A Safe Place

With all the violence being highlighted in the news, it’s no secret that the world is a dangerous place.  No one knows this fact better than our refugee friends, who live the news.  They and their families have experienced firsthand the hunger, violence, and loss that most of us only see on our television screens.  They had to leave their homes and come to a foreign place with a different language and culture.  Add in the fact that a lot of Americans are hostile to people with Muslim backgrounds, and it’s not surprising that a lot of our friends are afraid when they arrive here.

Fortunately, one of Peace of Thread’s core values is providing an atmosphere of no fear for refugees to work in.  In Clarkston, women from the East and the West work together to master the challenges of managing a business.   In the process, the seamstresses develop life-long relationships with people who can help them learn English and acclimate to American culture.  Becoming self-sufficient helps our seamstresses feel safe.   Having friends who will share in their lives-both the joys and the sorrows-also provides refuge for these women whose native communities have been fractured.

Peace of Thread also helps these women’s’ families feel safe.  April Claybagh, our team and support specialist, explains that many women from places like Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t used to working outside the home and their husbands are not used to their wives working outside the home either. The idea of their wives leaving the house and going to work is a bit daunting for these men.  They worry for their wives’ safety.  But because Peace of Thread is a woman-only space which also offers the opportunity to work from home, it feels less threatening to them.  Refugee couples can rebuild their lives together because husbands know that their wives are not being harmed or exploited in their new careers.

The causes of our friends’ problems-war, persecution, disaster ect.-are very complex. The Team at Peace of Thread can’t solve everything.  But we can provide a refuge for them using the beautiful facilities in Clarkston that God has gifted to us and the even more important resource of our friendship.