Eleanor Koester is a member at Peace Lutheran Church in Granger, Indiana.  Eleanor had an interest in Haitian missions and, together with the Peace Ladies Sewing Circle, put it into action.

I became interested in the Haiti mission work through WELS Connection and an article in Forward in Christ. About the same time, I obtained a pattern for a simple dress for the orphans. I have many scraps and useable pieces of fabric left from many projects. So I decided to experiment with making a dress.  I made three samples and showed them to the members of Peace Ladies Sewing Circle that I belong to. They had been looking for something new to work on and became interested in the project.

I got into contact with Missionary to Haiti Terry Schultz. I asked if this was a project that would help the orphans. He said it was a very worthwhile project.

Our sewing circle displayed several dresses to show our congregation and welcomed material or monetary donations.  Just before Easter I sent a box of 50 dresses to a WELS Kingdom Worker who was going to travel to Haiti and would take the dresses.

We recently received a letter of thanks from Missionary Schultz. He wrote: “On Friday, April 13th, I arrived in Leogane, Haiti with all of the dresses you had made for the Haitian orphans. After the Bible class with 11 orphanage headmasters (directors), the dresses were placed on the table, about a dozen at a time. The headmasters took turns selecting dresses for their orphans. I can hardly put into words how excited the headmasters were to receive the beautifully-made dresses! They were simply thrilled! The headmasters depend on donations to keep their children clothed. The number of children in each orphanage ranges from 12 to 42. Having enough clothes for the children is a never-ending  challenge. The sizes of the dresses worked perfectly, as there are children of every age up through teenagers.

The children that I saw at four of the orphanages were completely excited to receive the unexpected gifts. The dresses are assuredly the nicest article of clothing of each child that received one. The children were excited yet shy and somewhat self-conscious to pose for photos. They weren’t sure how to react to the unexpected, fabulous gifts!”

I was humbled by the letter from Missionary Schultz and the pictures. I am thankful I can use the talent of sewing, that the Lord gave me, to bring joy and serve a useful purpose.