Sammamish Presbyterian Mission

07/25/2023

This amazing family waited six years in Turkey before arriving in the US from Afghanistan. We enjoyed helping to get them settled in their new home. If you'd like to be involved in serving refugees, please visit the SPC website (Events page) for our new Amazon wish list giving opportunities.

07/22/2023

Our SPC Member and ESL Teacher Gina Jones is serving in Lithuania. Read on for an update from her!

Laba diena! Good day!
For the month of July, I have been teaching English in Klaipedia, Lithuania at a summer language camp for teenage and adult learners. This is my second time in Lithuania. It’s good to be back and see some familiar faces and places and visit with a few of my students from last year. I love my new students and all the stories that they bring to the class. Most of them are from Lithuania, except there is one student from Ukraine and one student from Romania but all currently live in Lithuania. There are about 35 Ukrainian students this year and some of those are returning soon to Ukraine. It’s a diverse mix of students as there are also students from Armenia, Poland, the Netherlands, and the other Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia.
In addition, there is a teacher on our team from Afghanistan who is a student at the university finishing his degree.
As was last year, there is clear and unwavering support for Ukraine here given their shared histories of Soviet occupation and oppression. While I am here, I have been reading Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, a historical fiction novel based on real-life events. The story begins in Kaunas, a city near to Klaipeda, and tells the story of the Soviet deportation of many Lithuanians. I must admit with embarrassment that it is a history that I was unaware of before coming here last year. I’ve learned from students and other teachers with Lithuanian heritage about this horrible time in their history just after World War 2. Because of their history, Lithuanian support for Ukraine is strong and unwavering. This is the case for all Baltic States which includes Estonia and Latvia.
These are some of the posters that I have seen around the city and are examples of their support.
Viena Diena Ukraina Laimes-One day Ukraine win!

06/29/2023

New home day for this sweet family from Afghanistan! If you're interested in getting involved in helping refugee families rebuild homes and lives, get in touch at this link:

https://spconline.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1650434

06/21/2023

Read on for SPC member Martha Wenger's experiences supporting a ministry in Spain that fights agains human trafficking. From Martha:

As I shared previously, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Spain to support a ministry that fights against human trafficking. Papilio connects with women on the streets and acts on any request for rescue. Now I’d like to share what happens after that.
The name Papilio (butterfly in Latin) was chosen as a reminder that all people should have such freedom as the flight of a butterfly and that each woman has such beautiful potential. This is what I witnessed as I shared a day with women who have been rescued and met Turia, whose life has been completely transformed.
A few weeks ago, Tina gave a message at SPC about belonging. It is, what the displaced, isolated and hopeless women who are trafficked can find when they are rescued. They are taken to a safe house where they become part of a community, learning activities of daily living in a safe environment. Through support and trauma counseling they regain their God given identity and rebuild confidence and trust.
They work shifts at “Coffee Life “, a cozy café developed for the purpose of training rescued women with skills for their future independence. They also may receive scholarships for job training.
The transformation that happens in these women as they walk through their journey of recovery with such amazing support was evident as we spent the day with them. The time since rescue ranged from 2 weeks to 18 months. The progression in behavior and confidence and trust from 2 weeks to 18 months was clear. The contrast of vacant hopelessness in the eyes of the women on the streets with the hope for new life in the hearts of the rescued is the reason the volunteers of Papilio go out to the streets; making a difference one life at a time.
I’d like to share Turia’s story with you. She was born and raised in Morocco. Her father and step mother arranged marriage for her at age 13. She had 6 children and dealt with continual abuse from her husband. She was able to divorce him and she and her children were able to live with her sister. In 2017, there was no work for her in Morocco so she received a 3 month work permit to pick strawberries in Spain, earning wages to send to Morocco to provide for her children.
During that time in Spain, she was violated by the agricultural workers and deceived. She was moved to another city with the promise of work, but there was none. She ended up living in a two bedroom shack with four men that paid her 25 euros/month to take care of them. They would never let her leave the house and s*xually abused her. In November of 2018, she met Antonio and Maria, who were able to rescue her.
On October 25, 2020, Turia graduated from the rescue home. She received a monthly scholarship that was sent to Morocco to support her 6 kids. Today, she has received her papers to legally live in Spain. She has her own apartment and is working as a well loved caregiver for the elderly. She is working on papers to bring her children to Spain.
She joined us for the Community Awareness Day. She exudes joy and hope. She experienced the love that Jesus calls us to share and she knows it personally now. It was an honor to meet one with such courage and perseverance. She has found a place of belonging as she has walked through recovery. She is a butterfly flying free.

