First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara is engaged broadly and deeply in God’s mission. Led by two session elders and a commissioned lay pastor for mission, the mission team leads the congregation in its mission engagement. The congregation provides prayer support and partial financial support to numerous global missionaries, hosting them when they visit our area. “First Pres” supports many local missions, and many church members are actively engaged in local ministry. The congregation participates in short term mission trips, either with IMPACT or with its own leaders. Out of one of those trips has come the sister-sister partnership with First Church Chiang Mai, Thailand. First Pres hosts an Ethiopian congregation. For 21 years First Pres has hosted the Santa Barbara Mission Conference, joining with local ecumenical partners to plan and produce the annual event.
This week in Mission News…
FREEDOM WARMING CENTER
“The Freedom Warming Centers (FWC), a grassroots partnership between nonprofits and faith communities, provide temporary “pop-up” shelter for the County’s people living without homes during dangerously cold or damp weather conditions.
In 2009, a Santa Barbara resident, known by the name of “Freedom,” died on our streets after being exposed to cold and wet winter weather. Stories like his were far too frequently in the news at that time, and our County’s annual “Homeless Death Report” marked winter after winter of preventable deaths from exposure to the elements.
A group of homeless advocates, faith community, and others began working on solutions that would reduce or eliminate the chances of anyone dying from winter conditions in Santa Barbara County. From those meetings, the Freedom Warming Centers was born.” (Quoted via Website for Freedom Warming Center – https://ussb.org/justice/fwc/).
The First Presbyterian Church has been involved with them for many years. We get together a group of people who cook a meal and serve the homeless when the weather gets cold and wet. Our Christian Fellowship Center becomes a “pop-up” shelter and provides a safe and comfortable space. One comment heard from one of the attendees of the shelter was “I am grateful because here we are treated with respect and dignity being served a warm meal on a table with tablecloths and real dishes”.
Jesus said to us ““Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40)”
That is our commitment. The Warming Center is open from November through March (our rainy season). FPCSB is only on call for one week at a time rotating their time with other churches.
We pray that many of you in the congregation will be able to work at the shelter and provide support. Please contact Chuck Curtis ([email protected]) for more information and how you can be a part of this worthwhile outreach opportunity.
Tito Paredes Update
Thank you for your prayers and support of our theological and missiological educational mission work through our mission center, CEMAA, in Lima Peru. As mentioned before after over two years of being closed we have begun to slowly offer courses in mission, theology and biblical languages both by ZOOM and being present. Our audience has increased to participants not only from Peru but from other parts of Latin America.(Please pray that we will learn the new internet tools adequately to teach and reach participants more effectively.)
Regarding the political situation in Peru, it continues to be very unstable. The congress with a very conservative majority in alliance with a leftist party have decided to stay in power until 2026 in spite that they have over 90 % disapproval,the executive branch with a similar disapproval has become an ally of congress. Meanwhile protests against the congress and president Dina Boluarte continue with demand them be accountable for the people who were killed.(Please pray, if so desire, for the resignation of president Boluarte and the closing of the congress)
Our next web seminar on the role of evangelism in theological education and missiological formation will be held on Sept. 24. This will be in preparation for a Latin American consultation in October from 11 to 16. We are . looking forward to these discussions. We expect about 18 participants from different parts of Latin America. (thank you for your prayers for this event.)
Please continue to pray for Joy’s health. The last three weeks have been very challenging as she had some panic attacks and hallucinations. She is getting several tests. The good news is that she has a new physical therapist who says that she will be able to be put in a wheelchair and this will allow us to take her to places. (thank you for your prayers for her.
We are delighted that Marcos turned in his MA thesis at Bonn university in Germany. He will continue with his doctoral degree in the same institution. We are delighted he is part of our ministry team here in Peru.
Care Corps International
FPCSB is proud to work with Care Corps International.
Dr. James Witty (former pastor of First Presbyterian Church) started Care Corps International in 1996 in response to victims of war in the former Yugoslavia during the Bosnia conflict.
Care Corps International is a crisis care education resource ministry for Caregivers in places of crisis, war and disaster. By following the principal given in 2 Timothy 2:2 they seek to train pastors, relief and mission workers, and lay-counselors to be better equipped servants of the Lord as they minister to hurting children.
