SERRV/ Mayan Hands Fair Trade Sale 
​Our annual Advent Fair Trade Sale will be held this year, but it will again be an online sale, and we are hopeful that many of you will participate. 

​          The following is a letter to all of us from Brenda Rosenbaum, who founded Mayan Hands:

Dear friends of the Burnt Hills UMC: 
         We hope that all of you and your families are doing well and staying strong at these most challenging times.  As we have for many years, we come again to you as the holiday season approaches.  The holiday sales are a lifeline for our artisan partners in Guatemala, who, in the midst of the pandemic are on strict lockdown and finding it difficult to provide for their families.
     Your church was the first one in the capital district to open its doors to a Mayan Hands sale, in 1993, the year I met my dear friends Nancy and Greg Adams. Since then you have partnered with the weavers who work with us and supported them by having a holiday sale at the church year after year.  MWe’re almost at the end of 2021 and the pandemic is still raging in Guatemala.  Thankfully, none of our artisan partners has become seriously ill, thanks to the local authorities in their villages locking down their
communities on and off to prevent the spread of the virus. For the past year, our Mayan Hands staff has been working with all kinds of limitations, but found ways around these to deliver raw materials to our artisan partners and collect their finished products safely. Our mission of providing a consistent income to the women we work with is always foremost in our minds. 
Love, Brenda
 
 We invite you to go to their website www.mayanhands.org to buy gifts for your loved ones. They have a lot of new items! The BHUMC sale will be from November 12 to November 16. Your purchases will be individually packed and delivered to the church.
 
Instructions for the sale:
—Go to www.mayanhands.org. You’ll see that the products are divided into categories that will make it easier to find what you want: baskets, felted products, accessories, tabletop, etc.  Select each product you would like and add it to your cart.
—When you’re done selecting your products, press buy it now. 
—In the next screen, you write down your contact information, email, name, and the shipping address of the church (Burnt Hills United Methodist Church 816 NY-50, Burnt Hills, NY 12027). 
—The next screen is Shipping:  on the top right side of the screen you’ll see a box that says Gift or
Discount Code: please write BHUMC (this code will automatically take off the shipping charges)
—Then press continue to payment: in this screen you will input your credit card information.  Please remember to write down YOUR billing address now (as it is different from the shipping address)
The products will be delivered to the church a few days later, individually packed and with your name and invoice taped to it.  You will be called to let you know when you can pick them up.
Delivery to your house can be arranged.


​Thank you for your continued support of Mayan Hands. Many blessings for you this holiday season and in the New Year. Let’s pray that 2022 be an easier year for people all over the world, that we will see the end of this terrible pandemic and a strong economic recovery.     -- The Outreach Commission