Weaving Stories of Hope with Refugees
Cecilia weaves two strands of yarn, working the shuttle back-and-forth, back-and-forth, on the loom. An introvert, she could get lost in this centuries-old art form — lost in thought about what she journaled earlier that morning when she drove out to the Grecian coast and read Scripture. But as a follower of Christ, Cecilia has dedicated her life to moving outside of her quiet comfort zone and embracing the call God placed in her life decades ago.
Haggai leader Cecilia Sakatira was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in Greece, a refugee hotspot for 50,000-plus fleeing violence in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Although asylum in Greece might be a relief for many from violence, the reality is that refugees face a hard battle to maintain a livelihood. It is particularly hard on the women who “bear the load of work at home while also providing care for children and elderly family members, which makes finding work close to impossible,” the organization Cecilia co-founded, Creative Hands, states.
Many also come from societies where education for women is non-existent. This is where Cecilia comes in. Creative Hands trains women in the art of weaving and sewing to not only provide skill and employment but also to foster community in the fraught and lonely life of a refugee. Cecilia and her team work hard to make Jesus the center of all they do, always praying before they sit down with the women to begin their lessons.
“Before we begin, may I pray with you?” Cecilia asks M, an Iranian woman who has suffered years of abuse and hardship. The woman agrees, they pray, and then the lesson and a relationship begins.
Today’s world is one of instant gratification. We expect things to ship within 24 hours or less and we often approach sharing the Gospel this way, too. But through her decades of ministry, Cecilia has learned a vital lesson: Ministry takes time.
Cecilia returns from an early morning run and sees her neighbor hasn’t yet left for work. While many of us might sneak by hoping not to be seen, Cecilia walks up to her neighbor who she’s been pursuing for three years. “I just wanted to wish you a good day at work!” she says. The neighbor admits it’s going to be a hard day, and Cecilia sees this as a long-awaited opening. She asks if she can come in and pray for her, and the woman agrees.
Cecilia says reaching others with the Gospel is an investment in which she knows not to expect immediate results. This is often the hardest part of what she does, as many of the refugees who come through her program won’t stay long. Cecilia often finds that she’s on the cusp of something transformative with these women when they receive their papers and move to another country. But there are also many whom Cecilia has introduced to Christ. Through weeks, months, or years of faithfulness, God continues to use Cecilia through the prayers and intentional conversations as they weave each day. These are the stories that keep Cecilia going.
When the Iranian woman, M, found her husband passed out on the floor one day, she called Cecilia for help. And it was Cecilia who watched M’s daughter over the next few days while they were in the hospital. This little girl blossomed under Cecilia’s care — before, she’d hidden from Cecilia when she came to Creative Hands each day with her mother, silent and fearful. But now she sees Cecilia as family. Seeing their daughter’s transformation has opened more doors for M’s whole family to hear the Gospel. Over dinner with this family and a church member who speaks Farsi and helped assist the family in their time of need, M said, “Cecilia, please don’t forget to pray for us, because I can tell God loves you. I can see that God is with you. He’s near to you. I don’t see Him near to me as He is to you. I can see there’s a difference. And I know that He loves you. And I know that He hears your prayers.”
Cecilia was overjoyed to explain how God also wants to be near to M — how He also wants to hear her prayers, and how He wants to have a relationship with her: “All this that we’ve done for you, it’s not because we expect anything from you, but it’s just because this is what God teaches us in the Bible about loving our neighbor as ourselves. We just demonstrate God’s love to those that He brings across our path, and we don’t stop doing that,” Cecilia told M and and her husband.
Reflecting on this moment, Cecilia said, “This is what just really blessed me and made me realize to never take anything for granted because God has been working in people. And when God brings them across our path for a month, two months, three months, we need to be faithful. Because the husband then turned and said, ‘I have seen God’s love. This is the second time that God has demonstrated His love to me.’”
The husband went on to share how he and his wife were once on the brink of divorce. In desperation, he’d stumbled upon a church and experienced God’s love through a group of Christians who prayed for him.
“But then we came to Greece and life was difficult,” he said. “And then we met Cecilia. Through Cecilia, I’ve seen God’s love once again. The way that she has taken my family in, the way that she has made my wife and child feel at home…”
Today, M says that she believes in God’s love and knows that He is her Shepherd; Cecilia continues to pray for God to keep moving in their family. Stories like this are why Cecilia takes time to listen to God’s voice through Scripture each day. By making space to hear from the Lord, she has learned to pay attention to every opportunity He brings her.
Tomorrow, Cecilia will wake up, pray and read her Bible, go for a run, and then go to work for her first weaving lesson of the day.
“Before we start, may I pray with you?” she’ll ask the first woman who sits down at the loom in front of her. If the woman agrees, together they’ll seek God’s presence, and then, they’ll begin to weave.