They continue the work all over the world including 6 countries in Africa, the Americas and Europe along with 8 Countries in Asia.
Please continue to pray for this organization and all of its workers as they continue to provide help and assurances to the victims of war and conflict in particular the children.
See this website for videos and informative information regarding Care Corps International.
YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO HELP UKRAINE
Many in the congregation have asked, “How can I Help Ukraine and God’s Hidden Treasures?”
Well, an opportunity is available, and we could really use your assistance! A group of us met on Monday and put together 25 Solar Light and Cell Phone Charging stations ($125 each). These are critically needed, as in many places there is no electricity…or clean water! We also have Water Purification devices ($25 each) that are attached to the end of a hose that can bring drinkable water where there are no clean water sources. Donations can be made for this equipment, but we also need to raise funds for the shipping cost to Ukraine. Would you prayerfully ask God if you might help with this cost? Please contact Susan Croshaw or Chuck Curtis if you would like to give to this project.
Also, Nita Hanson continues to send us updates on the work being accomplished there. If you would like to receive her emails, please let Tim Hamilton or Chuck Curtis know. Please know that we are so grateful for all of our partners here at First Pres Santa Barbara.
Dana and Brandi Bates
Dana and Brandi Bates founded New Horizons Foundation in 2000 and launched Viata. Viata is a ministry of Young Life, teaching Romanian youth trust, responsibility, honesty, courage, hope and other character traits. I recently had lunch with both Brandi and Dana Bates, their two children, and some of the members of mission team and members of First Presbyterian Church.
During lunch I asked Dana to explain more about his program of Adventure Education. He explained to me that when Russia gained control over Romania in 1944 there was an atmosphere of oppression in society. Part of way that communism maintains control is that it mitigates a feeling of distrust of your fellow neighbors, making sure that “I” is more important than “we”. When no one individual is allowed freedom of thought or ideas and the government encourages “turning in” anyone who is not adhering to the rule of the country then there is a feeling of distrust and dishonesty among its people. This permeated the culture to the point that the youth did not know how to work together as a group.
When Dana decided to form Viata / Young Life in Romania his goal was to help youth see that trust and honesty and working together would benefit not only individual lives but the country as a whole. Although Romania’s communist government ceased to be in power by the 1960s the populace still needed time to adjust to their freedoms and the youth are the hope of Romania. The country was also allowed to join NATO in 2004 – hopefully securing that Russia would not be able to invade their country.
As Dana puts it “Through two proven experiential education strategies – adventure education and service leaning – Viata is facilitating a shift in perception away from win-lost way of thinking toward a Win-Win cooperative ethic and the long term benefits that result” His adventure education involves mountain trail biking and hiking and working together to build these trails.
Literacy had been rampant in Romania as well during the communist regime and Brandi began to see a real need for parent’s participation in reading to young children, thereby thwarting the literacy in the children and their children. She has been recognized as a leader in Romania for literacy.
Both Dana and Brandi continue to work hard to help Romanian people love each other and more importantly love the Lord and the blessings that God has to offer. Please continue to pray for this family and their continued success.
You may see more about them on the Website: cpcvetura.org/Romania and Brandi’s Facebook page. Brandi Anderson Bates
JULY 20 UPDATE FROM NITA HANSON
Next Tuesday I start the long 3 day journey back to the States. It is always heart wrenching when I have to leave all my loved ones here. Please pray for Lillya’s and my train trip from Kiev to Chelm, Poland and then for my flights which leave early in the morning the day after we get to Poland, flying from Warsaw, Poland to Amsterdam and then to Orlando, Florida.
Since the war started, we have been in many areas of Ukraine bringing life necessities and especially the hope and love of Jesus. Because of this we have made many new friends and have contacts all over Ukraine. It is especially helpful when we are wanting to know what kind of help is needed specifically for their area. What a gift to have the hands and feet right there on site to tell us!
Recently the doctor from the clinic in Sumy Region which we helped called Valentina with an urgent request for tourniquets. This is the clinic which is very close to the active war zone – they not only take care of the people there, but help many of the wounded soldiers who come directly from the front.
