Knews and More Knews!

June has arrived?!?!?! Time does seem to be flying by, so we will just keep flying around those looms! 
Now to all our KnitWit Knews!

Peggy has posted an update with news from Beijing.
http://www.womenconnectinchina.blogspot.com/

AND the next group goes with Peggy at the end of June!

We have another couple of space bags getting ready to send FULL of shawls and a few hats for this trip!

Also, we got a note from Pastor Mike in Durango! The building is progressing and he included a couple of pictures. You can see the addition on this one. 

When complete, this will really help in housing mission teams. Everyone is really excited....keep praying, please! 

And finally, in case you haven't heard, McAllen is having their first Maker's Faire at The Incubator in McAllen (the old library on Main St) on Saturday, June 22nd. These Faires are all about encouraging others to use their gifts and talents to put something creative in this world. We are really excited about the opportunity to share with others. 

Eduardo, the gentleman putting this on, is a KnitWit, too! He and his wife came into the cafe one day and we taught them both to loom knit...surprise! So, when he got involved with this, he invited us along. There will also be a "Knit-Along". Eduardo is inviting people to come and knit for a cause, so he asked us to do a short video for YouTube to help get the word out. Here it is:
KnitWits ~ Knitting a Witness for Christ

Hope you will stop by and see us at the Maker's Faire and please feel free to pass this on to your friends!
We ask for your prayers for this day, June 22! That we truly will be a Witness for Christ!

April Team

Women Connect's April Team is headed home!

Thank you all for your prayers and support for this wonderful, God sent teaching team! Peggy has posted updates throughout the trip. If you click on the Women Connect Blog listed on the right column here, you can read all about it!  

Here, though, are a few pictures that she shared....

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
Matthew 18:18-20

Rebecca is our newest staff member in Beijing! After receiving this shawl, she asked Peggy if she could give it to another friend who really wanted one. Thank you Jesus for such a sweet, servant's heart!

 

 The team also got to visit the Great Wall! Pastor Jim is staying warm with a KnitWit hat, too! :)
  The sign on the actual wall behind them says, "Obey Chairman Mao". Isn't this dear team and their obedient answer to God's call on their lives to go and teach, a beautiful and encouraging sight!!!

 

There are many more pictures and stories from this trip on the Women Connect Blog. Thank you all soooo much for your continued support and prayers for all these new sisters and brothers in Christ we have in China.
May we continue to be their "two or more"!

A New Year Begins!

Well the first group is back from China and another leaves in a couple of weeks!  We will be gathering up more to send with that group when we get together this Thursday. It is such a blessing to share with each other the glimpses we get of God's weaving all our stories together in His way!

From Mary...

This week we returned from another awesome mission to Beijing.  Your scarves were a wonderful blessing to all the women who received them.  There are only photos of three happy winners (pictures attached) because our team of six was split in two, each going to separate venues.  At the meetings I attended, after the women chose one of your beautiful shawls, I would tell them it was hand knit by their sisters in the U.S.  This always produced many oohs and ahhs from the group.   Then, after the women were told that you would pray for them when you received their photo, the oohs and ahhs grew louder.  It was always the same joyful excited response. 

 

 May you all be richly blessed for your service to our Lord and the dear women in China.  They are very touched, and so am I, that you serve God in this generous, personal, and loving manner.

With love and affection,

Mary


Soooo thankful for the  faithful willingness to go and to teach others! It inspires us to keep going round those looms!    Thank you for the pictures, too! That is always an encouragement for us to see and to share with others what God is doing.
 
AND, please continue to pray for Peggy's team! They are going in a couple of weeks. We pray and trust in God's timing for all things, for His provision of planning and funds and thank Him in advance for the fruits of the work to be done. If you would like to follow as they travel and post, you can check out the link on the side of this page for Women Connect in China.
What a blessing to pray for all of our sisters served and serving!

More Christmas Cheer!

What blessings at KnitWits last Thursday!!!

Ingrid came by to introduce Melody to us....what a treat!

We sorted through hats and shawls to be given to the kids at the Dump Church. You can read more about Like Elijah Ministry here on their blog:  http://likeelijahministry.com/life.html

Melody has taken a picture of all the families and they will be getting a 5x7 for Christmas...a first for many! What a treasure for them all!
(in our "have a phone, take a pic, post-it" culture, this is a real perspective changer!)

Ann dropped by to deliver TWO bags of hats from our friends from Cananda, Ron and Lynda..THANKS again for adding to the blessing!

With these added to the pile, Melody was able to bag up about 95 hats. Our prayer is that each child will receive this gift for Christmas and feel God's love from the tip of their head to their toes....and most especially warm their hearts toward HIM.

Melody and Ingrid also now have a prayer shawl for all the ladies at the Dump Church. Melody shared with us that just 2 days ago she called Ingrid to ask if we might be able to have two more shawls, because there were now a couple of new ladies coming. Well, we had 30 ready for her and did not know that they needed more...but GOD did! Barbara had just finished the fringe for Terri on two new shawls and had them with her!

