The craft world tends to be a bit fickle, Sister Mimi Ballard says. Some crafts are always popular, but others fade from favor and are replaced with something new.

The women who participate in Casa Ursulina in Chillán, Chile, are like women around the world in this regard. Sister Mimi is just happy they continue to participate in the Ursuline ministry that she founded 27 years ago.

“It’s still going well. We have 160 women coming weekly to different workshops,” Sister Mimi said. “We’re getting more younger women – in their 30s, 40s and 50s – it’s very encouraging. Many are the daughters or granddaughters of women who’ve come before. We had women who knew how to weave and spin yarn. The younger women didn’t want to learn that, but it’s coming back now. Using real wool is a big deal again in Chile. Our area is surrounded by farmers, they all have sheep.”

Sister Mimi came home to Maple Mount in November and will return to Chile when classes begin again in March 2025. That will be her 34^th consecutive year to serve in Chile, with a total of 42 years in the South American country.

“I hope my body doesn’t wear out before my desire to be there,” she said. “It’s life-giving. The women give me energy.”

Some traditional classes – such as baking – remain popular, but new painting classes have drawn much interest, Sister Mimi said.

“We’ve had oil and water painting in the past, but now a lady is teaching how to paint on cloth. It’s really nice,” Sister Mimi said. “She is also teaching how to make decorative items by painting on wood. They are painting dishes, or recycling old tea kettles by painting them and turning them into flower vases.”

Another popular class explains how to make recycled Christmas ornaments. That includes making Christmas trees out of old magazines, Sister Mimi said.

That class spawned a surprising development.

“There’s a tourist town about a half hour away, Quillon, which likes to gather women to craft,” Sister Mimi said. “They have trouble getting teachers. They wanted to know if it was possible to get our teachers to go there, but transportation is an issue. We suggested they send a few of their interested people to us, and they could go back and teach the rest. Instead, their municipality sent all 21 young women on a bus, waited for them, and then took them home. They come on Thursdays to do the recycled Christmas stuff. I was surprised that worked.”

Teaching the crafting lessons allows the women to make some additional money by selling their creations at craft fairs or online, Sister Mimi said. The main mission of Casa Ursulina has always been to build solidarity among the women in the impoverished area. Teaching them crafting skills helps them to rely on each other and to deepen their spirituality with Sister Mimi’s influence.

An independent nonprofit foundation is now in charge of Casa Ursulina and the administrative duties are no longer Sister Mimi’s responsibility. This gives her more time to do what she enjoys, such as visiting people.

“I’m visiting more people in their homes,” she said. “The older population is in our part of the city. We’re also visiting their caretakers, who have a 24/7 job. The public health service keeps us informed of someone we should visit.”

Sister Mimi also can offer more time to Casa Ursulina women who need to talk one on one.

“My office is the only place in the building that has any privacy,” she said. “If someone needs to talk, we can meet in my office, and I can give her the time she needs.”

Sister Mimi will serve in her 58^th year as an Ursuline Sister in 2025, and fully expects to spend that year in Chile.

“I hope I have a few more years in me,” she said. “I feel like Casa Ursulina will go on as long as it’s supposed to.”