Because of our contact with the wonderful organization, Bridge of Life, Valentina was able to call them and ask for help. The very next day they sent tourniquets directly to the clinic. They have also sent us several boxes of syringes and medicine which we sent to the Sumy Clinic. Thanks to all of us working together, they received the tourniquets within a couple of day!
The brave doctors and nurses serving near the front line in Sumy Region:
Another organization from the Chernigiv Region who Vadim and Tonya had met while on a trip there, called and told us that they were going to put on 8 camps in the Chernigiv Region and 3 in the Donetsk Region for kids who live in the areas being bombed. It was such a joy to be able to help them, especially since we couldn’t do our camps this summer. We bought and sent supplies ranging from coloring books, pencils and pens, games, and sports equipment to prizes and sweets.
#
The camps started in the town of Myckolaivka, Donetsk region. Every day they had 25 kids. They were supposed to have camp for three days but the kids were so excited and in such need of some positive emotions that they stayed for five days. On the final day there were many parents present. They listened and sang the Christian songs and took part in the skit. These camps will continue through August. Please pray for protection of the children and the volunteers and for healing for the children who suffer from the trauma of war.
Today we met with pastor Serghei who we have been helping go to the Kherson Region. He shared some pretty horrifying stories of what it’s like there now. Just think, almost from the beginning of the war, they were mostly occupied and declared to be part of Russia. Since they were liberated, they have been getting bombed constantly and many places are total ruins now. As if that wasn’t enough, they got flooded when Russia blew up the dam and lost even what little they had. Now they are without food, water, and utilities.
When the volunteers go there with vans, bringing life-giving water, food and medical supplies, they instantly become a target for the Russian drones. They are constantly dodging bombs just because they are trying to help keep the people alive.
In one small village a few Russian soldiers recently wandered through. The villagers asked them, “Why are you bombing us? There are only old women and men living here. The soldiers told them that if their superior officers think it is “too quiet” in the areas they are responsible for (meaning no bombing is going on), they are told they will not be paid and will be reported.”
This is not the first time that we have heard of our volunteers being specifically targeted by the Russian military. Please be praying for their safety as they risk their lives to bring this help.
Please pray for Pastor Serghei and his group of volunteers as they will be traveling tomorrow to the Kherson Region and ministering there for the next day or two after that. I am praying that God makes them invisible to the enemy!
Pastor Serghei on the right when we were loading their van today:
#
This week Vadim, Tonya, Nickolay, and a new volunteer, Vlad, who drove a second van, returned to the Dnipro Region to minister in the small villages there. You can’t imagine the people’s joy when they came. They are so hungry for the word of God that it pure joy for them to go there. They are on their way back as I write this.
Our Tonya gives the best hugs and love:
#
They gave out food, hygiene products and many boxes of clothes and shoes that were donated by NY Start, Norway. This morning we received the following from the officials there:
“Good morning! Our community is very grateful to you for your cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Both yesterday and today, people thank you for not forgetting about them, they are delighted with yesterday’s holiday, they liked it, people even cried with joy, because they have not had a holiday for a long time. A low bow and sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
And me getting a big hug from Lillya today when I came to work:
#
Please be praying for wisdom for a couple of new projects we are considering for some of the small villages in the flooded Kherson Region! And, as always, it with grateful and heartfelt thanks to all of you for providing the means to do all that the Lord is giving us to do.
###
CEMAA, United World Mission
Love the Child in Guatemala
“Please keep our twin…their separation.”
Dear friends:
Warm greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ!
This month of July is our independence day month. On July 28 1821, Argentinian Jose de San Martin, proclaimed Peru ‘s political independence from Spain. In 2021 we commemorated 200 years of this independence. During the pandemic, since everything was closed, Tito, through CEMAA, convened a study group of Peruvian pastors and professors to contribute ten articles to an ebook LOS EVANGÉLICOS EN EL BICENTENARIO (The Evangelicals and the Bicentenary). The book explores the contribution of evangelicals to Peru in the last 200 years.
