Nimble fingers and kind hearts produced 100 colorful Easter dresses for women and girls living in Teculutan, Guatemala.
Around 30 ladies from Christ the King Church in Oxford spent the last few weeks sewing pretty dresses for females in the poverty-stricken area.
Lapeer resident Tina Sornig, a two-year member of Christ the King, spearheaded the project after seeing a photograph of four little Guatemalan girls wearing dresses handmade by an Ohio woman.
‘I thought, ‘Well, I can do that,?? said Sornig, adding she enlisted the help of other women to make as many dresses as possible. ‘Before I knew it, it turned into 100 dresses.?
‘We went sundresses because it’s so warm down there,? she said. ‘They’re all sleeveless, A-line dresses decorated in bright colors.?
All the materials were donated by Christ the King members and The Pincushion in Imlay City.
?(The Pincushion) gave us probably 25 to 30 yards of material,? Sornig said.
Although they’ve been dubbed ‘Easter Princess? dresses in light of the upcoming holiday, Sornig said they’re ‘usable and durable for all the time.?
With each dress comes either a bracelet or necklace and a hair barrette, all handmade by the ladies of Christ the King.
Sornig and her husband, Steve, will personally deliver the dresses the last week in March during a 10-day mission trip.
‘It will be my first trip (to Guatemala) and Steve’s second trip,? Sornig said.
The Sornigs will be accompanying Tim Fix, a full-time missionary and Lake Orion resident for 14 years.
Fix, one of the elders at Christ the King Church, is the director of Hope for Tomorrow International ? an Oxford-based organization that does Christian ministry work and offers humanitarian aid in Guatemala, China and India.
‘We do various things,? Fix said. ‘We’ve been involved in church plantings, video bible schools, orphanages. In India and Guatemala, we do humanitarian projects.?
‘We started doing it just through Christ the King and it kind of grew to the point where we needed to start our own organization,? he said.
Founded four years ago, Hope for Tomorrow International is headquartered in the Oxford Financial Center at 653 S. Lapeer Road.
‘A big part of what we do is we take short-term mission trips. People from local churches call us and say ‘I want to go to Guatemala,? then I take teams down,? Fix said.’Probably about 400 people have gone with us.?
‘I started going down to Guatemala about seven years ago,? he said. ‘I go there once a month typically.?
In Guatemala, Hope for Tomorrow International has done everything from dish out 50,000 meals after a drought to plant another Christ the King Church, which launched five other new churches.
For more information about Hope for Tomorrow International visit www.hopefortomorrow.us or call (248) 236-9201.