Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Hope 4 Women International!

We've had a great year and I hope you were a part of it. Here are a few of our highlights for 2012!

1) We held our 1st annual Hope 4 Women International/Dress a Girl Around the world convention!

2) We became a corporation and are on our way to having our own non-profit status!

3) We dressed nearly 100,000 girls in sixty-five countries!

4) We expanded our local outreaches

5) We provided food, clothing, and toys to Native American families

6) We provided sewing machines, supplies and clothing to refugee women in Arizona

7) Our Dress a Girl float in the 4th of July parade in Scarville, Ia took second place

8) We added screen sharing to our monthly conference calls

9) We led a mission trip for Hope 4 Kids International to Appalachia

10) 81 Women graduated from our Women in Business Sponsorship Program in Uganda

11) Currently 170 women are enrolled in our Women in Business Program!

12) We dedicated our first Dress a Girl well in Uganda

13) We funded life-saving surgery for a woman in Uganda

14) Our garden program in Uganda is going viral!

15) We are expanding to Guatemala in 2013

Too many things to list here! God has been good to us. Please look at the video to see our highlights.

Thank you for helping us make 2012 a great year! We are looking forward to what God will do in 2013!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Hope 4 Women International

And

Dress a Girl Around the World!

What a great year this has been!

As we wind down year two of Dress a Girl Around the World we are excited to report we have delivered over 60,000 dresses to girls in 56 countries. We did 12,000 in 2010 and 48,000 in 2011! Thank YOU for being an important part of this project and for making this happen. I wonder if we could deliver 100,000 in 2012 . . . Together I definitely think we can!

Jennie O’Hara wrote and illustrated a book for Dress a Girl –The Pillowcase Party-you can find it on our Dress a Girl web store along with it’s matching puzzle and dress a girl balloons for your princess parties! http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/apps/webstore/

We held our inaugural princess party in Uganda! It was a blast. We are also planning to hold a “Prince & Princess Party” in April. We will hold it in an enclosed area at night with glow sticks and lots of other fun things!

We not only delivered dresses but we raised money for our first well in Uganda. The well is being drilled as I write! Now we will be providing fresh water to a village freeing up women and girls from walking long hours in search of water that often is not fit to drink. Girls will now have time to attend school and women will have time to work on their businesses!

If you would like to take part in the well dedication in Uganda—we are going in April and will be holding a party at the well! We’ll have balloons, pink lemon aid and of course give out pink dresses to the girls and red shorts to the boys. Contact Kristin@h4ki.org for more information.

Hope 4 Women International provided funds through a generous donor for a sewing center in Rwanda! Also to be dedicated in April as our team travels from Uganda to Rwanda.

Thirty-nine women graduated from our sponsorship program in Uganda. For $36 a month and a one-year commitment a woman is enrolled in our sponsorship program where she is taught English, Reading, Math & Writing skills. She also attends a weekly Mission Character class to learn the Biblical principals of operating a business. Along the way she receives start-up capital and is mentored in her new business. At the end of one year she graduates as a businesswoman! Our friend Marj makes pink graduation caps for them to wear.

Currently—thanks to you there are 85 women enrolled in our sponsorship program! Thirty of them are scheduled to graduate in April 2012!

I recently sponsored Jane. She is a widow living with HIV virus. She has worked as a counselor for an AIDS support organization and also counseled women in domestic violence. Now as a widow she has been chased from her home--ridiculed and abused by her husband's family--the sewing machine she was using for income generating was stolen. She is now with us and has been training our sponsored women in Mission Character classes. So I was thinking since she already meets with the women once a week –if she is willing we could set her up as a counselor for our women. I did sit in on her mission character class when I was there and was impressed! The classroom was filled with our sponsored women and they were all actively involved.

Of course we are buying her a new sewing machine so she can continue with her skills and build an income generating business and with our English, Math, etc classes there is no end to what Jane can do!!

I’m so jazzed about being a part of Jane’s future! If you would like to change the life of a woman email Lisa@h4wi.org and she will give you all the details and set you up!

Our Victory Gardens are flourishing in Uganda. The Diamond Unique Co-op just harvested and sold several watermelon crops. They are growing cantaloupe for the first time. Businesses and restaurants seek after their unique vegetables. They are experimenting with raising pigs and poultry. They will add brick oven making and tree harvesting in 2012—the ovens will be available for sale –we can purchase them for our sponsored women and hopefully get several of our women involved in making the ovens.

