Alegria Accessories Prayer Partners

Our artisans are beginning their design and sourcing for fall this week in Honduras.

As I'm drinking my coffee and writing this update for our prayer partners this drizzly Sunday morning, my heart is full from a day spent with the GB Women of the Evansville area. We sang, we studied the Word together, even did a little watercolor painting, enjoyed a lunch prepared by the ladies in the church, and then 67 hours of safe, living wage work for our artisans in Honduras were provided by the shopping of the conference attendees!

Please today pray for protection of Alegria's sales and expenses as we are so young and so small yet. We can be shaken by the drops in sales happening in this volatile time.  But we trust and believe that He who lead us here, will lead us through. And He is in no way surprised by this. He has a plan!

Happy Easter from all of us at Alegria, US & Honduras!  He is Risen!  

I won't forget how this piece came about. I had brought a sample to Honduras of a leather wrap bracelet. We worked on the technique together and crafted a coconut bead version.  And then we tried other stones - all beautiful and great sellers. But then, Odalin asked me, could we make a bracelet that would tell people about Jesus?

So many have been reaching out since seeing Honduras appear on the tariff list. Thank you for already praying. We don't know if this is in addition to what we already pay or if it is an increase from what we pay. And this week, we will have that answer. We will be shipping our May collection this week and will soon know what that expense will be.  Thank you Joy-Creators for your prayers in this matter. What we know is that God is still on the throne and this is HIS company, not ours. So we wait in expectation, knowing that He has a plan and that He will protect His company and our artisans. Please join us in lifting up this request and thanking Him for how He cares for our Faith Home alums and Alegria family.

When Alegria was in its 'calling' era, one name kept coming up: Odalin Garcia.  She became the very first Alegria artisan, the first Alegria employee, and now, the glue that holds everything together in Honduras and bridges Honduras and the United States.  Her responsibilities at work are vast, including operations, accounting, HR, legal...and she does it with grace and professionalism.  She's also bilingual in Spanish and English, which has proved unbelievably valuable in so many instances! Today, would you please lift up our National Manager, Odalin to the Lord? Pray for her to have health, wisdom and compassion.  Pray for her husband and for her two children, that the Lord would protect them and keep their marriage and family strong.  Pray for her as she leads Alegria in Honduras.  We thank God for her everyday and we are so grateful that you are lifting her up and asking the Lord to bless and keep her today.

Running a brick and mortar store is not for the faint of heart. We have said goodbye to several Joy-Partner stores that have made the difficult decision to shutter their businesses over the last several years. Today, would you join us in praying for your local Joy-Partner stores? Maybe even go to our Shop In Person page and find some close to you to pray for by name. Maybe even stop in and pray for them and pray over their Alegria Accessories display - that it would bring profit for the store owner who chose to carry Alegria and made an investment in stocking our products. Pray that they would sell through and be able to reorder. Pray that new customers would find their store and in turn help them to sell their Alegria inventory. We love our Joy-Partners and we could not do what we do without them. So let's take them specifically to the Lord today and pray for pressed down and overflowing blessings to their business and their Alegria inventory this week.

Choosing how to spend funds at Alegria can be a difficult mental wrestling match.  On one hand, we want every dollar than can go to employ more women in Honduras to be used that way.  But the reality of business is that it costs to put our story and our product in front of new eyes.  And getting the word out about what we are doing is essential if we are to grow in our sales, and in turn have the business to be able to hire more artisans. So today, would you go with us to our Father who told us to ask Him for wisdom? He promises to pour it out on us generously if we will only ask.  We are specifically asking for wisdom in how to allocate advertising dollars: that we would choose the right channels, the right products and media, and the right amount of money. Thank you for praying that what we invest will come back in huge returns for Alegria and our ability to pay wages and hire more artisans in Honduras!

On this sunny Sunday, I just want to stop and praise the Lord for how good He is!  Would you join us in praising Him?

Good morning our prayer partners!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives, praying for Alegria. The last week and a half have been full of one challenge after another.  Moving things back and forth across borders isn't for the faint of heart.  Several times a month, we wire money to Honduras to pay bills and wages and purchase materials.  And once a month we ship jewelry to the US.  The exciting thing about February is that we sent one of the largest wire transfers we've needed yet.  Because of your faithful support through shopping, wages and bills and materials would be paid in full!  But days later, when the wire should have already been there, we were tracking it and it was not going to get released by the bank into our account.  And not just that, but it will take nearly a month for the wire recall and for it to return to our US account.  Through the faithfulness of God, we were able to send the wire again, but not before bills and wages were late.  Because this caused a work stoppage, our production is delayed for the March launch.  It should have been in the US a week ago but it is almost finished and will ship this week.  Pictures and packaging still have to be completed when it arrives.  So launch will most likely be late this month. First, please praise God with us that we were able to put our hands on the funds to resend a huge wire transfer.  He always cares for us in so many ways.  But still allows trouble so that our faith can increase. Second, please pray with us that production is completed on Monday and that the DHL box will move quickly and without any delays so we can dive into the work here in the US to get it ready and launched. Third, please pray for the wire to return to us quickly as these funds are needed too. Finally, would you pray that many would be delighted by the new collection and choose to shop with us online in the next few weeks.  There is no source of funding for Alegria other than sales.  Alegria can continue only when US customers choose to channel their shopping dollars towards our missional jewelry company that pays its artisans fair, living wages rather than make purchases of fast fashion with low prices, often produced by people and even children trapped in slavery.  You DO make a difference by not asking for the lowest price but instead asking if the person who made it can live in freedom on their wages.