Written by Bethan Mingle
Weaving Stories of Hope with Refugees
Cecilia weaves two strands of yarn, working the shuttle back-and-forth, back-and-forth, on the loom. An introvert, she could get lost in this centuries-old art form — lost in thought about what she journaled earlier that morning when she drove out to the Grecian coast and read Scripture. But as a follower of Christ, Cecilia has dedicated her life to moving outside of her quiet comfort zone and embracing the call God placed in her life decades ago.
Haggai leader Cecilia Sakatira was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in Greece, a refugee hotspot for 50,000-plus fleeing violence in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Although asylum in Greece might be a relief for many from violence, the reality is that refugees face a hard battle to maintain a livelihood. It is particularly hard on the women who “bear the load of work at home while also providing care for children and elderly family members, which makes finding work close to impossible,” the organization Cecilia co-founded, Creative Hands, states.
Many also come from societies where education for women is non-existent. This is where Cecilia comes in. Creative Hands trains women in the art of weaving and sewing to not only provide skill and employment but also to foster community in the fraught and lonely life of a refugee. Cecilia and her team work hard to make Jesus the center of all they do, always praying before they sit down with the women to begin their lessons.
“Before we begin, may I pray with you?” Cecilia asks M, an Iranian woman who has suffered years of abuse and hardship. The woman agrees, they pray, and then the lesson and a relationship begins.
Today’s world is one of instant gratification. We expect things to ship within 24 hours or less and we often approach sharing the Gospel this way, too. But through her decades of ministry, Cecilia has learned a vital lesson: Ministry takes time.
Cecilia returns from an early morning run and sees her neighbor hasn’t yet left for work. While many of us might sneak by hoping not to be seen, Cecilia walks up to her neighbor who she’s been pursuing for three years. “I just wanted to wish you a good day at work!” she says. The neighbor admits it’s going to be a hard day, and Cecilia sees this as a long-awaited opening. She asks if she can come in and pray for her, and the woman agrees.
Cecilia says reaching others with the Gospel is an investment in which she knows not to expect immediate results. This is often the hardest part of what she does, as many of the refugees who come through her program won’t stay long. Cecilia often finds that she’s on the cusp of something transformative with these women when they receive their papers and move to another country. But there are also many whom Cecilia has introduced to Christ. Through weeks, months, or years of faithfulness, God continues to use Cecilia through the prayers and intentional conversations as they weave each day. These are the stories that keep Cecilia going.
When the Iranian woman, M, found her husband passed out on the floor one day, she called Cecilia for help. And it was Cecilia who watched M’s daughter over the next few days while they were in the hospital. This little girl blossomed under Cecilia’s care — before, she’d hidden from Cecilia when she came to Creative Hands each day with her mother, silent and fearful. But now she sees Cecilia as family. Seeing their daughter’s transformation has opened more doors for M’s whole family to hear the Gospel. Over dinner with this family and a church member who speaks Farsi and helped assist the family in their time of need, M said, “Cecilia, please don’t forget to pray for us, because I can tell God loves you. I can see that God is with you. He’s near to you. I don’t see Him near to me as He is to you. I can see there’s a difference. And I know that He loves you. And I know that He hears your prayers.”
Cecilia was overjoyed to explain how God also wants to be near to M — how He also wants to hear her prayers, and how He wants to have a relationship with her: “All this that we’ve done for you, it’s not because we expect anything from you, but it’s just because this is what God teaches us in the Bible about loving our neighbor as ourselves. We just demonstrate God’s love to those that He brings across our path, and we don’t stop doing that,” Cecilia told M and and her husband.
Reflecting on this moment, Cecilia said, “This is what just really blessed me and made me realize to never take anything for granted because God has been working in people. And when God brings them across our path for a month, two months, three months, we need to be faithful. Because the husband then turned and said, ‘I have seen God’s love. This is the second time that God has demonstrated His love to me.’”
The husband went on to share how he and his wife were once on the brink of divorce. In desperation, he’d stumbled upon a church and experienced God’s love through a group of Christians who prayed for him.
“But then we came to Greece and life was difficult,” he said. “And then we met Cecilia. Through Cecilia, I’ve seen God’s love once again. The way that she has taken my family in, the way that she has made my wife and child feel at home…”
Today, M says that she believes in God’s love and knows that He is her Shepherd; Cecilia continues to pray for God to keep moving in their family. Stories like this are why Cecilia takes time to listen to God’s voice through Scripture each day. By making space to hear from the Lord, she has learned to pay attention to every opportunity He brings her.
Tomorrow, Cecilia will wake up, pray and read her Bible, go for a run, and then go to work for her first weaving lesson of the day.
“Before we start, may I pray with you?” she’ll ask the first woman who sits down at the loom in front of her. If the woman agrees, together they’ll seek God’s presence, and then, they’ll begin to weave.
Written by Bethan Mingle
Weaving Stories of Hope with Refugees
Cecilia weaves two strands of yarn, working the shuttle back-and-forth, back-and-forth, on the loom. An introvert, she could get lost in this centuries-old art form — lost in thought about what she journaled earlier that morning when she drove out to the Grecian coast and read Scripture. But as a follower of Christ, Cecilia has dedicated her life to moving outside of her quiet comfort zone and embracing the call God placed in her life decades ago.