On December 7, 2022 ex-president Castillo attempted a coup that failed mainly because he did not have the support of the army. Since then president Dina Boluarte, his vice president has become the president. She and the congress, both very unpopular, are governing Peru as an authoritarian regime moving toward a dictatorial government. Protests against her and the congress started as soon as she took office, on December 7 2022. The protests have continued! During the government repression of these protests 47 people have been killed, mainly indigenous quechuas and aymaras from southern Peru. No government officials have been brought to trial yet! This coming July 19, again, a major protest will take place here in Lima, with people coming from the interior of the country. Please Pray that there will be no more deaths and these protests will be energetic but peaceful. Many of us are praying, although humanly speaking impossible, for her resignation, the closing of congress and new general elections as soon as possible.
Aymara indigenous peoples of Puno, southern Peru, preparing to go to Lima to protest next Tuesday July 19. PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACEFUL PROTESTS AND RESTRAIN OF THE POLICE AND ARMED FORCES(Picture taken from La Republica July 16 2023)
The evangelistic campaigns of the new church, across CEMAA, have continued and slowly but surely new people are coming. They are weekly conferences as part of their evangelism campaign. My friend Thomas has become a regular attendee and I believe he has accepted the Lord. Praise God for this!! Please pray for him as his health is not very good!
Another organization from the Chernigiv Region who Vadim and Tonya had met while on a trip there, called and told us that they were going to put on 8 camps in the Chernigiv Region and 3 in the Donetsk Region for kids who live in the areas being bombed. It was such a joy to be able to help them, especially since we couldn’t do our camps this summer. We bought and sent supplies ranging from coloring books, pencils and pens, games, and sports equipment to prizes and sweets.
#
The camps started in the town of Myckolaivka, Donetsk region. Every day they had 25 kids. They were supposed to have camp for three days but the kids were so excited and in such need of some positive emotions that they stayed for five days. On the final day there were many parents present. They listened and sang the Christian songs and took part in the skit. These camps will continue through August. Please pray for protection of the children and the volunteers and for healing for the children who suffer from the trauma of war.
Today we met with pastor Serghei who we have been helping go to the Kherson Region. He shared some pretty horrifying stories of what it’s like there now. Just think, almost from the beginning of the war, they were mostly occupied and declared to be part of Russia. Since they were liberated, they have been getting bombed constantly and many places are total ruins now. As if that wasn’t enough, they got flooded when Russia blew up the dam and lost even what little they had. Now they are without food, water, and utilities.
When the volunteers go there with vans, bringing life-giving water, food and medical supplies, they instantly become a target for the Russian drones. They are constantly dodging bombs just because they are trying to help keep the people alive.
In one small village a few Russian soldiers recently wandered through. The villagers asked them, “Why are you bombing us? There are only old women and men living here. The soldiers told them that if their superior officers think it is “too quiet” in the areas they are responsible for (meaning no bombing is going on), they are told they will not be paid and will be reported.”
This is not the first time that we have heard of our volunteers being specifically targeted by the Russian military. Please be praying for their safety as they risk their lives to bring this help.
Please pray for Pastor Serghei and his group of volunteers as they will be traveling tomorrow to the Kherson Region and ministering there for the next day or two after that. I am praying that God makes them invisible to the enemy!
Pastor Serghei on the right when we were loading their van today:
#
This week Vadim, Tonya, Nickolay, and a new volunteer, Vlad, who drove a second van, returned to the Dnipro Region to minister in the small villages there. You can’t imagine the people’s joy when they came. They are so hungry for the word of God that it pure joy for them to go there. They are on their way back as I write this.
Our Tonya gives the best hugs and love:
#
They gave out food, hygiene products and many boxes of clothes and shoes that were donated by NY Start, Norway. This morning we received the following from the officials there:
“Good morning! Our community is very grateful to you for your cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Both yesterday and today, people thank you for not forgetting about them, they are delighted with yesterday’s holiday, they liked it, people even cried with joy, because they have not had a holiday for a long time. A low bow and sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
And me getting a big hug from Lillya today when I came to work:
#
Please be praying for wisdom for a couple of new projects we are considering for some of the small villages in the flooded Kherson Region! And, as always, it with grateful and heartfelt thanks to all of you for providing the means to do all that the Lord is giving us to do.
