friends,
we recently finished this beautiful wholesale catalog.

A catalog with just the items we feel ok about wholesale-ing (meaning: the ones that we can pump out a lot faster than the ones we cannot because for some reason we can make 30 burlap clutches in a week but it's like pulling teeth to complete 10 wallets in a week...but I digress : )...) So we are asking that if you know of any boutiques or markets or anyone really who you think would want to purchase 10 (minimum) or more of our products at a whole sale price please send me an email (melissa@tukula.org) or leave their contact in a comment and I will send them our catalog! I promise you these ladies would be so grateful:


(esther, 31 years old: In the center of Madhavani Market you will most likely find Esther hard at work, making her neighbors laugh, or quite possibly both. She is a single mother of 4 children: Prince, Precious, Posh, and Shami - the most joyful family you will ever meet!)


(Prossy, 33 years old: The best friend and side-kick of Esther, Prossy is the shy one of the two. They became such good friends while Esther was teaching her how to sew. She is a hardworking single mother of 2 with an always sunny disposition [like Mary Poppins!])


(Bennah, 25 years old: This young newlywed was the first tailor to join the tukula team. She came to Jinja after finishing off tailoring school in Uganda's capital city [Kampala]. She always takes pride in her work and often tells us she will "try her level best"!)

thanks!
-m

Jesus asked me if I would be His disciple and I said "yes".
I remember thinking "this means I have to live and love like You"
I tried really hard and then all of a sudden... I gave up.

I'm currently living in a fantasy world where just because I moved to Uganda and spend time with dirt on my feet and extremely poor people I thought that was good enough. Dear friends let me tell you, it is not. So if you thought moving to africa, adopting an orphan, or giving your summer vacation money to a project in a developing country was "living and loving" like Jesus - you haven't even touched the surface.

He wants us to live and love like Him in EVERY situation. Living and loving like Him means we have to be genuine...in the words we speak and the thoughts we think. I have been affirmed time and time again for the things I am DOING but because no-one (but Christ) can say "your thoughts are on heaven - well done!" - no one can see my thoughts ...I get to think whatever I want and not be judged. This is where I stumble and this where I find myself thirsty. I was able to drop my plow and walk away and not be held accountable for the work I had left to do because everyone saw the work I have already done and in the eyes of the world it's good enough. But something is missing - the harvest is here ...and He wants EVERYTHING because He created us FOR HIM.

Can you imagine how different our actions and what we say would be if we CONTINUOUSLY thought about heaven? But not just that but how GENUINE our actions and words would be. Can you imagine how unimportant where you live, who you are with, even what you were doing would be?

I'm going to try this again - giving everything to follow Him.
I dare you to.

Yesterday our dear friend, Oneka Charles, passed away. The past couple of weeks had been so hard for him. He was in so much pain and fighting so hard. The last time we saw him was on Saturday right before he left for his homeland, Gulu. The moaning and groaning I heard that day haunted me for days I knew that things weren't good but still had hope that God could heal him if He wanted to. But today as sad as I am I also rejoice knowing that Charles is reuniting with His beloved creator and that they are having a huge celebration. : )



We will never forget our time with you and how excited you would get to see Joe. We are celebrating with you today and missing you so much! I feel so blessed to know you!



Amari Matek, dear brother!