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for Denim Days to Satin Nights |
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I met Susan when she contacted me to ask if she could include my shop
in a flyer she would be giving out at craft fairs, farmers and flea markets.
Of course I said yes!
But what intrigued me even more
than the promotion,
was when she mentioned
that she and her husband
had built a church near where I live.
After several emails back and forth,
I learned that she and her husband
are missionary church builders.
They construct new buildings for small congregations in the US,
live full time in a 40' travel trailer,
and move every 3 to 15 months.
I wanted to share some of her jewelry
and story with you.
In her words:
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I've always loved working with my hands and creating things to make life a little sweeter. My first attempt at making jewelry was born out of a need to match a new outfit of unusual color. Later I was inspired by a friend's wedding, realizing that there was a need for beautiful pieces that could be matched to the bridal party while remaining affordable.
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| Dolphin Splash Perky White Howlite and Sterling Earrings |
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| Jacaranda Bling Chalcedony and Sterling Earrings |
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We are actually missionaries, supported by individuals and Baptist churches, working on
mission or very small Baptist churches. We are working under a mission agency whose
main focus is planting churches in areas where there are very few or no
Gospel-preaching churches. The building branch of our mission is a support ministry for
those church planters. Because we are missionaries and our support takes care of our
financial needs, the church saves thousands of dollars in labor costs which allows them
to be able to build sooner and with little or no debt -- we typically save the church
50-60% of the cost of construction. When the mission has no churches of our own to
build, we build for small works outside our mission. Churches have to pass a rigorous
criteria to get us -- not because we're snobs, but because there are so few of us and so
many churches. If a church wants us to come build and they applied today, it could take
4-5 years before they could get us -- our schedule is that filled.
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We live full time in RVs -- in any weather (we're in WI for the next year) and we don’t own a house anywhere. We have a volunteer program that works with us, they are Nehemiah builders and most are retirees who are self-supported. They have more flexibility about coming and going and which projects they want to work on. We also have families and groups who come to help us, usually for a Saturday, or sometimes for a week. For them, it's a "missions trip". We’ve built in OH, MI, IL, NY, WI and FL.
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| Key Lime Pure Amazonite and Sterling Earrings |
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| Swarovski Light Smoked Topaz and Bronze Pearl Earrings |
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There is a ministry aspect to what we do too -- besides the financial benefit to the
church. Every morning (at 10), our guys take a break -- coffee and snacks and group
Bible study. Everyone on the site at the time is invited -- so delivery men, inspectors,
contractors are all there -- and when we have "outsiders" on the site, they get a healthy
dose of God's simple plan of salvation. All of us were active in our churches before
going in to this ministry so we bring that ministry experience to these very small
churches (who usually can really use experienced workers). It's also not unusual to
have the opportunity to minister to an unchurched man whose wife is a member -- they'll
come out and work with our guys when you could never get them to darken the door of
a church for anything else. We also have opportunities in the community just because
of the uniqueness of what we do -- normally everyone knows that something is being
built -- their curiosity opens a lot of interesting conversations! And through us, our
supporting churches are investing in the ministries of these small churches.
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| Orange U Marvelous Pure Carnelian and Sterling Earrings |
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| We’ve been doing this for 12 years and when we first went “on the field”, we had two children who traveled with us. I homeschooled them which took a fair amount of my day. Two years ago, our youngest left the nest and I found myself having some extra time on my hands. We have not been fully supported, so I thought I should do something to bring in a little income, but the transient nature of our work makes finding a decent job difficult. I also realized I was going to be very tied to a schedule that could conflict with our ministry and I needed something very flexible (as well as something that required little space!). I’ve always been good with my hands, so when I was introduced to making jewelry, it was something I really enjoyed. I played with the idea of developing a business and was doing some research but didn’t get serious about it until a year ago – I had two major surgeries last year, without health insurance – and my interest became a necessity. I’ve done a few craft shows and flea markets and have learned a LOT! I hope to continue to grow my business and I look for opportunities to expand. There are still ideas floating around in my head for future designs – and I love working on new ideas!
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My husband and I have 5 children, 3 of ours and 2 married to ours, 2 grandchildren. We
enjoy football and NASCAR. I also enjoy playing piano, gardening (in buckets so it can
move if needed during the growing season), sewing, scrapbooking, and watching old
movies. I often serve as a decorating consultant for the churches we build.
Life is good! I'm blessed beyond words
with great family,
great friends and we're serving God
and we love what we do
-- how great is that!!
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| Jacaranda Bling Earrings |
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| Swarovski Cream Pearl and Golden Shadow Crystal Sterling Earrings |
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| Melon Mist Delight Cherry Quartz and Sterling Earrings |
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| Salsa Verde Glimmer Kambaba Jasper and Sterling Earrings |
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| Night and Day Powder Green and Sterling Earrings |
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| I hope you have enjoyed meeting Susan, learning about her work, and her lovely jewelry.
You can purchase Susan's jewelry in her etsy shop.
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