The Co-op also invested in two new motorcycles –one for transporting the members to train other garden projects and to conduct business. The other is used as a “taxi” to generate income and to pay back the loan on the motorcycles. They are diligent in the repayment and we are pleased with all the progress they are making. As they reach out and train throughout Uganda our dream is for Uganda to feed itselfJ

On the home front:

Our Tempe gathering place/warehouse will begin hosting workdays! On Friday, January 13^th we will hold a volunteer meeting/luncheon and work in the afternoon. On Monday, January 16^th—Martin Luther King Day—we will make britches for boys!

June 21-23^rd is our First Annual Hope 4 Women International/Dress a Girl Around the World Convention to be held in the Phoenix area. It’s going to be great! Speakers, break out sessions/demonstrations, venders and LOTS of fun! Details to follow!

Rachel is available for speaking: To book Rachel at your event, church or women’s group contact Rachel@h4wi.org

Coming in January: I Dressed a Girl Around the World bumper stickers!

Thank you for making all of this possible! If you would like to donate to our causes please follow this link and click on the Dress a Girl or Hope 4 women boxJ http://www.hope4kidsinternational.org/donation-cart

I'm looking forward to another year of partnership with each of you! Let's make 2012 the year of excellence! I know God has great things in store for each of us!

My Dear Friend Leo Skogen

My dear friend and long-time brother-in-law, Leo Skogen went to be with Jesus three years ago today. He struggled with cancer and put up a good fight to the end. All his life his desire was to be like Jesus. He reached out to those no one else would give the time of day. He loved the homeless, the addicts and the loveless. He gave his money, his time and his prayers to so many and constantly told people about Jesus and the love that Jesus had for them. When I last spoke with him I told him how much I admired him because while most of us work for the next vacation or the next toy--each day he would start out asking God "how can I serve you today?"
He was a great man and one of my best friends. I miss him greatly.
I know he has seen Jesus face-to-face and that Jesus has told him, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
I can't help but wonder, "What are they doing in Heaven today?"

Rachel's Modeling Debut

Last Sunday was our 2nd annual Hope 4 women international tea and dress a girl around the world style show at the Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale, AZ.

Women from around the country sent in their most creatively made dresses--they had to submit twin dresses because after our fashion show we entered the dresses into our Buy a Dress--Give a Dress program--the purchaser takes one dress home and its matching dress goes to a little girl in Uganda.

It was a great day! Over 200 guests arrived for high tea and our models were the cutest! We were blessed to have our Mid-India partner, Sheila with us. She spoke and MC'd the style show! My friend Angie MC'd the event and friend Lisa spoke about women sponsorship.

My speech was "Follow Your Dreams". Here is a portion of that speech.

How many of you dreamed of doing great things as a child? Think about the dreams you had—do you have those same dreams today?

We have a lot of young women here today who dream of being doctors, lawyers and princesses. When I was a young girl in rural Iowa I dreamed of being a famous writer and although I had no idea where New York was I dreamed of moving there and becoming a model.

As a writer I'm famous to about five people:)

The model dream? Well. . . unless there is a call for a 57-year-old overweight—never been botoxed or tucked or lifted woman—I think we can set that aside.

The wonderful thing about knowing our Lord is He will give you dreams you could never dream on your own.

(I then talked about the dreams that brought Hope 4 Women & Dress a Girl to where we are today and ended with the following)

What are your dreams? What has God put within your heart? Sometimes the dream may seem crazy—like having a tea party with the Pygmy women from the Congo—but if you ask God to be in it—that tea party can change lives—yours and theirs.

For me--being honored by women who have been pulled from the ashes and kneeling before little girls who never dreamed of owning a new dress. . . well, it’s a far cry from being a famous author or a model in New York. . . but I wouldn’t trade the life God has given me for all the glamour and glory of this world.

Every day I am in awe that God would use me and whenever I receive news of a woman transformed or a little girl receiving her first new dress I fall to my knees and thank God for using me.

Don’t let your dreams be something you do someday. If you don’t act –then you are just dreaming—start today to act upon what God has put in you!"

With that I handed my microphone to Robert and jumped up onto the runway--"strutting" back and forth to claps, whistles and laughter. When the crowd stopped laughing I "modeled" while Robert read:

"Rachel Eggum Cinader--NOT from New York is modeling this ruffled dress--chosen by our granddaughter Jordan--From JC Penny.

Rachel is wearing a black shrug and black leggings to cover her 57-year-old arms and legs.