###
Through our center, we continue to hold monthly seminars on mission themes. Last June we held a seminar on the Mission of God and Interculturalism: The purpose of the seminar was “to explore the relationship between sharing and living the good news of the gospel and interculturality. By interculturality, it is meant that attitude, worldview, behavior that in its interaction with other people, from other cultures with different languages, assumes a reciprocal and respectful relationship that values their cultural identity and is willing to learn and enrich themselves in the light of their different cultural traditions. We will explore an anthropological perspective as well as a biblical-theological perspective on the subject.”, we usually have a speaker on the subject and then a panel discussion including questions from the audience. Our next seminar-event will be on July 22 with members of the Latin American Fellowship, the Peruvian chapter. This will be an encounter to find out how our members are and what they have been up to, your prayers for this event will be appreciated.
On the home front, Joy continues to hang in there bedridden but most of the time in good spirits and generally stable. For two weeks Tania who works from home is on vacation visiting his brother Miguel and wife Pame in Danville California. She is having a great time with her two nieces Adrianita and Victoria. Tito is alone at home taking care of Joy. Our son Miguel, who lives in the states, gave us a nice surprise visit on Saturday and sunday. Nice unexpected surprises that God provides for us! PTL!
Marcos is doing an intensive course in the university of Mainz Germany, including German and theology. He returns to Bonn next week and will be busy finishing his MA thesis as the deadline is September 15. He has a lot of it already advanced. Please pray that he will finish this thesis and find funding for his doctoral studies at Bonn.
Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership in our ministry in and from Peru!
In His precious name,
Tito, Joy, Tania and Marcos
Love the Child (Amor del Niño) is a private Christian orphanage that provides comprehensive care and developmental support for abandoned, orphaned, abused, and special needs infants in Guatemala. The private home was founded after Shyrel Osborn, who had spent several years working private and government orphanages throughout Guatemala, witnessed that many orphanages were limited in their ability to care for the intense needs of newborns. Shyrel was inspired to create an orphanage that provided every child the family environment they need to flourish. Love the Child has created a unique, family–like atmosphere in which to care for these precious children. They currently care for around 50 children, from newborns to 5 years old. The majority of the children are under 3 years old. The home receives an average of one newborn per week. Their goal is to enable these children, through loving relationships with caring adults and with one another, to develop into healthy and complete image bearers of God who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who will have a positive effect on their culture and their world. Since Guatemala closed international adoptions in 2007, Love the Child has focused on advocating for national adoptions. Since 2013, more than 25 children have been adopted each year into loving Guatemalan families.
SANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION
The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission are holding monthly tours again on the first Wednesday of the month at 11:00 A.M. Please contact the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission if you are interested in taking a tour. The next Santa Barbara Rescue Mission graduation will be held at South Coast Church on Saturday, July 15, at 5:00 P.M. These are incredibility moving celebrations of the remarkable changes in the lives of the men and women in their 12-month recovery program. The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission holds graduations every year in March, July, and November. Please consider attending a graduation in the future. The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission has served the county and city of Santa Barbara since 1965, providing emergency services and long-term recovery for the homeless and addicted. The Rescue Mission is the only emergency shelter that is open 365 nights of the year from Oxnard to Santa Maria. On an annual basis, the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission provides approximately 70,000 meals and 32,000 overnight stays.
Donate to the Wish list:
Backpacks
Razors
Single Sheets
Socks
Toiletries
Towels
Please contact Rebecca at 805.966.1316 x 105
June 18 Update from Nita Hanson of God’s Hidden Treasures
Flood Victims Drowning, Rescuers Being Killed, Lack of Fresh Water. Like a scene from a Horror Film, here is the latest from our Mission Partner, Nita Hanson of God’s Hidden Treasures:
The news continues to come in of more and more tragedies from the flood. The ones that have been the hardest for me personally are the stories coming in of people trying to rescue their friends and relatives who are stranded by the floods, and being shot and killed by Russian snipers. One was a 32-year-old woman who was pregnant. She was trying to rescue her grandparents when she was shot and killed by a Russian sniper.