05/02/2023

SPC Member Martha Wenger recently returned from a mission trip to Spain to battle against human trafficking. Read on for some of her experiences.

My name is Martha Wenger. I recently had the opportunity to go to Spain with a mission team to help in the battle against human trafficking. I’d like to take a moment to share about my experience.

Ride For Freedom: cyclists joining together to "Do what they love (cycling) to fight what they hate (human trafficking)".

I heard this and felt a call. It all seemed pretty clear. I love cycling and human trafficking is horribly wrong. Of course I would want to fight against it. But hate (to feel intense or passionate dislike) is in juxtaposition to the message of love I had grown up with. Could I claim such intense feelings for human trafficking?

As I learned more facts, I came to realize it's a global issue, driven by money and power.
But it's been said, "The longest journey is the 18 inches from your head to your heart." My experience with human trafficking was just words on a page until I went to Spain.

In Spain I met Maria and Antonio, a husband and wife team who founded Papilio. Papilio is an organization staffed by volunteers, serving to meet the needs of those enslaved by traffickers. I learned about the deception so many girls experience. They are targeted because their home situation is poverty or below. Young girls are promised jobs and education in a foreign land. Their families give their blessing, sending them away with hope for money to be sent home. Their hopes of a better future are dashed as they are used as bribes for border crossings and arrive in Spain with no papers and no jobs. Instead, they now have a debt for being transported to Spain. Their only option is to pay down the debt by working in the s*x trade.

With Papilio, we had a couple of opportunities to serve these young women. First we loaded up a couple vans with food and met the women outside of their home. Each bag of food was handed out with such care; with a hug and the European double cheek kiss, as one friend would greet another.

The second opportunity came that evening. We went out to the streets with Maria. We loaded the van with hot chocolate, pastries and hygiene kits. We drove to an industrial area, where the young women have regular spots they “work” from. Maria knows their names and their stories. They call her "mama". She greets them with a smile and a hug and a kiss. Some women were ones that we had given food to earlier. Now they were almost unrecognizable as they had wigs and makeup on. We pass a couple empty chairs and Maria says " the girls are "working", we'll come back." We drove in circles, down dark streets and well lit ones, not wanting to miss one single girl out "working" that night. I recorded 40+ names that night. I looked into the eyes of each girl as I asked their name and what country they were from. The faces of human trafficking. I felt the weight of the darkness of the evil of human trafficking. It was overwhelming. But the light of Jesus was shining bright, piercing the darkness, as Maria touched and spoke and listened to each girl. The fire of hate for human trafficking was ignited in my heart. Praise the Lord for the work and ministry of Papillio!

Papilio makes connections and builds trust. Then one day, a girl says "I want out." and a chain of events is set in motion to rescue her. Sadly trafficking continues, but as in the parable of The Lost Coin, there is great rejoicing when what was lost is found. (Luke 15:8-9) Papilio rejoices as hope is renewed and lives are changed, one life at a time.

"Cuando los que tienen VOZ la alzan por los que no Pueden, es cuando nace la ESPERANZA"
(translation: When those who have a VOICE raise it for those who cannot, that's when HOPE is born)

As I return to my familiar surroundings, I will continue to seek ways to raise my voice for those who cannot. My motto before I left was “Pedaling for Change”. Change in the lives of those enslaved by traffickers. Change of the level of awareness in those I interact with. And change (funds) to support the work of Papilio. In answering the call of Ride for Freedom, I am forever changed.

