Maria’s sewing class started to teach Bishop Maginn students how to make quilts for the Afghan refugees, which is ballooning into something wonderful and exciting.

There is a list of students wanting lessons, and many of them are boys, which is nice to see. The response has surprised Sue Silverstein and prompted some tough talks about buying more sewing machines and setting them up in another classroom (Sue has no room for hers.) Bishop Maginn is short-staffed right now, and this may have to wait a bit.

We raised money to buy these first three sewing machines, and we are expecting to buy more as soon as school officials can figure out where to put them, who can teach them over the long run. As of now, Maria can only teach three at a time Every fifteen minutes or so, students give up their seats to other people who want to learn.

The school is awfully short-staffed right now.

Not surprisingly to me, Maria is a beautiful teacher, patient, encouraging, and always right there to help. The students were so excited by what they were doing in the second lesson that I asked them to show me what they had done today, and all of them happily posed for me, from Top to Bottom, Tay Jon, Hser Nay, Dah Blue, and Jayla.

All of them told me they would love to join a sewing class. Maria has awakened something profound inside of them. First, they want to finish their quilts for the Afghan refugees; then, they want to make pillows for their parents and siblings. Many of them don’t have pillows to sleep on.

(You might remember Hser Nay as the girl who was beaten so severely on a public school bus that she was hospitalized and traumatized. She is delighted with Bishop Maginn, has tons of friends, and doing beautifully academically. She says feeling safe makes all the difference. You can read or re-read Hser Nay’s story here; she is one of Bishop Maginn’s many miracles.)

Hser Nay, Dah Blu, showing the pieces Maria taught them how to make this afternoon.

There are only three sewing machines set up in Sue Silverstein’s class; there isn’t room for any more. She’s going to meet with Principal Mike Tolan after Thanksgiving to try and figure out how many kids want to study sewing and how and where it can be taught. Sue is swamped.

Maria loves teaching this class weekly and is eager to do it over the next couple of months. I’m not sure she can do it longer than that. But we’ve started something, and it is snowballing. How exciting.

She has often told me she never had an interest in having children and wouldn’t be patient and present enough to be a good parent. I respect her decision not to have children – she is very happy in her life – but she sure would have been good at it.

We are learning that sewing has deep meaning for these children, many refugees in families that must sew for themselves out of necessity. I hear these girls and boys excited about sewing things for their parents and brothers and sisters. Stay tuned.

To them, this isn’t an old-fashioned and outdated custom. It’s what they see all the time.

Below, Mayla: Maria wondered at first if she was paying attention. She was.