Martin Luther College

Thalassa Prize

Thalassa

This award is given to recognize a Martin Luther College student or graduate who expresses clearly and beautifully, in image and word, a personal reflection on a WELS/CELC ministry experience overseas.

2024 Winner: Embroidered Garments

The winner of the 2024 Thalassa contest is Emily Rider MLC ’18 with her submission, “Embroidered Garments.”

Emily and her husband, Jesse Rider MLC ’18, are evangelists in Southeast Asia through the Friends Network. MLC’s Cultural Engagement Center awarded Emily $1,000, half of which she designated to the Friends Network. This is the 18th annual Thalassa Prize awarded by MLC.


Embroidered Garments

I watched this 94-year-old Hmong woman meticulously paint her designs on the fabric in front of her with a hand that had undoubtedly done this thousands of times. She and the other ladies of the village developed an intricate way of creating purses, tapestries, and clothing out of the hemp plants that grow all throughout the fields around them. They collect the hemp, split it, weave it together, soften it, and form beautiful pieces that they sell or give to those in need. The process takes days to make just one item. As I spoke with the women in my broken Vietnamese, I learned about the detailed care they put into the process they repeated every single day.

There was so much running through my mind as I left the women to continue their work: Don’t they get tired of doing the same thing over and over? Is it worth the hours of painstaking labor for the outcome, as beautiful as it may be?

And of course the big one: Has anyone told these wonderful people about their Savior?

Their Savior thoughtfully formed each of these women with his own hands. Their Savior painstakingly adorned them in clothing only he was worthy to wear. Their Savior loved them enough to leave his throne and give his life that they may wear the robe of righteousness and stand confidently in front of the King on the last day.

By God’s grace, their Savior is our Savior too.

“In embroidered garments she is led to the king” (Psalm 45:14).

Purposes of the MLC Thalassa Prize

  • To express gratitude to God for the opportunity to serve him in international venues.
  • To provide an opportunity for MLC students and graduates in WELS/CELC international ministry to share their stories.
  • To motivate and inspire current MLC students to consider serving overseas.
  • To bring glory to God through excellence in the arts of photography and creative writing.
  • To reaffirm through image and word the dignity of the entire human race and the desire of God to save all people.

Entrance Requirements

  • Open to all MLC undergraduates and graduates who have done WELS/CELC ministry or are doing WELS/CELC ministry outside the United States.
  • Each entry must include
    • A completed entry form.
    • A color digital photograph taken in a foreign mission field.
    • A personal reflection on ministry in that foreign mission field.
  • Entrants may submit as many entries as they wish.
  • Deadline for all submissions: April 30, 2025
  • Check out submission guidelines, photo and essay specifications, and judging criteria here.

Prize

  • The Thalassa Prize recipient will be announced in May or June.
  • The $1,000 prize will be divided equally between the winner ($500) and a WELS/CELC international mission of the winner’s choice ($500).
  • The winning submission may be published in MLC and WELS publications, posted online, and displayed on campus.