Because They Have No One Else

In the latest chapter of our Look for the Helpers series, we’re taking a look at another of PRUMC’s global mission partners: International Support for Georgian Youth (ISGY), which is working to break the cycle of generational poverty in the Imereti region of the Country of Georgia. In addition to its Sponsor a Child program, which provides food, medicine and clothing to children, ISGY is working to provide vocational training programs that will truly help Georgian youth become self-sustaining and have hope for a better future.

We spoke with PRUMC member and ISGY founder Lynn Banks, who has shepherded the cause of Georgian children since her first mission trip there more than 20 years ago. Here’s what she told us about Georgia and how you have continued to help during the pandemic.

Midweek Message: Special Edition

Rev. Leslie Watkins

I think about how that is our fourth commandment, to take a Sabbath. And I think about how foreign this quarantine was at first, when we had to just be still. I wonder: if we’d all been better about taking a Sabbath before, would we have been better-equipped emotionally for this quarantine time?

Samantha Cole

Everybody remembers “the boy in the bubble”, right? I have one of the more moderate forms of that. But I’ve never had to go into complete isolation until now, because my treatment protocol had allowed me to live a pretty normal life. I’ve been receiving donor antibodies for 12 or 13 years. But this virus has caused me to experience my diagnosis in a whole new light.

Philip Mastin

Some things in my past probably have given me a different perspective on the experience of being isolated or not getting to do what I’d like to do. After I graduated from college, I was drafted into the Army and sent to Thailand, where I was processed in and then just waited for a month, with absolutely nothing to do, until they could get us transportation to Korea. Once I got to Korea, I spent 11 months, mostly on top of mountains in radio relay stations.

HopeWorks Connection Sparks Joy on Both Sides

Is there anything better these days than a reminder of how quickly our connection can spark joy? PRUMC’s Libby Johnson, 4 ½, and her new friend, Miss Kathy, found that out recently when the two came together during Mission Camp.