Traitor for Tea??

I hosted a public meeting for Operation Hope today so we could inform supporters of upcoming projects and brainstorm ideas for community service. We need to focus on some fundraisers and hope to engage more volunteers. It was a scramble after finishing at the shelter last night at 9pm, baking for Ethan till 11pm, and waking up at 4:30am to get Robert & Ethan off to Qatar for their Boy Scout camporee. I decided to serve finger sandwiches, sweets, & tea; so I got out the miscellaneous china collection everyone seems to love. My plan for the meeting was to re-cast the vision of Operation Hope, then break people up into interest area to work on specific projects.

For some reason, all the new ladies came with me to discuss "Trash to Treasure." I had 3 educators (from India, Poland & the UK) and one young Kuwaiti lady who is starting a community website. After a few minutes it seemed obvious that everyone in the group was likely Christian and operating off the "same sheet of music," even though all faiths are perfectly welcome at this level in the organization. One lady attending did continue to bring in her desire to communicate Christ through our work.

After about 45 minutes I was summoned to the kitchen by a long time OH volunteer who wanted to caution me that the Kuwaiti lady was highly suspected of being a "CIB" ---a what? "like the CIA" she patiently explained...a spy! She went on to explain why the Christian community held her in such regard and it did really raise my naive eyebrows to my hairline! I went from disbelief to denial to shock and anger...if indeed it's true...which we will probably never know. The girl's story of adoption in Kuwait, loss of her Kuwaiti dad, and growing up in California where her mother "passed" (do they say that in CA?) sounded a bit irregular. Her conversion at age 9 when she met a Christian family who modeled the love of Christ to her sounded almost too perfect...at least in retrospect.

Did I host a bright young lady full of questions & interested in supporting OH, or did I just have a traitor to my tea party? "Freedom of Religion" seems to come in degrees. We're thankful for the privilege of worship and assembly here, but I cannot digest the idea that Robert has always acknowledged: "assume you are being watched." I always thought societies moved toward more freedoms, not less. It's obvious there are many in this country who'd be happy to tighten the controls and reverse progress by becoming even less tolerant of democratic ideas. There have been many commentaries in the papers recently about the press getting squeezed by new regulations. Both girls have encountered the textbook police at their school removing material they find that doesn't portray the Prophet how they like, or makes reference to something in history they want to pretend does not exist. Yet in the midst of this, deep dialogue on important matters continues to take place in the classrooms where young minds from all over the world wrestle with topics like ethics & morality in high school honors English class. My kids may have a chance to influence the thinking of the upcoming generation of ruling Kuwaitis...there are plenty from the royal families their classes.

Maid Service

The wonderful thing about having my neighbor's maids here was that I got to teach them to "knot." Anne made a purse, and Venge completed this beuatiful rug in about 5 days working a few hours a day. She had such an eye for color; from a pile of old sheets, a curtain, a shirt, and few scraps I had, she came up with this lovely piece of work. I am so proud of it! I asked if she wanted to keep it or sell it and she insisted she was making it for me. I had to get creative to find a way to give her the money I wanted her to have.

The best thing was being able to have a sample to show her "sisters" at the Filipino shelter. This inspired them so much to see how lovely rugs could be! This week I actually took Venge along to help me. She was so happy to be of service but so heavy hearted to see what women from her country were experiencing. She got to go up to the sleeping quarters where outsiders are not allowed; she said women were curled up trying to sleep everywhere, even on the stairs.

More beautiful, creative bags were presented to us again this week. Several women shared the mission statements they wrote since the last class and we were so moved by their ability to re-imagine a future so different from their present. Some of them were beginning to grasp that they could take these ideas and build a business for themselves once they return. They were asking very good questions and we want to be able to bring in a qualified speaker to address these topics. We told them about a place in Uganda where the women of the village began making these beads and selling jewelry and it has transformed the lives of the entire village. Hope is a very powerful thing.

So far this year...

