Meet Mirjam!

This is Mirjam Eisenhardt, a friend of Loom and a fellow Woven member. We got to know her last fall when she joined us in Tanzania. Loom organized a Woven trip to introduce some friends and investors to the Local Experts and projects we’re partnering with in East Africa. Here she shares a little of her story and what she learned during her time there.

Loom: Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Mirjam: I’m Mirjam and I grew up in Germany where I´m still living with my husband Martin. We have been married for 12 years and will soon become parents of two wonderful adopted children from Haïti. I am a paediatric nurse and two years ago I became a self-employed consultant with Mary Kay. In my time off I love photography, reading books, playing and listening to music and traveling around the world. Being part of other cultures, getting to know different people and languages is something that makes my heart sing.

L: What is something that keeps you up at night, something you’re passionate about?

M: I´m passionate about God and humans around the whole world. It is my inner “thing” to take care of others in thoughts, prayers and for real.

L: How did you first learn about Loom?

M: I got to know about Loom through Hanna Lederer. We met during a Christian family camp in Germany. We stayed in contact and then somehow Hanna told us that she was working with Loom International in Portland. Since then we are a part of her ministry and Loom.

L: What interested you in joining the Woven trip?

M: Well that’s an interesting question because I wasn’t seeking this trip — it found me!

Last year I had some dreams about going back to Africa. . .but not for holidays rather for being part of something special there. This feeling kept on and so I told my husband that I had no idea why, when and how but I would be going back to Africa. Three weeks later Hanna sent an email with her “updates” and wrote that Loom will be in Tanzania. That they wanted to plan and invite supporters on a trip called the “Woven trip”. I was so astonished and I knew that it was God’s way of saying “Here you go — that is the opportunity I want you to take!” So, I had no expectations and got one of the best presents in my life.

L: What was your experience of the Woven trip?

M: The Woven trip for me was full with very deep feelings, thankfulness and the knowledge that God takes care of everybody and that he remembers every single one of his children. I learned that if we are going to help others we have to listen and talk to them, be there with them and start at the bottom-line concerns. Seeing the whole thing is important, but to take it in little realistic pieces is the way it will work.

I´ve also learned from this experience that everybody has his/ her mission. There are people who are working and living with the vulnerable and there are people like me who are in the position where we can make money to support this work. So we are all together in this life, in this world.

We need people who are God’s workers — it doesn’t matter if we are working directly on the ground or if we are the ones who will be the financial supporters. God needs everybody for his kingdom in every single way.

L: What/Who inspired you?

M: There are so many people who inspired me — single persons and whole groups of people. Altogether, everybody on this trip and every woman, man and child I got to know captured my heart and inspired me. You are all great and blessed human beings — thank you for that.

L: How have those experiences continued to impact your life today?

M: I am still in contact with my new friends in Tanzania like John, Vicent and Sara. We talk via WhatsApp messages and we are being part of each other’s lives. It is a gift to know them, stay in contact with them and see how God is working with them together — through good and hard times.

Also I´m thinking about possibilities in how to support vulnerable people in Haïti and Africa, but also here in Germany. When we were in Haïti to visit our children, we were impacted by our time there too, and so my big desire is to be a part of something that makes the difference in this world.