Russia is not rescuing people stranded in the territories they occupy, but shooting anyone who tries to rescue them. This has to be evil at its worst. For what possible gain? Is a young pregnant woman a threat to them? Or unarmed rescuers? Following are some of the news reports we have received:
“At last, help came for Vitalii Shpalin. From a distance, he spotted the small Ukrainian rescue boat traversing floodwaters that had submerged the 60-year-old’s entire neighborhood after a catastrophic dam collapse in the country’s embattled south. He and others boarded with sighs of relief — interrupted suddenly by the crackle of bullets. Shpalin ducked, and a bullet scraped his back. He felt one pierce his arm, then his leg. The boat’s rescue worker cried into the radio for reinforcements. “Our boat is leaking,” Shpalin heard him say. An elderly man died before his eyes, his lips turning blue. Their vessel, taking civilians to safety in Kherson city across the river, had been shot by Russian soldiers positioned in a nearby house, according to Ukrainian officials and witnesses on the boat.
They (Russians) let the boats through – those coming to rescue people,” Shpalin said. “But when the boats were full of people, they started shooting.”
The Russian Federation provided nothing in the areas they occupy – no aid, no evacuation. They abandoned people alone to deal with the disaster,” said Yulia Valhe, evacuated from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. “I have my friends who stayed there, people I know who need help. At the moment I can’t do anything except to say to them, ‘Hold on.’”
This is what we must deal with in addition to the massive flooding. Please pray for God to stop those snipers and allow rescuers to come to the territories they occupy.
Now that the waters are receding, the number of dead are being found and there are many. And already disease is breaking out. We are so thankful for the relationships we have made with some of the clinics we helped. Doctor Pavel in the Mickolayiv Region has identified 8 villages in his area alone that have absolutely no clean water. We sent him a box of approximately 10,000 water pills which he will distribute to them.
Dr. Pavel also gave us a list of 5 medicines we are buying for each family to help treat Cholera, dysentery, and other disease associated with contaminated water (List of medicines for flooded areas:
Antimicrobial agents used in intestinal infections, Antibiotics for intestinal diseases, Pills for the pancreas, Sorbent, antidot, and probiotics.)
We are now redirecting all our efforts to the flooded areas – somewhere around 98 villages have been flooded, plus the city of Kherson. We are expanding our outreach so that we are now sending out 500 of those packages to those areas each month.
From Chaplain Andrew’s trip to the Kherson area:
We sat down this week and came up with the best possible food, hygiene, and medical packages we can send to Kherson and Mickolayiv Regions. Together, these 3 packages are designed to keep a family alive for 1 month. In addition to these, we will be sending 5-liter bottles of water with each van. These packages also contain enough water purification pills for a family for a month and a bottle of Clorox for disinfectant. Just those things alone have tripled the cost to supply 1 family.
We thank all of you who have so faithfully supported our efforts – your continued giving is enabling us to not only continue but expand our efforts to keep people alive until more help can come. Your prayers encourage and help us continue our efforts. Forgive my lack of words to express our deep thankfulness and gratitude.
Update on Elmarie and Scott Parker in Beirut
The following letter is excerpts from Elmarie and Scott Parker, mission partners of the Presbyterian Church, USA, serving in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. They are supported by the prayers and gifts from First Presbyterian Church sent Santa Barbara.
”Before the destruction of the US led invasion of Iraq, occupation by Isis, and the ensuing battle led by Iraqi and US coalition forces to expel Isis, Mosul was an ethnically and religiously diverse city made up of Kurds, Sunni Muslims, Assyrians and other Christians, Turkmens, and other smaller ethnic groups. It has been nicknamed Variously over the centuries: “the Paradise,” “the Green,” “the Humped,” “the Pearl of the North,” and sadly, more recently, “the city of a million soldiers.” But the building remains in Mosul, a testimony to the persevering presence of Christian ministry in a city that is now mostly empty of Christians. It was used as an open-fire kitchen by Isis, leaving the walls blackened and the symbols of the church shattered, except for the keystone in the entry gate. The building suffered a missile strike through the roof by coalition forces when Isis was being driven from the city. It took 150 truckloads to clear the rubble away and begin restoration work after 2017.