Candies heeled shoes--black of course--complete the outfit!

Rachel knows that in God's eyes every women and girl is beautiful--just the way you are!"

Sponsor a Woman--Change Her Life

What does it mean to sponsor a woman in Uganda?

It means a life has been changed! Not only the life of one woman but her whole family.

There is a saying in Uganda. “Educate a girl and you will educate a nation.” The same is true of the women we support. As we train them in business; Christian principles; budgeting; English and give them business start-up capital—we are giving them the opportunity to elevate themselves. They in turn want improved lives for their children.

We heard many testimonies from women who graduated from our program on how their lives will never be the same. They are no long in extreme poverty but have hope and know they are successful and will continue to be successful business women.

For the small sum of $36 a month you can sponsor a woman with a commitment of one year.

She receives training in business; Christian principles of running a business; English, math and reading classes; Start-up capital and mentoring as she begins her business.

Pastor Ruth says of our April graduation of fourteen women from the program:

The graduation of the women in Smile Africa brought tears of Joy. These women have come a long way with your prayers and support. A woman who used to live in a fallen shelter now owns land and has built a two roomed house for her and her grand children--that is the testimony of Zuena. Rukia's success story is another one,when she came to Smile, she was at the verge of dying,along with her three sons.Today,through your prayers and support,she is a manager and sales woman in the charcoal business.She started her oldest son on a business and her other two sons go to good schools. She is able to rent a decent place for her and her children and they are well fed.

May the Glory be to God almighty who has worked through each one of us to reach out and restore hope and dignity to them.

The sponsorship program is exploding with testimonies and more and more widows getting sponsored. The whole town is talking about what God is doing for the widows. This includes the Muslim widows who are now praising Jesus for loving them, what a great testimony. This could not have happened if you had not responded by praying and supporting this program. It is common to hear someone stopping me in town and trying to let me know of a widow or children who need help, my answer to them is to pray that God brings in more help,because it is only Him who can solve all problems.

To learn more about sponsoring a woman and offering her a life of dignity please contact Lisa@h4wi.org

My 3D Movie Experience

Robert and I went to the latest Narnia movie in 3D. As I always wear glasses when I want to see I had to wear my 3D glasses over my glasses. It was dark in the theatre and I found myself very frustrated when I pulled the 3D glasses out of my purse and they were curved so they didn’t really fit over my glasses. All through the movie I tried to get them to work. I’d take them off and the movie looked the same as when I had them on except the picture was a little lighter. I thought these waves, the dragon, the creatures-- should be flying at me but it’s like a normal film—except a little fuzzy sometimes.

I did enjoy the movie but felt cheated not to see it in 3D. On the way home I complained to Robert and he said, “You should have traded with me. My glasses were flat and some of those scenes were pretty wild.”

“Let me see those.” I looked at his glasses—tried them on and they fit perfectly over my glasses.

“That is so weird. Look at mine.” I reached into my purse and pulled out Robert’s sunglasses!! LOL

Tom's Christmas Sweater

Our mom had an unusual sense of style and wore REALLY colorful clothing—green checked polyester pants with red flowered tops—you get the idea.

She was a writer. . . a bit quirky—she had cats and there was cat hair on everything! She never quite got the hang of housecleaning so when we would stop by for a visit we had to move books and brush cat hair off of the chairs in order to sit. It was charming as well as amusing. We were watching a home movie once and peered closely and then burst out laughing as we realized the floaters across the screen was cat hair floating through the air. I wonder if that is why I had trouble breathing at times:)

Every year we would get together at my sister Ramona’s house (Ramona had no cats and kept an immaculate house) for a Christmas gathering and even after by brother Tom and I moved to Arizona we’d go back to Iowa to play in the snow and to celebrate Christmas.

Mom loved Christmas and passed that love on to all of us. She bought us interesting and unusual gifts which we always opened with a bit of trepidation:)

One year she could hardly wait for Tom to open a gift she had for him. She let him open it early so he could wear it to our Christmas party.

Tom was shocked to be blessed with a used, woman’s sweater—covered in cat hair! Mom sat smiling proudly as Tom petted the sweater and thanked her. He graciously pulled the sweater over his head and tried to pull the too short sleeves to his wrists.

He actually wore the sweater throughout the entire evening much to our amazement and to Mom’s delight. I had a new admiration for Tom after that:)

Oh. How I miss her and those wonderful days filled with laughter.