Everyone depended on Adalina. Adalina’s bedridden husband depended on her for care and relief from an unidentified illness. Their two daughters depended on Adalina’s earnings to provide food and tuition. Adalina’s aging mother-in-law depended on her for housing, provision and care. Adalina could not fail them; their lives rested on her shoulders. She could not fail.
Alone to Bear Their Burdens
At 34-years-old, Adalina had become the sole breadwinner for her family when her husband fell ill. Providing for her family of five took an enormous toll on the young mother, the stress thrusting heavy weight on her shoulders—and she bore it alone. No one offered to help the struggling family in their time of need.
When their roof leaked during the region’s rainy season, Adalina asked people for help, but none came.
Adalina spiraled into despair: The money she earned barely met the family’s basic needs; how could she repair her roof? Was there anything she could do to keep her family alive?
Relief Through a Sewing Machine
Some time earlier, Adalina had received a free sewing machine from GFA pastor, Zaccheus, who organized a gift distribution to bless the lives of people in the community where he served. Adalina had only ever used the sewing machine to mend her family’s clothes, but then she had a sudden realization: She already knew the basics of stitching; maybe she could earn a better income by tailoring her neighbors’ clothes?
A month passed, and the demand for Adalina’s tailoring had grown to surpass her previous job’s earnings. She now made more than enough money to repair her leaky roof and provide for her family’s needs. Adalina thanked Pastor Zaccheus and the church; their willingness to care for impoverished families like hers touched her heart. Because of them, the worry and despair that had plagued her was gone, and the burden she carried to provide for her family, which depended on her, was not so heavy anymore.
Read another story of how a sewing machine helped ward off poverty from a family in need.