Haggai leader Cecilia Sakatira was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in Greece, a refugee hotspot for 50,000-plus fleeing violence in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Although asylum in Greece might be a relief for many from violence, the reality is that refugees face a hard battle to maintain a livelihood. It is particularly hard on the women who “bear the load of work at home while also providing care for children and elderly family members, which makes finding work close to impossible,” the organization Cecilia co-founded, Creative Hands, states.
Many also come from societies where education for women is non-existent. This is where Cecilia comes in. Creative Hands trains women in the art of weaving and sewing to not only provide skill and employment but also to foster community in the fraught and lonely life of a refugee. Cecilia and her team work hard to make Jesus the center of all they do, always praying before they sit down with the women to begin their lessons.
“Before we begin, may I pray with you?” Cecilia asks M, an Iranian woman who has suffered years of abuse and hardship. The woman agrees, they pray, and then the lesson and a relationship begins.
Today’s world is one of instant gratification. We expect things to ship within 24 hours or less and we often approach sharing the Gospel this way, too. But through her decades of ministry, Cecilia has learned a vital lesson: Ministry takes time.
Cecilia returns from an early morning run and sees her neighbor hasn’t yet left for work. While many of us might sneak by hoping not to be seen, Cecilia walks up to her neighbor who she’s been pursuing for three years. “I just wanted to wish you a good day at work!” she says. The neighbor admits it’s going to be a hard day, and Cecilia sees this as a long-awaited opening. She asks if she can come in and pray for her, and the woman agrees.
Cecilia says reaching others with the Gospel is an investment in which she knows not to expect immediate results. This is often the hardest part of what she does, as many of the refugees who come through her program won’t stay long. Cecilia often finds that she’s on the cusp of something transformative with these women when they receive their papers and move to another country. But there are also many whom Cecilia has introduced to Christ. Through weeks, months, or years of faithfulness, God continues to use Cecilia through the prayers and intentional conversations as they weave each day. These are the stories that keep Cecilia going.
When the Iranian woman, M, found her husband passed out on the floor one day, she called Cecilia for help. And it was Cecilia who watched M’s daughter over the next few days while they were in the hospital. This little girl blossomed under Cecilia’s care — before, she’d hidden from Cecilia when she came to Creative Hands each day with her mother, silent and fearful. But now she sees Cecilia as family. Seeing their daughter’s transformation has opened more doors for M’s whole family to hear the Gospel. Over dinner with this family and a church member who speaks Farsi and helped assist the family in their time of need, M said, “Cecilia, please don’t forget to pray for us, because I can tell God loves you. I can see that God is with you. He’s near to you. I don’t see Him near to me as He is to you. I can see there’s a difference. And I know that He loves you. And I know that He hears your prayers.”
Cecilia was overjoyed to explain how God also wants to be near to M — how He also wants to hear her prayers, and how He wants to have a relationship with her: “All this that we’ve done for you, it’s not because we expect anything from you, but it’s just because this is what God teaches us in the Bible about loving our neighbor as ourselves. We just demonstrate God’s love to those that He brings across our path, and we don’t stop doing that,” Cecilia told M and and her husband.
Reflecting on this moment, Cecilia said, “This is what just really blessed me and made me realize to never take anything for granted because God has been working in people. And when God brings them across our path for a month, two months, three months, we need to be faithful. Because the husband then turned and said, ‘I have seen God’s love. This is the second time that God has demonstrated His love to me.’”
The husband went on to share how he and his wife were once on the brink of divorce. In desperation, he’d stumbled upon a church and experienced God’s love through a group of Christians who prayed for him.
“But then we came to Greece and life was difficult,” he said. “And then we met Cecilia. Through Cecilia, I’ve seen God’s love once again. The way that she has taken my family in, the way that she has made my wife and child feel at home…”
Today, M says that she believes in God’s love and knows that He is her Shepherd; Cecilia continues to pray for God to keep moving in their family. Stories like this are why Cecilia takes time to listen to God’s voice through Scripture each day. By making space to hear from the Lord, she has learned to pay attention to every opportunity He brings her.
Tomorrow, Cecilia will wake up, pray and read her Bible, go for a run, and then go to work for her first weaving lesson of the day.
“Before we start, may I pray with you?” she’ll ask the first woman who sits down at the loom in front of her. If the woman agrees, together they’ll seek God’s presence, and then, they’ll begin to weave.
Written by Bethan Mingle
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[…] Castillo energized an “army of women” to hold the country’s first national seminar for women. Cecilia, an artisan in Greece, is giving female refugees from the Middle East vocational skills to support their families and […]
[…] Castillo energized an “army of women” to hold the country’s first national seminar for women. Cecilia, an artisan in Greece, is giving female refugees from the Middle East vocational skills to support their families and […]