On a Sunday afternoon in a small town near the city of Chattanooga, a group gathers for a purse party.

“We represent Peace of Thread, which is a local initiative. It's under the umbrella of AMFA, which is Adventist Muslim Friendship Association.”

“We had a purse party and it was in somebody's home. She invited some of her friends from the church they attend and then we set up and showed them the purses. Of course we have a variety. There are no two purses that are alike. We make sure of that. Every person who buys is going to have something unique and something that is their own.”

“Inside each one of the purses we have a little tag that tells about the refugee who sewed that purse and a little bit about AMFA. We ask each lady that buys to pray for that refugee.”

With the purse party wrapping up, Mona helps Darlene put away the remaining purses. Mona, who arrived as a refugee 11 years ago, is both in leadership at AMFA and a designer for Peace of Thread Chattanooga.

“We sell a lot of purses and God blesses us with all kinds of people that come here. So we're looking forward to the next time, the next meeting, whenever we go to another house. Maybe next month it will be at my house.”

“During the summer, AMFA has a summer school for Muslim refugee children, helping them to integrate into America in a Godly way. At the same time, we started sewing classes for the women and that's where we started with Peace of Thread, so that they're actually learning to sew, learning to sew purses, and now being able to sell them and make some money.”

It’s Monday and the women of Peace of Thread Chattanooga are gathering for their weekly sewing class. The sewing class takes place in various church fellowship halls, though someday they hope to have a more permanent location.

Nema starts the day off with a quick testimony, the women talk about their week, Darlene talks about the successes of Sunday afternoon, makes some announcements, and after a short prayer they begin on a new purse design.

“Part of the whole experience is not just about learning to sew, of course, but it's getting together and getting acquainted with each other and listening to what their needs are, what their experiences are, and sharing those with us as leaders with them, but also with each other because so many of these ladies didn't know each other before.”

“So they have sisters that they can call on to answer questions and to share the highs and lows of life.”

Randa, who was a nurse in Sudan before coming to the United States as a refugee, will be starting her studies to become a medical assistant later this year.

“It's helped me to organize my time first, and my boys, they love that too. When I got the (sewing) machine, they said, “Oh! Mom, we don't have to throw out our clothes. You can sew them for us.”

“I organize my time for sewing and teaching my kids and cleaning my house, doing whatever I want. At first I didn't like to sew, but now I really enjoy sewing.”

“I used to sew in my country, so when they added me to the AMFA group, they put me as a designer. I came here as a refugee and now it's my turn to help refugees. To help them with what they need, what they want, especially women.”

“Now they have income every month. I'm happy when I see them very happy.”

“The project is a big blessing to me personally. Starting off because we're given talents. It's true that I can make quilts and costumes, but it doesn't have the same joy as doing the sewing projects with these ladies.”

“They're excited about learning a new skill. It gives them something to do in their spare time and it gives them the opportunity to earn income. For a couple of these ladies, they've never had their own spending money.”

“I love seeing the ladies happy. I love seeing the ladies creating, interacting. We’re a community and we share. And this is all for God.”

Please pray for the relationships being formed through this initiative. Thank you for supporting mission.