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March - April 1998 The Editorial MF Behind the Scenes
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Agape Craft - A Labor Of Love How ãLove Found a Wayä in South East Asia --by Arlene Richardson Reaching the world for Christ is very much a family concern for Steve and Arlene Richardson. Steve’s parents, Don and Carol pioneered a work to the Sawi people of Irian Jaya in the early 1960’s. Their dramatic story is chronicled in Richardson’s missionary classic, Peace Child. Arlene’s parents, too, though immersed in the world of commerce, had long been burdened for the lost. Finally, in 1978, her father, Ted Fletcher, abandoned his prestigious position as National Sales Manager for the Wall Street Journal to launch PIONEERS, a new mission organization focused on reaching unevangelized peoples of the world. Ultimately, in answer to their parents prayers, all four of the Fletcher children moved into overseas church planting ministry with PIONEERS. Perhaps it was their love of other cultures that prompted visionary fathers Don and Ted, upon meeting at a missions conference, to engage in some strategic planning of their own. They instinctively sensed that their children, Steve and Arlene, were ideally suited for one another. A pen pal relationship soon flourished between the two young people, though they had not yet met and were separated by thousands of kilometers. Steve and Arlene were married in 1983 while training at Columbia Bible College in the United States for cross cultural ministry. Launching Out in Faith In 1986 Steve and Arlene got a running start on ministry to an unreached people of South East Asia, one of the largest people groups in the world. This Muslim ethnic group, numbering about 35 million people. The Richardson’s first short term team of nine college aged young people arrived five days after they did. Still without the language or a home of their own, Steve and Arlene instructed the young people to “go find a native family to live with.” They did so, and three of these collegians later returned to serve full time, along with many others. As the team grew, its ministries multiplied. A multifaceted strategy called “Lampstand,” taken from Christ’s words that a city set on a hill cannot be hid, was adopted. “We wanted to take the Gospel out from under the basket, culturally and otherwise, so the masses there could benefit from its light,” Steve recalls. But it was not until 1991 that one of the most exciting and unexpected aspects of Lampstand was initiated. It is a story of compassion, ingenuity, and sheer hard work - the story of Agape Craft. The First Quilt Arlene, already busy raising two children and expecting a third, befriended a woman named Dede. Dede was a single mother from a remote mountain village. She had come to the city, like so many thousands of others, desperate for work. Arlene visited Dede’s village, about a 5 hour drive outside the city, and became burdened for the physical and spiritual needs of the people. She began to pray, “Lord, how can I show them your love?” One day Arlene opened a package from home. It contained a quilt, lovingly hand-stitched from scraps of old cloth found in her grandmothers antique shop. Arlene’s friend Dede fell in love with the intricate designs of the quilt. She asked Arlene to help her learn the art. Arlene provided some cloth and padding, and they set to work. Other members of Dede’s family quickly joined in. Word spread in her community. Within a week, a fairly good replica of the original quilt was proudly displayed! Arlene noted the quality of their workmanship and their willingness to attempt something so difficult. Would this European art form, conceived and perfected in the winters of the northern hemisphere, hold any appeal in the islands of tropical S.E. Asia? An Expanding Vision People began coming to Arlene’s door asking if they, too, could learn the skill. Her home was soon overrun with eager workers, some of them cutting out pieces of cloth on the floor, others learning to use the treadle sewing machine, and still others stitching the many small pieces together by hand. Anticipation mounted when some of the first quilts were placed on consignment in city shops. Then word came back - they had sold! God was blessing, and a vision for an expanding ministry was taking shape. “The sales allowed us to purchase another machine and thus provide work for more people. From scraps of wood we made large quilting frames for use by the women who were doing the hand stitching.” An local Christian suggested that the project be called “Agape Craft.” “This project to train the poor is a reflection of God’s perfect love,” she said. A motto was soon adopted: “Showing love by sharing skills.” Impacted Lives Arlene early recognized that the Agape Craft project would be an excellent means not only to provide for people’s physical and economic needs, but for their spiritual needs as well. Muslims and Christians, normally separated by barriers