Food, Fun, Faith, and Fear

Our St. James ECW group gathered this week to share a meal cooked by Sohaila and Rana. Twenty two women laughed, prayed and had a wonderful taste of authentic Afghan food. The women who participated were extremely generous in their donations for their "meals" and Sohaila and Rana felt validated and encouraged by their ability to earn money and develop friendship with their interfaith sisters.

Faithful prayers are being answered: An update on Samim, our Afghan family's son/brother who was left behind in Pakistan and has been living isolated and in fear of being stopped by authorities as his Pakistan Visa expired April, 2022. He has just received a six-month extension of his Pakistan Visa and can now go out to the market, visit a mosque, go to embassies, etc., without fear of being arrested as an illegal. Thanks be to God! Our team will continue all of our efforts to reunite Samim with his family here in the U.S., but can now pray our thanks for his temporary safety reprieve.

Our Refugee Ministry Team has been in contact with Bishop Kaleem John, the Anglican Bishop of Pakistan, in an effort to provide Samim with pastoral support. Bishop Kaleem took Samim to lunch and has offered his personal prayers and emails to Samim. Bishop Kaleem has shared with our Saint James team that his Anglican Church in Pakistan is undergoing accelerated persecution from government authorities and Muslim agitators. He asks us to pray for his church. In solidarity with our Anglican brothers and sisters, we offer our prayers for the Anglican Church of Pakistan in our weekly liturgy.

‍