaking to them. It is truly lovely. And the immense good God is accomplishing through them is stunning.
Christine and Janet are more alike than they know and they inspire me to live out of my desire, to love from my heart, and to follow God to where he is calling me.
What does this have to do with wells for Uganda? Christine is a woman affected by the lack of clean water. Christine and her daughter haul water 3 times a day to keep their family healthy...alive. If water were more accessable, their lives would be easier. And who knows what Christine might do? Probably accomplish more stunning things on behalf of the people in her community.
And the thought of Christine's daughter, Mercy, hauling water haunts me. Girls as young as 5 haul large containters of water uphill several times a day. I have a 5 year old little girl. I can't imagine her being responsible for hauling water on her head in the heat when she is most likely hungry and thirsty both. It feels hopeless to contemplate that for the rest of your life, you will be hauling water uphill. Try that on. How does it feel to you?
O God of the universe, who lets not a sparrow fall without his knowledge, create in our hearts a desire to impact the lives of little girls who haul water uphill. Give us the words to pray, the ears to hear, and the eyes to see both the need and the beauty.
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