Adventures of the Day

Last night I treated Deb to a good supper at her favorite Brazilian restaurant. While we were dining, a couple was walking down the sidewalk. They stopped just outside our table and were checking out the restaurant. I gave them a big thumbs up and they laughed and came in. They were seated next to us and thanked us for our recommendation. We chatted and found out that Bev and Larry owned an insurance agency in St. Louis. They come to Little Rock each year for an insurance gathering. Deb shared that she wanted to do breakfast at a certain restaurant across town that was noted for healthy food. Then we said our good byes.

Fast forward to this morning. We used Mr Google to locate the restaurant and drove the rental car over there. When we walked in, there was Bev and Larry seated there. We joined them and shared  our lives with one another. Turns out they are believers and Bev is involved in a ministry to provide dresses to Central American girls. Apparently the sex trade seeks out poorly dressed young girls and forces them into the sex trades. Better dressed girls are not bothered because it appears that 'someone cares for them' and there might be consequences if they were bothered.
see    http://dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/    

The unsolved issue for their national group is getting the dresses from the volunteer sewing ladies around the USA to the missionaries who oversee the distribution in the countries. When Bev talked about this issue, I immediately thought of my airline pilot friends who frequent those countries and I put Bev in touch with one who might could take an extra  suitcase on each trip down there.

Then we talked about clothing for infants. The restaurant was very close to a clothe and sewing shop. We had met the owner of the store because she is a volunteer at the bone marrow clinic and has helped Deb many times when we have been here. The store owner has a ministry of making beautiful smocked gowns for infants stillborn or who die at the hospital. She has a group of ladies who help make the gowns.

So, we had Bev and Larry follow us to the store where the owner was introduced. She was eager to get involved in the project to clothe the Central American girls. She donated a dress on the spot. Afterwards, we exchanged contact info with Larry and Bev and said our good byes.

I talked to Larry and Bev about how God weaves a believer's life into a tapestry. He sees the finished side: we see the backside here on earth. Someday we will see what he sees!

Back before we left the restaurant, we met Nancy the owner. She is a recovered drug addict from Chicago. She hires and trains workers who are not employable otherwise. Her recipes and ingredients are very healthy and our cancer clinic has started referring patients to the restaurant. She gave us several samples  of her cooking. Very different and good! We hope to go back tonight for supper.

She actually owns two side-by-side restaurants. Tonight is Lilly's.
Their website is:  www.lillysdimsum.com
Nancy Agreed to make the Dress the Girls ministry the benefactor for her monthly fund raiser. Wow!

Needless to say, we had a God-ordained day! WOW!