Lately, I have been wanting to feature some people who have inspiring and unique stories and bring awareness to their cause. I thought this would be a perfect day to start this new idea… And it’s a Friday… So, here goes my first #featurefriday.
She is also a wonderful friend, Chi Omega sister, and sister in Christ! Anna is a perfect example of an ordinary person called by God to do extraordinary things. She saw a need and filled it. Her story captures the essence of showing every person that they are created by God with dignity and for a purpose. Judith and James foundation helps these women, who might feel like they are worthless, realize their potential and that their dignity comes from their Ultimate Designer.
Anna and I met at a 9-week summer discipleship program in college. We learned how to love Jesus with our whole heart, share Him with others, read the bible more in depth and pray. We became fast friends and continued our friendship far past that summer. I was so excited to go back to campus with Anna that next fall where she pledged Chi Omega as a sophomore apparel studies major. After that we were able to hang out a ton more. Before we met, Anna had lived with her family for several years in Kenya and went to high school there. She and her family spent several years in the Nariobi slums helping widows and orphans. In 2010, putting college on hold, she went back to Kenya and a Kenyan leader in the slums introduced Anna to a skilled unemployed seamstress, Judith (the company’s namesake).
After several months and trips to Kenya, Anna was able to get familiar with the culture and made friends with women in the slums. They became her closest friends when her family went back to Arkansas and she continued to stay in Kenya. Overwhelmed by the poverty stricken families, God laid it on her heart to stay and use the skills she had been given as an apparel studies major to set up a sewing program for those widows in the slums so they could support their families. She designed custom pieces and sold them to friends and family back in the states. When she came back to school to finish college, it was awesome listening to her stories, her trials and triumphs while there, and it was so amazing to hear the work the Lord did in her heart towards the people there. You can see the passion and love for people in everything she does.
Lets all be a part of a global movement who can be faithful in the small things. Maybe God can use you too as part of somethings WAY bigger than yourself. I pray that we will all be diligent in prayer and keep our hands and hearts wide open to what the Lord may call us to do.
If you would like more information about Judith & James and their mission, click here.
