My husband and I trained at Word of Life Bible Institute in 1982–1983, which prepared us for serving on the mission field with Word of Life. Our first mission assignment came in 1985 when we were sent to Australia, where we served for 18 months. After that, we were called to serve in Kenya with Word of Life, and we spent five years there, from 1987 to 1992. We returned home to care for my husband’s elderly parents, but even after leaving the mission field, I continued to look for ways to serve—especially ways to help children.

I felt like I needed to do something meaningful for people in need, particularly children in foreign countries. One day, my daughter Pam, who was part of a quilting club, brought home a little dress and a pattern that one of the ladies had shared with the group. They were considering making dresses for girls overseas. As soon as I saw it, I loved the idea and immediately started making them myself.

Once I had about 30 dresses completed in various sizes, I took them to my church and hung them on a rack outside the pastor’s office. When he walked out and saw them, he asked what they were for. I shared my vision with him, and that moment really got the ball rolling. From there, missionaries began taking dresses to countries all over the world.

I wanted to teach and inspire others to get involved, so our church held the very first Dresses for Missions workshop on April 13, 2013. Thirty people attended, and 35 dresses were completed that day. Others took materials home, and in total, 75 dresses were made!

In October 2013, one of our missionaries from Sudan gave an update at our church and took 30 of the dresses back with him to Sudan. Then, in December of that same year, one of our members went on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and we were able to send 300 dresses with her—all made by our wonderful ladies during workshops and at home.

By October 2014, we began making boys’ shorts as well. We held workshops twice a year from 2013 through 2019. Altogether, approximately 5,000 dresses and shorts have been sent to 14 different countries around the world