Raysham, hard at work on her sewing machine, is part of the SIFA Program that empowers women to become successful business owners, investing back into their communities. Faith-driven and gospel-centered, SIFA equips women with the tools to transform lives in Dar es Salaam and East Africa.

“Please, God, don’t send me to Africa.”

That’s what Ken Robinson had been saying since feeling a call to missions as a teenager. Yet, just a couple of weeks ago, Ken found himself in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with me and six others as part of the Storytellers Abroad Missions Multimedia Workshop.

Ken’s journey into multimedia began in 2019 when he took a leap of faith and joined our workshop in Santiago, Chile. That’s when I first met him. As an IT professional, Ken has always been deeply connected to technology. He even volunteers at his church, helping with IT and media every Sunday. The technical side of multimedia came naturally to him, but when it came to working with people, that was a different story.

Ken is the kind of person who’s comfortable behind the scenes, ensuring that PowerPoint slides run smoothly and the Wi-Fi is working. Stepping into the world of storytelling, especially getting up close to his subjects, was out of his comfort zone.

During the Tanzania workshop, we paired Ken with Cassie Timpy, a veteran storyteller, as his coach. Cassie’s mission was to push Ken out of the background and into a more personal space with his subject, Jamilah. Ken had some understandable apprehension, mainly because he was a man telling the story of a single woman. I intentionally paired him with Cassie for this very reason.

As Ken sat down with Jamilah, alongside missionaries Shantelle Meta and Steph Boon, he began to listen and understand her story. Slowly but surely, Ken’s hesitations started to fade. His excitement for the project grew, but Cassie kept encouraging him to move physically closer to capture better, more intimate footage. It was a challenge, but Ken embraced it despite the discomfort.

The result is a touching and powerful video about the SIFA Threads program, one of the many initiatives run by ABWE missionaries in Tanzania to spread the Gospel.

I invite you to watch Ken’s video, Sewing Threads of Hope, and learn more about the incredible work happening through SIFA Threads and how it brings hope to the lives of many in Tanzania.