At Mennonite World Conference, each of the 7,000 attendees received registration materials in this very nifty, handmade bag. 10,000 of these bags were sewn by MCC volunteers this past year, using donated ties as the strap. Very clever! At the end of conference, I decided to keep mine as a souvenir. (The colors were pretty snazzy, after all.)
Fast forward to two days later, in New York City, while Ted and I are getting ready for our first day of meetings at the UN. Ted - all suited up and starting to look pretty sharp - realizes that his ties have gone missing! Sure he packed them in Port-au-Prince, they are now nowhere to be found. The anxiety level starts rising. At first, we consider the 'no tie' option. The UN can handle something less formal, right? Well, that thought did not put Ted at ease. First impressions can mean a lot, after all. By some miracle, we snatched my quirky souvenir bag out of my suitcase and inspected its strap, appreciating that its former use and original purpose in life could still suit Ted's need quite well!
Some scissors, snip, snip, and we found our solution.
Sure, lime green and blue are not Ted's colors of choice, but I think they served him quite well! Just look at that fine chap, mugging alongside me in front of the famous UN statue after our morning meeting.
Thankful to not be worrying about our clothes during our first UN advocacy meeting, we were able to put our minds towards more substantive things. :) Thanks to resourcefulness; thanks to the Mennonites!
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