A.ittle lace, a little thread and a whole lot of love.

Proud.  Haitians are a proud people.  They may live in the dirt and feed their children mud cakes for dinner, but they are proud, of that I have no doubt. 

The clinic was full today.  Tap taps came by lining up dropping people off and picking them up and each and everyone of them was dressed in their Sunday best.  The children don't wear the smocked dresses with angel sleeves that my Isabelle wears.  They don't wear the trendy patterns of the latest fashion magazines.  They wear hand me down prom dresses from 1990.  The men wear their just polished Sunday shoes and collared shirts.  The women wear fancy straw hats and high heeled shoes.  And the children wear more lace than I've ever seen in my life.  The more lace the better, and you might as well sew some more lace on the socks to even it out.  And all of it, every stitch, clean as it can be. 

They take great pride in their appearance, even when they have so little from which to choose.

We've handed out food, sustenance... Life.  We've brought doctors to heal and teachers to teach.  We've brought plumbers to fix things and painters to paint.  We've brought flip flops and underwear, medicine and computers and yet still something was missing.  We were so busy meeting their needs that we forgot that they were people.  People like you and me that like to have a new dress to wear and a new duds in which to strut you stuff.  

And then came Bethann, Maxine and Miss Johnny.  Each one of them with a heart of gold and fingers that can make magic from fabrics, ribbon and lace.  Bethann and Maxine are a mother daughter team and their goal was two dresses a week.  Miss Johnny is a dear 92 year old friend of mine from Charlotte that wants to spend all her time and all her money making frilly things for little girls that will probably never see the inside of a department store. 

So, each one of them sewed. One dress then two... Friends watched and the news spread. Ten dresses then twenty.  The Methodists even got in on the game.  Fifty dresses then sixty.  Miss Johnny received the citizen award of the year in Charlotte, NC and the word spread. A hundred dresses then two hundred.  And somebody remembered those little boys.  The ones that like to stick frogs in their pockets and play in the dirt. Twenty pairs of shorts with pockets and fun boyish prints. Thirty then forty.  And the news was spread and the sewing machines were hopping till we packed 300 dresses and 50 pairs of shorts.  And we were on our way.

The Dominican Republic wanted their cut on the action and tried to charge Bethann an import fee.  Surely these dresses would be sold in the finest store.  Surely, they thought,  you won't give these away.  Surely, they believed, you wouldn't waste them on the Haitians.  But Bethann stood her ground. These dresses, made with love and care, are not for any fancy window or high society children, these dresses are for the children of Terrier Rouge.  And she marched on through. 

"And a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume..."

One by one they were made.  Each detail thought through and through.  Each stitch had a prayer, that this dress might be hope. That this dress might show love.  But most of all, this dress, these shorts, that they might tell those dear Haitian children... " You deserve the very best. Not someone's leftover hand me down or yesterday's news. You too deserve something new."

"And she poured it on His head while He was reclining at the table."

Packed in bags and bags they were loaded in the truck.  Bethann and Maxine were more excited than children on Christmas, they were going to see their hard work take root, and up to Milliere we drove.
We found a small school full of sweet little children, each one was cuter than the next.  One little girl was so tiny and small and had the sweetest big brown eyes, I wanted to pick her up and squeeze her myself.  And one by one, just as they were made, Bethann and Maxine went row by row and handed out brand spanking new pride, in the form of a brand new perfectly exquisite dress.

They had to be careful. Those girls were so sneaky, as soon as you turned your back they snuck it under their bum and acted as if they had been left out of the party. Isn't that what you would do if you'd just been given your very first, and possibly only new dress?

It went on like this, one room to the next and then on to Paulette to hand out some more.  I watched as the ladies hand picked each dress for each girl. Was it long enough?  Did it bring out her eyes?  Too tight? Too loose? No professional seamstress could have done better. 

We handed out over 250 dresses and shorts today and some will say it's a waste.  Some will say that they should have been sold and the money used for medications or new school supplies and some might suggest that too quickly they'll get dirty in the red clay earth of this beautiful country.  But those of us who stood there wiping tears from our eyes, we know... We know that today, we gave those little boys and girls pride, and you can't put a price tag on that \

"And when the Disciples saw this they asked 'Why the waste?" Jesus replied to them 'Why are you bothering me she has done a beautiful thing'".

Matthew 26, selected verses.