HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS AMIDST BIRTHDAYS & FAIRY TALES

This week we prepared three projects to present for approval:

Computers for Migrant Women, Bad Homburg, Germany

It was a joy to find a project in the town where we live focusing on migrant women who have recently arrived in Germany and are not yet fully integrated. Enie e.V. promotes equal opportunities for women and advocates multilingual education as a bridge for cultural exchange. This NGO is opening a community center next month. Our church will donate 20 computers and a printing station. With this donation it is expected that 160 women will have the opportunity to learn basic digital skills. The center will offer 20 computer training modules (8 sessions each) during the coming year.

Psychological Support for Migrant Women, Rome & Milan, Italy

This project focuses on vulnerabilities faced by migrant and refugee women in accessing mental health support and pathways to social and economic integration. These women often arrive in host countries after enduring trauma, violence, forced displacement, and separation from their families. Upon arrival, they face additional challenges such as: Limited access to psychological support, despite high levels of trauma and emotional distress; Social isolation and lack of safe spaces where they can begin to heal, rebuild confidence, and feel a sense of belonging; These women experience discrimination and marginalization in migrant communities. Funds will pay for individual and group counseling for 380 women which will bless their lives and the lives of their children.

Life Essentials at Borders, Italy, France, Spain

In recent years, a series of emergencies and humanitarian crises—such as the devastating earthquake in Morocco and numerous ongoing global conflicts—have forced thousands of people to leave their homes in search of safety. Many of these refugees arrive at the borders where ASCS operates in Italy (Rome, Turin, Milan, Trieste, Oulx, Ventimiglia), Spain (Cadiz and Ceuta), and France (Calais), traumatized, and with many basic needs for surviving. While the number of arrivals may have slightly decreased in recent months, the reality on the ground remains an emergency. The borders continue to be frontline zones where people in desperate need seek immediate assistance. Refugees and migrants who reach these crossing points often do so after terrible journeys, arriving in fragile physical and psychological conditions. They are in urgent need of food, shelter, clean clothing, and medical attention. This donation will provide essentials such as food, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, medicine, hygiene products, mattresses, pillows, sheets, and towels.

We spend a lot of our time at the office in meetings (in person and online). Last week included:

Humanitarian division meeting alternates weeks with humanitarian specialist training
Our weekly project presentation meeting
Giving Machine training and meetings. Giving machines are coming to Europe for the first time this fall to Vienna, Rome, Budapest, and Barcelona! Vienna and Rome are in countries we support. As a humanitarian team, it is our job is to find NGO’s that would like to participate. Each machine will be filled with opportunities for humanitarian donations, both local and international.

Meetings with National Communications directors to discuss projects in cities where temples have been announced. For us that means in Vienna, Austria; Homburg, Germany; and Milan, Italy.
Planning meetings with our manager for upcoming training for in-field couples at a regional conference next month in Rome. Along with that seminar we will be visiting NGO’s to evaluate past projects. Doing research on these projects to know what it is we are following up on at each stop takes a lot of time.
Meetings with NGO’s to work out the details of our humanitarian projects.
Several calls a week with our wonderful in-field couples in Rome and Munich. We love the Canfields and Muehlmanns! Serving and getting to know amazing people is one of the greatest blessings of serving a mission.

Happy Birthday to Debbie

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Feeling your love made it a special day!

The Fairy Tale Route: This week: Little Red Riding Hood Since 1975 the German Fairy Tale Route has invited visitors to follow in the footsteps of the famous brothers from Hanau, the birthplace of Jacob and Wilhem Grimm, to the Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen

We visited Hanau a few weeks ago. This Saturday we continued north through Little Red Riding Hood Country to visit three towns. We drove through fields and fields of rapeseed (canola) in full bloom.

Alsfeld

There are 400 half-timbered houses here. We did not encounter Little Red Riding Hood, but we found a Mother Goose fountain and Ed found a great pair of shoes.

Sobering Stumbling Stones

Schwalmstadt

This is the village that inspired the writing of Little Red Riding Hood. Can you identify the fairy tale figures on this statue? On festival days local people deck themselves out in traditional folk costumes. Women wear a little red cap covering a topknot. This is what gave Little Red Riding Hood her name.

Marburg

This is a quaint university town where the Grimm brothers attended Philipps University from 1802-1806. Marburg rises steeply from the Lahn River to the spectacular castle that crowns the hill.

St Elisabeth Church marks the burial site of St Elisabeth. St Elizabeth of Hungary lived at Wartburg castle until her husband’s death. She then moved to Marburg and spent her wealth and the rest of her life caring for those in need. The ruins of the hospital she founded are across the street from the church.

The miracles that come to mind this week involve parking and driving- two very stressful things in Europe. While in Marburg we dutifully followed our GPS up steep cobblestone roads with hairpin turns to get to the castle on the top of the hill. We came to a dead end, backed up and found a parking space on the street- the only one for miles. After our visit to the castle, we followed that same GPS which took us on a different route down the hill, on a one-way, no turning back adventure. The road was narrower, required that we squeeze through old city wall gates and turn sharp corners with just inches to spare. At the end of our white knuckle decent, we were spit out into a pedestrian zone. We inched our way through sidewalk cafes and hundreds of pedestrians who shook their heads at us. At the first intersection, two kind ladies approached our car. They spoke English and told us that from 11am-3pm on Saturdays this Market Platz area turned pedestrian, a fact our GPS was incapable of knowing. They smiled and told us there was no turning back, that we must inch our way through the crowds for 500 meters driving straight ahead and then we would find a small parking lot on the left. They told us to expect angry people, hoped that there were no police in the vicinity, and wished us luck. To us they were angels standing on the corner at just the moment we needed help. It was a long 500 meters! Just as the ladies said, there was a small parking lot at the end, but it was full. We were seriously contemplating whether to abort the rest of our trip and drive directly home, when we saw a couple walking to their car and voila we had a parking space! We breathed a sigh of relief, thanked Heavenly Father, and hoped no one recognized us as we ate at a sidewalk café we had just passed in our car. We tried a Marburg specialty called Auflauf (casserole) and then enjoyed the sites on foot.