10 Years of Treasures: Reflections on Peace of Thread’s 10thAnniversary Fundraiser 

After months of anticipation, the day finally arrived: Peace of Thread’s 10th anniversary fundraiser!  I walked into Digital Ignition’s (a business innovation center) auditorium, and it was bustling! People from all over Georgia as well as Tennessee and Texas had come to celebrate this milestone in Peace of Thread history.  There were tables loaded with purses and t shirts for the silent auction. Other tables were decorated with bundles of balloons and golden letters that read “Cheers to ten years!” The air was filled with the sounds of flamenco guitar music (courtesy of my friend Gladius Guitarus).    I checked in at the front and was handed a keychain with our official Peace of Thread Bible verse (Luke 12:33) written on it. “Sell your possessions and give to those in need.  This will store up treasure for you in Heaven!  And the purses of Heaven never get old or develop holes.  Your treasure will be safe, no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.”

I saw how appropriate that verse was when I went to the meet-and-greet with the artisans from Peace of Thread Clarkston and Peace of Thread Chattanooga.  Each woman had a table laden with treasures from her home country.  Noor*, Peace of Thread’s head trainer and our founder Denise’s right-hand woman, was dressed in gold and purple and stood by a table of gold and silver artifacts from Nineveh, Iraq.  I saw a gold coffee decanter surrounded by gold cups and plates as well as silver containersinlaid with jewels.  There was even a Quran wrapped in silver hand-made filigree!  I also saw an Iraqi flag picturing a lion (the symbol of Babylon) and a winged beast with the head of a bearded man (the symbol of Nineveh, called a lamassu in Arabic).  

 *Noor beamed with pride in her homeland as she showed these things to me and explained the use and meaning behind each one.   But as I gazed at the silver and gold, I was reminded that thieves and moths aren’t the only threats to earthly treasures.   War can destroy them too.  Iraq’s antiquates have faced extensive looting since U.S. invasion in 1991 (Arraf, “Iraq Reclaims 17,000 Looted Artifacts”), and they were deliberately targeted and destroyed by ISIS during its war with Iraq from 2013-2017. (Barak, “ISIS and the Destruction of Antiquities.”)

But I also realized that Noor is a treasure herself- a descendent of mighty empires with a cultural heritage that stretches back thousands of years.  A wife and mother.  A teacher and a friend.  More precious than silver or gold or jewels.

At the Afghanistan table I met Mina*, the younger sister of one of our seamstresses.   I remembered Mina.  She came to the U.S. as a teenager and was thrown into the public school system without any prior school experience.  I found out that Mina had graduated from high school and was studying computer science at a prominent university. I asked her what her favorite part of living in the United States was.  She told me that the highlight of her new life was access to education.    “Girls in Afghanistan can’t go to school,” she said. “Especially now.”

I was humbled by Mina’s gratitude and her willingness to apply herself.  And I realized that she is a treasure too-resilient, intelligent, and determined. I don’t know Mina’s whole story, but I am sure that Denise and other Peace of Thread volunteers walked with her every step of the way as she enrolled in school, learned English, struggled with homework, and ultimately succeeded. Peace of Thread often invests not only in our artisans but in their families as well.  Mina and her family were well worth our investment.

The night ended with Denise being honored for all her hard work and sacrifice on behalf of Peace of Thread. Denise enjoyed the celebration but reminded us that the night was really all about our artisans. They are our treasures.  We pour a lot of time, energy, and money into them, but we are so enriched when they let us into their lives.  Seeing them thrive in a foreign country is more valuable than any purse or accessory. 

They are God’s treasures too.  Jesus of Nazareth said that welcoming a stranger was the same as welcoming Him (Matthew 25:35).   Refugees might seem like strangers when they first arrive to the U.S., but they are never strangers to God, who numbers each hair on their heads (Luke 12:7).  He sees their sorrows and their joys.  When we welcome them to our country and invest in their lives, we can share in what God values.

In the end, Peace of Thread’s 10th anniversary fundraiser was a wonderful night filled with food and friends.  I saw beautiful cultural artifacts and fabulous purses.  But I was also reminded that earthly treasures-no matter how fine-can wear out or be destroyed. The only permanent treasure is what we do for others.  

The blogger would like to thank everyone who turned up on Saturday night to support our artisans.  She’d like to thank our sponsors including Digital Ignition, Grace Fellowship Church, Kroger, and Home Depot.  She’d also like to thank Eagle’s Landing for the catering and Gladius Guitarus for the music.

 *Pseudonyms used to protect privacy

Sources:

Arraf, Jane.  “Iraqi Reclaims 17,000 Looted Artifacts, Its Biggest Ever Repatriation.”  The New York Times.  3 August 2021.  Accessed March 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/world/middleeast/iraq-looted-artifacts-return.html?searchResultPosition=1

Barak, Michael (Dr.)  “ISIS and the Destruction of Antiquities.”  International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (with the Support of Keren Daniel).  10 October 2015.  Accessed 30 March 2022. https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1475/ISIS-and-the-destruction-of-antiquities#gsc.tab=0

“Lamassu.”  Wikipedia, Wikimedia foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamassu

Bible verses taken from Biblehub(https://www.biblehub.com/luke/12-7.htm) and Openbible.info https://www.openbible.info/topics/refugees