More Sewing for Africa

I went to the church last night with my serger and helped sew more dresses for Africa. We had a lot of sisters who donated fabric and t-shirts but did not want to sew, and we had some dresses that were made incorrectly that we had to redo. Our ward has already sent in about 150 dresses, and I'm sure last night there were at least 50 more there, if not more. It was so fun to sew with a group and chat as we worked. Plus, it's very rewarding to know that when you make these cute little dresses, you are literally changing someone's life. These dresses make it possible for little girls in Africa who don't have money for clothes to go to school. It's hard to imagine, living in our prosperous world, that children in some countries are kept from obtaining an education because of something so simple.

Whenever we completed an entire dress, someone would hold it up, and everyone would say, Oh, isn't that cute? We never, ever thought any of them were ugly, and, honestly, none of them are. People have tried hard to get the cutest t-shirts and match them with the perfect fabric. I think they have been as careful with these dresses as they would with something they were making for their own children or grandchildren.

I like to think maybe one day Scott and Gayle will be somewhere in Africa on their mission, and they will see a little girl in a darling t-shirt dress, and maybe it will be one of ours. They'll never know, and neither will we, but I have so thoroughly enjoyed giving this service. It has made me feel a part of the church's huge global humanitarian efforts, and made me realize, once again, that the scriptures are true, for I have felt the Savior near as we sewed and known that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."