Sharing Love in Every Stitch
Foster care support can look like a hot meal, a gift card or a date night. It can also look like a group of ladies embroidering quilts with a message of encouragement for children in foster care.
Almost four years ago, Dusty Speller was battling cancer when her husband’s colleague gifted her a handmade quilt sewn by a group of ladies at Woodlawn Baptist Church.
Touched by this gift, Dusty thought about a friend who also needed this encouragement.
“Her house burned down, and I asked them if I could give her a quilt because her grandmother’s blanket burned up in that fire. They said that I could, and I decided that I’d love to be a part of this ministry.”
Even though Dusty had no previous quilting experience, the ladies welcomed her into the group and taught her how to quilt and embroider.
“We meet every other Wednesday and bring [quilts] home to sew,” she explained. “We always embroider ‘Jesus loves me’ on them and say a prayer over them before we distribute them.”
With a limited budget for quilting, the ladies have not only seen the Lord touch others through their quilts but also seen Him inspire donors to supply materials.
“Anything beyond our budget is the Lord providing for us,” Dusty shared.
Before she joined the group, Woodlawn Baptist had already connected with Families 4 Families. Now they partner with Families 4 Families’ Statesboro office and Support Services Coordinator Bridget Howard to distribute handmade quilts to children who enter foster care.
“We are sewing every day or whenever we can to have [quilts] on hand. When we have a bunch made, I’ll call [the Statesboro office] and ask if they need any. If they do, then we bring what we have available to them,” Dusty said.
“When children come into foster care, it may be so sudden that they aren’t able to bring any familiar possessions,” Bridget added. “Woodlawn’s quilting ministry helps us give a warm, cozy blanket that each child can claim as their own. Through these blankets, each child is physically wrapped in love and covered by the prayers of these faithful volunteers.”
Though Dusty and the ladies at Woodlawn Baptist don’t get to meet the children who will receive quilts, they know these gifts make a difference.
“I hope it makes [children in foster care] feel that they’re loved. There might be bad things that happen to them in their lives, but I hope they can see the hope of Jesus and know that other people are there for them,” she said. “They’re in need. They’re our future. They need the support of others around them, especially if they can’t get it from their immediate family [right now].
“I hope they wrap the quilts around them and feel loved.”
There’s a way for everyone to be a part of wrapping children in foster care with love. Discover a way to serve with Families 4 Families at families4families.cc/volunteer.
