Amanecer

Well 2022 is off to an incredible start! I kept meaning to send out an update, but I kept pushing it back. I’d say, “Oh, I will send out an update as soon as this big thing happens…” and then it would happen and another big thing would be put on the docket for the next week and I’d push it back in order to update everyone on that big thing. Basically, a lot of big things have happened in the past month or two, and now I am going to try to fit all of that information into one normal-sized newsletter. Wish me luck!

For my personal update, I had a lovely Christmastime. My siblings came to visit, my brother got married (so actually a lot of family members got to visit), and we had so much fun! We ate tons of yummy food, since every new visitor needed to be taken to our favorite taco stand or breakfast spot, and we had new visitors almost daily. We took my new sister to our dad’s village and went hiking and played board games until the wee hours of the morning. It was wonderful and restful and rejuvenating.

As for school, things have been a bit hectic. All year I’ve been teaching some students in person and some online. It’s very exciting because last year pushed us into this new type of teaching, and now we can offer our classes to MKs that live all over, even in remote villages! We’ve had protocols in place this year as well, ensuring that we all are ready to go online if necessary. A couple of weeks ago, my roommate and I were exposed to COVID and both had to quarantine. I taught online from home to students who were at school in person, watching me on a screen. It was bizarre, but we made it work and tweaked some of the protocols in order to make that type of transition easier. Good thing, since this past weekend we found out that a large number of kiddos were exposed to COVID. By Monday, more than 50% of our school was in quarantine, forcing us to all move online. But we were prepared, and the transition from in-person to online schooling worked out just fine. Our school community has remained relatively healthy, praise the Lord. Please continue to pray for health, safety, and protection over our school. We have MK camp coming up, and we want to make sure everyone is healthy enough to participate. We also want to ensure safety for all in order to have peace of mind and truly allow the kiddos to enjoy camp- they deserve a week of fun!

*Quick side-note/funny story. The other day I drove up to school and opened the gate in order to pull my car through. Just as I was driving in, a small herd of cows (maybe 4?) were startled by some dogs on the street and they followed me into the parking lot. I didn’t know what to do! There they were- cows- running through our school parking area. I called the office to ask for help, and they sent some people out to chase the cows away. I was late to class and had a strange story as an excuse. Only in Oaxaca, right?

Girasol, meanwhile, has been growing at breakneck speed. We seem to do that. As soon as we have an idea of where God is taking us, He opens doors and guides us so quickly, we can only hang on for the ride. As I mentioned before, our team has been growing. Our core leadership team has consisted of 5 members for years. Last year we had 5 new volunteers begin to help us with outreach and activities downtown. This month we’ve hired our first 4 staff members to help with a big project (if you follow Girasol on Instagram you may have noticed the work of our amazing new Social Media person). And so, in the span of a few months, our team has almost tripled. We had a wonderful Christmas party on the block we work on, inviting all our neighbors to eat tamales and celebrate. We have one girl that we are taking to regular medical check-ups; her baby is due in May. As for this year, we are super excited to announce that on February 1st, Girasol will be launching its first business branch, Amanecer Jewelry. Amanecer is a business that will function 4 days out of the week, creating beautiful hand-made jewelry. The 5th workday will be for our Girasol Program. The program consists of emotional, physical, and psychological care. It also will provide educational opportunities, life skills, and vocational training. Girasol will provide childcare for the women working at Amanecer as well. The inspiration behind this endeavor is to create an industry that can function as a place where girls from Girasol can go work, if they ever desired to leave their current situations. There are not many jobs out there (especially in Oaxaca) that cater to women with little education, no work history, or who need flexible schedules due to having to care for children. So we are creating those jobs, ensuring a steady pay for them, as well as an opportunity for growth. And we are reaching out to more women, not just women we’ve met through Girasol outreach. We are reaching out to vulnerable women in Oaxaca from all sorts of backgrounds, with varying needs, dreams, and talents.

Our pilot program will launch February 1st, with 3-5 women joining. One of them is “C,” a girl whom we first met at Girasol outreach. She then received help from Girasol during the pandemic through her pregnancy and the birth of her beautiful baby girl. She has grown so much in the past year, leaving her work in prostitution behind a couple of months ago. Now, she is one of the very first girls who will go through our program. We are beyond words, so grateful to be able to offer her this job.

We are now looking for supporters to come alongside our Girasol project. It costs 25 dollars per week to get a girl through the program. That is 100 dollars per month. Our program will last 6 months. This includes childcare, wages for their program workday, materials, instructors, and much more. If you are interested in supporting a woman through this project, whether for a week, a month, or for the duration of the project, please let me know! Contact me at my email (ruthpmissions@gmail.com) to find out how you can do that. We are working with a lovely ministry in Texas as they help us sell the products we make, so I will be sending out info on that as soon as we send out our first shipment.

Please keep us in your prayers. This is a big step for Girasol. Amanecer means “dawn” in English; and as this new era of possibilities rises on the horizon for us, we need so much prayer. Our workload is more than doubled, our schedules are sometimes hectic, our knowledge on business is growing daily, our meetings with lawyers and accountants and business mentors have been plenty. And yet we all are so ready for what is coming. God has been so clear in his guidance, He has brought such peace in the workload, and he has given us endurance through it all and excitement for what is to come.

Please reach out if you have any questions about everything that is going on here! I am happy to tell more stories and share experiences. The Lord has been so good. I am humbled and blessed by the chance I’ve been given to serve here.

Gracias,

-Ruth