02/06/2023

On the morning of February 6th two large earthquakes and many aftershocks devastated parts of southeast Turkey and northwest Syria. Thousands have been killed and many more have been left homeless by the destruction. On top of this, the region has already been struggling with other issues, such as the years long war in Syria that has destroyed most of the infrastructure and unusually fierce winter storms that have hampered both countries.
SPC's mission partner, World Relief, is on the ground in both Turkey and Syria and is working through their network of local churches to bring immediate aid and supplies to those impacted by this tragedy. If you would like to help World Relief in their efforts, we invite you to donate and also join us in praying for our brothers and sisters in the region. World Relief Sammamish Presbyterian Church

Donate here: https://tinyurl.com/yrp64vvy

11/15/2022

We are honored to continue to work with refugee families through World Relief! Last month, we provided household items to a family of 7 from Afghanistan, and the quilt pictured was made by our SPC quilters.

If you are interested in contributing to families that we'll work with in upcoming months, please send a message or contact the SPC office.

10/12/2022

SPC Missions been working with World Relief to help provide support to refugee families. We invite you to read about Home to Home, a free, interactive exhibit from World Relief that builds understanding around the crisis of forced displacement.

You can visit From Home To Home at the Hilton Bellevue November 7th to November 11th.

From Home to Home is a free interactive exhibit that builds understanding around the crisis of forced displacement. Refugees and asylees face countless challenges and difficult decisions along their journey to resettlement. From Home to Home simulates these decision points and common difficulties in...

10/01/2022

Our own Director of Adult and Mission will be running the New York City Marathon in November in support of World Vision and we invite you to check out Brandon's story. World Vision is a long-time partner of SPC, and we are excited Brandon is taking on this challenge to help transform lives!

A fundraising page for Brandon Bleek

09/15/2022

The shelves of the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank have quickly emptied recently due to a cut in federal programing, and they are in need of non-perishable goods. If you'd like to help out please see priority items, drop off times, and drop off location here: https://issaquahfoodbank.org/donate

The next drop off date is this Saturday! You can also drop off items on a table in Sanctuary Hall on Sunday. (But we will only be accepting the items listed on the IFCB page).

Thanks for caring for our community!

07/26/2022

Read on for another update from our very own SPC ESL teacher, Gina, about her work in Lithuania!

Hello SPC family and friends,
I’ve been here in Lithuania now for over three weeks. It’s been an amazing experience teaching at the Summer Language Institute at LCC in Klaipeda and also living in community with the other teachers. When I came, I knew one other person and have met many new friends and fellow teachers. We’ve broke bread together, shared ideas on lesson plans, shared living quarters in the dorms and yes, tried some traditional Lithuanian food. We’ve also visited a local church here. On one Sunday, the pastor shared his thoughts about the Good Samaritan story from Luke 10. We had three translations, one in Lithuanian, one in English, and one in Ukrainian. Basically, his message was that the Good Samaritan had to give up or sacrifice many important things in order to be the good neighbor. The Good Samaritan gave up his time, his money, his safety as the robbers may have been nearby, and his only mode of transportation. The point was that it cost him a lot. It also was not important for us to know who the injured man was but rather to know about the responses of those who saw the injured man.
Here in this region, there are many hurting people from the war in Ukraine. There are families torn apart because the men are still in harms way in Ukraine and the women and children are here. They miss their homes, their friends and family. Some of the students seem shell-shocked and some we wonder if they were injured with some shrapnel. It’s hard to know and we don’t pry. We give our time, give a hug or praise for good work and try to normalize.
Lithuanians are serving the Ukrainians refugees. Buses are free and the refugees can shop for free at second-hand thrift stores. The government gives a stipend to each family for food. A nearby church has rented out an entire hotel for refugee families. Many families are hosting refugee families in their homes. And here at SLI at LCC, Ukrainians get a significant discount for these language classes. Nobody is asking “what must I do?” They are just doing it. They are like the Good Samaritans of today.
Thanks for reading.

07/26/2022

We are partnering with World Relief Seattle to welcome refugees. Want to join us? Comment here!