Judy Sisneros, author of 9-Patch Pizzazz and Rectangle Pizzazz, will be traveling at her own expense with fellow quilting teacher Susie Ernst to the Agape Restoration Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from Feb 6-26, 2009, as part of the 2009 Stitches of Hope Cambodia initiative. Judy and Susie will teach hand quilting to young girls who have been rescued from the slave trade.

New Skills to Help Former Slaves Become Self-Supporting
The program’s goal is to teach girls a skill that will enable them to earn money by making and selling hand-quilted pillows made with Cambodian silk fabrics. These girls also receive medical and emotional support to help them recover from their ordeal.

Judy first learned about the Agape Center at her church in Rocklin, CA, the Adventure Christian Church. She leads a group at the church called “Stitching With Love”, and they made quilts for the girls of the first “graduating class” at the Agape Center in Cambodia. The Center’s leaders suggested that teaching the girls to sew would give them a skill that could change their lives.

“That triggered something in me,” she says. “I thought, ‘I can do that!’ We seldom get the chance in this life to really make a difference—this is my chance. After we are gone, we hope the older girls can teach new girls as they come into the program.”

Cash Donations Needed
If you are interested in helping with this effort, Judy is looking for assistance in providing the girls with sewing kits, fabrics and sewing machines. Any money raised for the trip will be used to purchase supplies, fabrics, batting, and pay for translation expenses. All donations are fully tax deductible. To donate, make checks payable to Adventure Christian Church with the notations “Missions/Cambodia 193″ and mail to Agape International Missions, P.O. Box 2037, Rocklin CA 95677.