GRACIAS A DIOS...Thanks be to God, He brought us safe to and from "Expo Playa" in Playa del Carmen.  There were some sales, few, but as I told the women, "something is something"!

"Expo Playa" brought artesans from all over the Yucatan Peninsula together for 

4 days of exhibition in the center park next to the beach, in the heart of the tourist district.  There were wood carvings, shell jewlery, embroidered huipiles and homemade salsas! 

Catarina, Maria and I spent 26 hours attending the Threads of Hope stand and brought in $370 pesos in sales distributed among 6 women artesans of the cooperative.  Although the monetary benefit was somewhat of a dissapointment, there were additional benefits; Catarina and Maria experienced first hand how to set up and direct a sale and they witnessed how difficult the market is, as most people like to look over the merchandise but not many actually buy.  Also contributing to the low sales was the fact that not many tourists entered the tent where the expo was housed, but were instead lured by the vendors who line the main street with established souvenir shops.  It saddens me to think that most would prefer to buy these cheap knock-offs of Mexican crafts, probably made in factories in the US and China, instead of buying an original hand-made craft, a true expression of the culture and an investment into the lives of the local people.

However, we were able to hand-out pamphlets in Spanish and English with information about Threads of Hope and our new website, which we believe will produce fruit in the long-run!

God also blessed us greatly by providing shelter in a local church and we slept peacefully swinging in our hammocks!  And MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS to James and Beverly Rackley who lent us their mini-van to drive to Playa del Carmen!  The Rackleys are missionaries in Bacalar, and my new best friends!  They run the Oasis Center, which holds training conferences for local pastors and children´s workers.  I have enjoyed working with them these past several months and am so thankful for their partnership with Threads of Hope!

Thanks for your prayers...keep 'em comin'...and keep checkin' our website for new photos and stories! 

PEACE in the name of JESUS CHRIST.