Just love when He reminds us how He knows, and provides for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are!

Praying we all have a blessed Christmas season, refreshed perspective and the joy of being blessed to serve our soon coming KING!

Welcome Back Pastor Mike

What FUN to share a little in what God is doing!!!

Pastor Mike called last week and shared how well his health is and that he is going back to Mexico, he also said that he had been in a wheelchair for part of the recovery time this last year, with not much of a good prognosis from the doctors. WELL, we all know that GOD'S ways are not ours, and Pastor Mike is well, thank the LORD, and going back to serve in Mexico this year!!!

He stayed over a few extra days in order to see the KnitWits and pick up hats, share some hugs and stories and give a special gift.

Remember that wheelchair, well we started Thursday with a special visit and Pastor Mike met our friend Joy. She is our newest KnitWit!


Here Joy gave Pastor Mike the first two hats that she had made. She shared with him the blessing of being useful and how much she loves learning to knit on the loom and he gave her his wheelchair!!! 
There was much JOY, more than a few tears and then a few laps in the hall for "driving lessons".
joy ~ Joy ~ JOY

Well, then it was time to get to Cordoba to visit with the other KnitWits and get all the hats picked up. 

We had space bags full of hats and shawls! There was also a hat to put a little $$ to help with gas money for the plane. Mike shared some stories of the GREAT things God is doing in Durango, HIS sovereign protection for all involved at the mission there. Many are coming to know the Lord....and we are grateful for His restoration of Pastor Mike's health so he can serve again! We closed in joy-ful prayer....

 
Mike left on Friday for this first trip to deliver Christmas items. He will be back soon to gather another load of things, so if you have any hats that did not make this trip, there's still time!

MANY THANKS to all who contributed their work and lovely items to be sent this year!!! Most of all thank you for your continued prayers for those God has blessed us to serve along side.

Happiest of Thanksgiving to you all!!! 

This puppy is off to China!

 ...and he is taking a few of his prayer shawl friends with him!

WOW, a great big thank you to everyone for all the beautiful prayer shawls, scarves and hats...
God provides in so many ways and we are very grateful to the people, many we do not know, who donated yarn for us to use in this ministry. Yep, some people heard about this and they just dropped off yarn at Viva Life and at Cordoba Cafe!
<--- SO, it's another Box O'Rainbows!!! 
 

We do have soooo much fun together and are grateful for that blessing.

It is truly a JOY to pack up these boxes with love and prayers for our sisters in China!

Love is more important than anything else.  It is what ties everything completely together…So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts.   

And be grateful.     

Colossians 3:14 & 15b

Summer is heating up and we are so grateful for our Thursdays at Cordoba Cafe!

 Here, Lisa and Barbara are working away on hats for Christmas. We have a couple of new missionary teams we will be helping this year, so round and round we go...on our looms that is! 

AND, a few weeks ago we got a present in the mail!!!

 Sara, our KnitWit friend from New York, sent a box of beautiful blankets...

They will be going to Mexico in November to be ready for Christmas...what a blessing these will be!!! 

 THANK YOU, Sara!

It does seem like December is a long way away, especially sitting in the south Texas heat, but it will be here before we know it.  As we are working to get ready, we want you all to know that we are sooooo grateful for the yarn that so many of you have donated to the KnitWits. Some of these gifts have come from grandma's "hidden stash" in her closet, garage sales, leftovers and more. THANK YOU, it will all be used!!!
Who knows, you may see a picture of a hat with 'your' yarn on our blog sometime.

We are also working on shawls and scarves for the next Women Connect trip to China. The team will be leaving in August, so we're getting close to sending those out. 

Our prayers are with all who are going and those that God has already planned for them to see. 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Prayers and Purls! 

March China Team

For those that missed the updates on the March trip, check out Peggy's blog here:

http://www.womenconnectinchina.blogspot.com/

Here are a few picture highlights! Let's start with a before and after! 

 Loren & Ashley, our newest KnitWits, modeled the hats before we packed them...

Remember these fun hats?

and here, one of the team models some shawls straight out of the suitcase...

     

Here's a close up of the shawl we made for Hope. Everyone did a section of their favorite yarn....crazy, just like the KnitWits!!!

 

Prayers & Purls and MANY thanks to you all!!!

Precious Gifts!

A treasure came in the mail this week for the KnitWits!

What a blessing it was to open the box and see such precious gifts from our sisters in China! There were smiles all around!

Terri & Cierra --->

Caroline & Barbara smiling sweetly, as usual! :)

Maria y Romina :)

 Who knew soooo much love could fit into such a small box!









  

 

Mary & Ciera :)

 Peggy brought these back for us and shared the joy of having been with everyone in China. We are truly grateful for their prayers, the time and love poured into these gifts and most especially thank God for His plans in bringing us all together at His throne in prayer.

² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:2-5, 9 & 10

HUGS to our sisters!