The Weaver

 

I met Cecilia Sakatira over twenty years ago. We were both living as foreigners and Christians in a Muslim culture, she from Zimbabwe, I from the United States. We were both strong women with a desire to rescue the rejected and bring hope to those in despair. I worked with shamed families whose babies had been born with facial deformities and she worked with street children abandoned and addicted to glue. We met at a prayer meeting. The Lord formed an immediate bond between us, a friendship that has grown in steady strength and prayerful purpose over the years. I stand as a witness to God’s great story in Cecilia’s life, and it is my privilege to let her tell her story today.

 

 

 

Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 

Isaiah 58:12

Looking back over many years, I can see innumerable ways God has fulfilled these words in my life. I consider it a treasure to sit here today and share a bit of how the promise of Isaiah 58:12 has played out in my life.

I did not grow up in a churched family, but rather in a very broken family. We were scattered, everyone trying to do the best they could so that they could change their futures and the futures of those coming after them. I am thankful that we somehow managed to do that, and I am thankful that I can safely say it has been accomplished by the grace of God.

The road to becoming who I am today started at a youth camp when I heard God’s voice inviting me to serve Him. I had no clue what this really meant, so I asked those whom I thought would have a clue. Initially, they did not know how to answer me. But searching and asking questions led me down a path of discovery. I learned that yes, God had called me to be His vessel, a vessel through which He would pour out His healing and grace to women — especially Muslim women.

My journey has taken me from my childhood home in the capital of Zimbabwe, across North Africa, to the center of the refugee highway in Greece. I have lived in Greece now for twelve years. For many years, I focused my work on rescuing women who had been sexually trafficked and others who were forced into prostitution. I taught them how to sew, and when they became skillful, helped them set up businesses in order to gain employment. Those brave women rose to the challenge beautifully, and are now well on a new course that is changing not only their lives but those of their children and the generations after.

A new beginning for me came in March 2018 through a very difficult season. It was not the first season of suffering I have faced and I do not believe will be the last. But looking back, I can clearly see that year was a defining time in my life and ministry. The issues I faced forced me to examine my heart and question whether I really believed who God was. Could I trust Him to hold, to remain steadfast through times of devastation and loss? 

I concluded the answer was a resounding yes. He gave me grace and strength. God saw me through to the place I am today. I am thankful for the fruit that painful season produced in my life. 

The Bible says in Psalm 16:5-6,

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

God draws new lines on our life maps during times of suffering, if we will trust Him. Lines that fall in pleasant places, boundaries that outline the beautiful inheritance He has appointed for each of us. I am so glad I trusted Him.

In May 2018, I started learning how to weave. I had only a small handloom, a simple picture frame. I began by winding yarn around it, much like a child. 

I brought my childlike desire to the Lord, and it grew into a conviction. I must learn to weave well so I can teach others.

I started the only place I know to start: in prayer. I had no money for a loom and no idea where to get it. Looms are expensive in Greece; the cheapest ones start at around €3000. So I asked the Lord to provide. A short time later, I received a phone call from a friend. Someone had heard about my sewing work among marginalized Muslim women and made a donation. It was just enough for my first real loom. 

On the new, full-sized loom, I began to learn in earnest. As my weaving skills increased, so did my vision to teach displaced and vulnerable women. I created a business plan for a new ministry called Creative Hands. Creative Hands would be a platform for refugee women in Greece to know their value, discover their potential, and be empowered to live again by creating with their hands.

Not long after that, a group in Finland donated eight looms to me and my vision became a reality.

Today, refugee women from Syria, Afghanistan, Africa, and beyond are learning the art of hand weaving. As they weave colorful threads into fabrics, the fabric of their tangled lives takes a new shape. As they sew beautiful products using the cloth their own hands have woven, it is as if their futures are being carefully stitched into new possibilities. The Weaver is transforming their lives, and mine.

I have found hand weaving to be very therapeutic for both myself and the women I serve. My heart, once shattered and broken, has found healing through just sitting at the looms for hours, weaving and watching yarns turn into a beautiful piece of work. I have found a place of joy and satisfaction once again through hand weaving. As I have received healing, other women have come and gone and found healing through it as well.

Women come to Creative Hands downcast, sorrowful, and heavy-laden. They leave with hope and a future. The Weaver weaves their sorrows into new joy. #refugees Click To Tweet

Some have met the Messiah and begun a new life with the One who calls them Daughter, the One who sees them no matter what. 

The story of Creative Hands is the story of the Master Weaver, patiently and carefully gathering the unraveled threads of devastation, displacement, and exploitation, and weaving them into something stronger, something vibrant, something called Redemption.

I am so thankful to be part of His story.

by Cecilia Sakatira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about Creative Hands, visit:

www.creativehands.gr

Instagram: creativehandsgr

Facebook: creativehandsgr