A Letter From Christchurch

Just before I left for my 4 week trip away I had sent off more quilts to Christchurch, New Zealand, and Miriam had distributed them for me.
I received a lovely letter from one of the recipients with two photos and she has given me permission to post them here so you can see some of what the residents of Christchurch have endured and how much the gift of quilts have meant to them.

Dear Jan,

My name is Elsa and I’ve just received one of your beautiful quilts (it might have been made by Doreen, as her name is also written on there).

I work in the church office, so I’ve seen many of the quilts arriving and being given out to people affected by the quakes.

I was crushed in my car by a falling wall when the February earthquake happened. I spent two nights in hospital and have almost fully recovered from my injuries. I am very blessed compared to a lot of people. My husband and I got married in October and had planned to wait a little longer to have children, but changed our minds after the accident. I’m now 5 months pregnant and your quilt is such a beautiful gift. I can’t imagine how many hours must go into creating something like that. It is a real work of art!

I hope you don’t mind that I asked for a way to write and thank you. People around the world have been extremely kind and thoughtful and generous towards our city. It often makes me a bit teary. It is hard for us to receive things and not be able to thank the people involved, as often we don’t know who they are. It really does mean so much, all the little gifts adding up, and the knowledge that strangers are thinking of us with no desire to be repaid.

I pray that God will bless you for your kindness. Our family will treasure the quilt forever.

I have attached a couple of photos so that you can see just one of the lives that you have impacted with your gifts.

With love,

Elsa Wright

It's hard to see but that is actually Elsa's car which has been crushed during the earthquake and it is a miracle that she survived. Elsa, thank you for your beautiful letter and for allowing me to share it with all the generous quilters from around the world who have contributed to the donation of quilts.
As you can see, the quilts are reaching the people affected by the dreadful natural disasters experienced by so many people and the gift of a quilt is especially appreciated by the recipients. Now I'm back home from my travels I'm busy getting more quilts finished and will have photos to show tomorrow.
Hugs and thanks, Jan Mac