Don't even ask me where I've been! When life was slower after our Egypt holiday, I was not inspired to write; now that I'm back at galloping speed, I have no time to write.

Part of me didn't want to be honest that the honeymoon was ending. It was hard to return to Kuwait after being away. All three kids seemed to be struggling with physical/emotional/social issues for several weeks. Then there were the birthdays to celebrate, and the ever present nursing course to navigate to completion (sometime this summer I hope.)

But here I am! And, with such great news to share. We returned to the Phillippine Embassy Shelter in mid January to find the room we'd been using had been turned into a new office space and was fully occupied. Mr. Jimenez was determined to make a place for us and we brainstormed how to proceed. The obvious course of action was to move to an evening when the downstairs was not teeming with activity. Many of the difficulties we faced were due to all the distractions and limited space of trying to run workshops in the midst of their other business.

It was decided we would introduce the course on "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and see if we could get 20-30 to enroll. The night of registration, he had all 200 of the ladies squeezed into one room and they applauded us like rock stars when we arrived. He promoted the class so well nearly everyone wanted to sign up and they had to select only 30. During this particular evening, we later learned that one of the "wards" who remained upstairs was discovered as she attempted to throw herself off the roof. The first lesson on being Proactive instead of Reactive was so relevant it seemed.

We are 2 weeks into an 8 week course that will end in a graduation/expo which is such a big deal to them. We have a team of 4 volunteers now who attend each week. Becky and I are doing most of the lectures, Nerissa is teaching the jewelry making from magazines, and Runda is our hospitality coordinator who serves the ladies refreshments and takes care of many details. Watching these two ladies find their niche and bubble with excitement each week is as much fun as seeing the joy on the faces of the maids.

After the lectures we break into the Trash to Treasure part of the evening and they divide into two craft groups. I taught myself to make rag rugs called "toothbrush rugs" from youtube videos using strips of ripped fabric and a paperclip. Molly started bringing me home bags of old clothes from Operation Hope that were not suitable to give away; these included enormous blue jeans that were ripped or stained. I played around with using torn denim and Molly suggested I use the seat to make a purse like one Emily carries. I took the ladies my sample on week one, but only taught them how to do the flat part composed of knots. The following week, they had produced beautiful bags that I have NO clue how to make! Best yet, they passed out the paper clips, shared the old clothes, and did as we requested: taught the other ladies to do what we'd taught them. We heard that no one was idol; everyone seemed to be making bags or beads. The pride on their faces was so precious. This photo could not go on facebook but as my blog is private, I will share it with you.

Yesterday, I showed them how to do the blue jeans "Four Seasons" handbag and took them loads of fabric scraps so generously donated by an Indian tailor who barely understood my request. I bought buttons, trim, scissors, needles, thread...basics to keep them going. The profit margin on these will be very high as the cost is near to nothing. I really can't wait to see where this goes in the 8 weeks of this class. Molly came home from work today (she got a terrific job at the school where Emily & Ethan go) and told me the teacher she works with wants to host a bead and bag party to sell the stuff we are making! From such a small spark, a flame is spreading!

Meanwhile, in the middle of such a busy week my neighbor came over and asked if I would keep her 2 maids while her family went on holiday to London. These are the dear women who we took to church once and who have become friends. Neither they, or us, could believe she let them stay with us but it has been a double blessing. It will be nearly 2 weeks we get to have them. I insist they sleep in, eat with us, relax, watch movies, and let them call home on our phone. They insist on cleaning up after all of us, doing laundry, ironing, keeping the house neat and helping me cook. I have two extra girls we are hosting for a school function who are here for 4 nights. The girls are from the international school in Cairo and oh, so sweet. Having the extra help for this entertaining has been such a gift. Best of all, they get to go to church with us for two weeks in a row.

The new website for Operation Hope was created by Molly and can now be seen at

operation-hope-kuwait.com There are also pictures in the gallery on the site.