of faith, were content to work together in the non?threatening environment of a sewing group. Muslims began to hear the good news of new life in Jesus Christ, some of them for the first time. Literature, cassettes, and even videos were provided to the groups. A number of these responded with personal decisions of faith, having seen the truth of the Gospel authenticated in the lives of their friends who had followed Christ. One person who made a decision for Christ was Budi. Budi hurt his leg seriously in a motorcycle accident. It turned gangrenous, and the doctor decided to amputate. The Agape staff prayed for him and provided finances for several operations. Today Budi’s leg has not only been spared, but he can walk again. Dadang made about fifty cents a day selling soup by the roadside - not enough to provide for his wife and children. He had never used a sewing machine when he came to Agape Craft. His first assignment was to sew brightly colored squares together. He was so enthusiastic that first day, that he worked until late at night. The next morning his friends joked about the “village quilt” he had produced, one so big a whole village could sleep under it! Dadang has led his own sewing group for six years. In order to provide employment for yet more people, Arlene developed a product line using the leftover scraps of the quilts themselves. People learned to make dolls, stuffed toys, aprons, purses, and clothing, as well as a variety of Christmas decorations and wall hangings. Agape Craft quickly outpaced Arlene’s ability to manage it all, so her focus shifted to the training of staff. Christian young people, recently graduated from a university, were among the first to be trained in skills of management and marketing, and orientated to the ministry heart of Agape Craft. One of these had spent six years during her childhood living in Sydney. With her background in the English language she took on the task of marketing the crafts, many of which were by now being purchased by foreigners in the major cities. There were difficulties and growth pains, but overall the ministry continued to flourish. Blessing for Many Six years later, Agape Craft has trained three to four hundred people, two hundred of whom are actively involved in the Agape Craft sewing group network. Groups are located in ten different cities and villages. The cooperative purchases its own cloth in the city markets, combines the colors, and manages its finances. There are no foreigners in the leadership. They have their own spacious showroom in the city. In all, more than 10,000 quilts, valued at perhaps $1,500,000 have been produced and sold in the local market. All of the funds have gone back into wages and development of the nonprofit program. The fastest selling quilts are those which use the local hand-stamped Batik cloth. In color and motif, these are a beautiful example of East meeting West. Choosing the Hard Way Reflecting on her experience over the last few years, Arlene marvels at how God worked through her own weakness. “The truth is, I had never made a quilt myself before I started teaching my friend Dede to do it,” Arlene says with a smile. “But I was available, and willing to pay the price in hard work to help these friends.” “What’s more, we often chose to do things the hard way for the sake of the ministry. We took people who had never used a sewing machine and turned them into experts. We tried to be patient and caring, because we were more interested in people than in profits. Quality quilting is actually a very complex process, and it wasn’t easy to pass on the skill. We had no money to finance the project so we just grew little by little from the sale of the first quilts. And distances between villages were great, sometimes requiring hours every day on treacherous roads.” Some of the cloth used early on consisted of discarded scraps from a garment factory in the city. This factory was owned by a sympathetic local businessman. This man had benefited from the hospitality of Christians while studying overseas, and now wanted to reciprocate by helping Arlene and Steve fulfill their vision to serve the people of his country. God Values Leftovers Early in Agape Crafts development, God impressed a special passage of Scripture on Arlene’s heart. This command, later beautifully illustrated in the story of Ruth, is found in the book of Deuteronomy 24:19: “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Gods heart for the poor, so evident in His word, has found yet another eloquent expression in the life changing ministry of Agape Craft. You may contact PIONEERS at 12343 Narcoossee Rd. Orlando, FL 32827 Ph. (407) 382-6000 Fax: (407)382-1008 Email: 74511.1250@compuserve.com World Wide Web at http://www.pioneers.org In Canada: P.O. Box 220 Dorchester, ON N0L 1G0 Ph. (519) 268-8778 Fax: (519) 268-2787 Email: pi.canada@onlinesys.com Or Arlene Richardson 3 Ridley Court Doncaster East, VIC 3109 Australia Tel/Fax: 9841-8538
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