One Little Thing

I read the book "Painted Dreams" by Karen Lynn Williams to Ben this morning. It's a great story of a little girl in Haiti who loves to paint, but doesn't have the materials she needs and her parents , especially her mother, discourage her painting because they need her to work all day. Her family sells produce at the village market, but their stand hasn't been doing much business. Using her ingenuity, she finds a way to get supplies and discovers that by using her talents and painting a mural behind the vegetable stand, she is able to attract more customers, thus satisfying her desire to paint and helping her family at the same time. It reminded me of the presentation I went to last night about the trip to Nepal some of our friends made. They told a story about a woman who was given a sewing machine, a very basic, hand cranked old Singer. She used it not only to sew for her family, but to open a sewing school. She was able to support her family and teach others to sew. Sometimes all it takes is one little thing to change people's lives for the better. I wish there were a list of things we could give that would make that change for people. Maybe there is? If you know about it, tell me! I do know about Heifer International, which I think is a wonderful program. I'm wondering more about creative endeavors and tools to help people express their talents.