The Cercadillo Project

Alberta York

This picture of Mom was posted by Clark County Nursing Home and Residential Care. Mom has made remarkable progress recently! I just returned to the DR after visiting her for a week. Mom is now saying several words and occasionally even a phrase. She is participating in various activities with the other residents.
In some ways it is hard to imagine that I’m celebrating such things as a word or a phrase, or participation in a simple craft activity from one who was once so very independent and whose hands were so very productive. But our perspectives change as our lives change. I’ll long cherish the memories of this last week with her.
Thank you to all who continue to pray for Mom. Your prayers are being answered. Thank you to all who visit her. And thank you to those who are caring for her on a daily basis.

And . . .

Just had my first six month check-up and everything looks good! I’ll have a whole body scan again in the summer, but for now there isn’t even anything remotely suspicious!!!! Kudos to the medical folks who have treated me here in the DR . . . my surgeon, Sylvia Batista and my ever-patient, ever-kind endocrinologist, Adalberto González. Hey, if you’re ever in need of a good team for thyroid cancer issues, you may want to consider coming on down to the DR!

This weekend, Café y Coser, our sewing/crafts initiative, has had the privilege of selling our items at a women’s conference in Santo Domingo.  This conference, True Woman 15,  has drawn Latin American women from 22 different countries.

Necklaces, several styles of bracelets, headbands, bookmarks . . .

. . . rugs, tote bags, headbands, bookmarks . . .

. . . little bags with zippers, bags from recycled plastic, potholders. . . .

. . . little box bags lined with plastic, beaded anklets, small and large coin purses . . .

These are just a few of the items made by our Cercadillo women.

24 of the Café y Coser con Cristo Women

What fun it was for them to see their store this morning as they came to the conference!  They were quite proud of their work, and rightly so.  Our women enjoyed interacting with the shoppers and the shoppers also seemed to enjoy meeting our industrious women.

Four of our Cercadillo youth girls who went to the pre-conference for teens.

Tomorrow is another full day and we hope we won’t be bringing nearly as much back to my house and we left with on Thursday morning.    By the way, prepping the displays, getting all the products to the conference site, displaying the items beautifully and the overall selling could not be taking place without the help of volunteers.  Mary Schultz from Santo Domingo is always ready to lend a hand to our projects.  Rebekah Cline from St. Louis and Moriah Richett from New Hampshire flew in just to help with this conference.  So thankful for these ladies.

Opening are still available for anyone interested in coming tomorrow evening to take down the displays and move the leftovers back to my house.  🙂