“Onto to the blackened walls a visiting team from the Outreach Foundation, representing some of the many American Presbyterian churches who contributed to the restoration of the Mosul church, wrote scripture verses, including Matthew 5:44: “but I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Later, the non-Christian workers who carried out the reconstruction asked what these words meant, especially since Christians and many others had suffered so much at the hands of Isis. They wondered how Christians could love their enemies. This opened many a conversation between Iraqi Presbyterians and their neighbors. Now that the church building has been restored, Rev. Samer Karam shared with us their intention to hold regular prayer meetings at the church, even though it is unlikely that the families of the church will return to Mosul. Even more so, he emphasized that the church wants to use the building as a site of ministry to the wider community, hosting a medical clinic an offering English as a second language classes. Both requests came from the non-Christian community around the church building.”
I am humbled by the ways in which our Lord brings new beginnings literally out of the rubble. The good news of Jesus Christ continues to come alive in communities throughout Iraq as our Iraqi siblings in Christ serve their neighbors and even those who could easily be perceived as enemies with love expressed in practical ways. Their deep roots in Iraq are springing forth with new shoots of life through the ministries described here, two new worshipping communities (one in Erbil and one in Dohuk) and expanded educational ministries in Baghdad. They remain a steadfast presence in Basra and Kirkuk as well. What a privilege we have as American Presbyterians in the PC(USA) to learn from and accompany this beloved part of Christ’s body in Iraq.
CARE CORPS UPDATE
Rev. Dr. Jim Witty is the founder of Care Corps, a Christ-centered ministry which responds to survivors of trauma, natural disasters, and wars. In 2006 Jim concluded his time as First Presbyterian’s Parish Associate in order to devote full time to Care Corps.
Also, our church enjoys his periodic appearances in the pulpit and in front of the Adult Ed class. In May Dr. Ted Hole and Easton Freet joined Jim Witty in Tirana, Albania, for the East Europe Forum. Jim and his Care Corps team were there to train Eastern Europe church leaders and mission staff for their compassion and counseling ministry. Currently, Care Corps is training the staff of Bridge Builders in San Diego, preparing them for a children’s trauma care program in July. Bridge Builders reaches out to 100 Afghan refugee families and over 60 youth who attend the afterschool tutoring programs.
Care Corps has been part of Mission Team’s giving from the beginning.
Jacqueline’s IMPACT TRIP June 2023 – Jui Valley, Romania
This June Jacqueline Smith will be traveling as part of an outreach team with the organization
I.M.P.A.C.T. (International Missions Partnerships & Cross-cultural Training). Her
adventure will take her to Romania where she and others will serve the impoverished coal-mining
town of Lupeni in Jiu Valley, which is an economically depressed area, where people
seek work, basic needs, and a vision for the future. Romania is a part of the world she has
never visited and she is excited to find a connection with the youth there and deepen her
faith by sharing her Christian values.
She will be responsible for raising the funds necessary for her personal trip.
Please consider a donation to IMPACT Jacqueline’s name! Her fundraising deadline is May 31 and donation instructions can be found below.
More important than your financial support, are your positive thoughts & prayers for her and her team while they work to change lives – including their own.
Donations can be made directly to I.M.P.A.C.T. by mail or online at
www.aplos.com/aws/give/impact1
Please be sure to note her name: Jacqueline Smith.
Checks may be sent to
IMPACT
2060 D Avenida De Los Arboles
Suite 343
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Mission at First Presbyterian: A History of Service
From the very start of our congregation in 1869, our church has been involved in the preaching, teaching, and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Here in our community, and around our world, we want our neighbors to receive the love of Jesus.
- We’ve played a key role in the multiplication of Presbyterian churches in our community: El Montecito (1887), St. Andrews (1959), and Goleta (1960).
- First Presbyterian Church has sent young people to seminary to prepare for service in mission and in pastoral ministry.
- We co-founded Transition House and have served for years at Santa Barbara Rescue Mission and Community Kitchen.
- We reach out with compassion and resources to our neighbors without homes, participating in Safe Parking and the Freedom Warming Centers.
- Working with the Red Cross, we have provided shelter for victims of fires and other disasters.
- We have been actively involved in the mission work of our presbytery.
