World Mission

The World Missions Team is concerned about the mission and work of Christians around the globe. It promotes, within the congregation, the international and domestic mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and those organizations who join us in following and proclaiming Christ by word and deed. This team is responsible for the education of the congregation about the needs around the world, the recognition of our supported missionaries and their work, and the connection of New Orleanians with our partners in overseas missions. They also support and facilitate the planning of youth and adult missions trip during the year, and are in charge of congregation-wide support for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, in case of disaster-relief in the United States and around the world.

Read about the missionaries supported by SCAPC, including Robert Gamble, featured below.

A Letter from Robert Gamble, Ukraine, February 2011

    In January two children died. I knew the boy personally; the girl, I did not, but kids I know, knew her well. Elvira (pronounced Elveera) was sixteen. She jumped from the 7th floor and took her life. Vanya, was struck by a car. In a facebook message I received from her sister, Sabina, I learned that Sabina held Elvira as she died. I dont know more about the circumstances of Vanyas death, but I know well his brother Kolya, and I know that both boys are from Moldova and have traveled back and forth over the past years. Odessa draws a number of kids from Moldova, the poorest country in the former Soviet Union.
    The first thought we often have is, who is to blame? But these kids have a will of their own and even by age thirteen their lives are often out of control. The better question is What can we do?
    I wish every child had a loving home and family life. That would be my first choice of things to do. I wish there was no need for shelters and orphanages, that all homeless children were either adopted by or placed in foster care with loving families in their native country. I wish they were in healthy homes with their biological families, but none of this is going to happen in the years soon to come.
bike    For that reason, funds for This Child Here go toward help for children in shelters and orphanages. We pay for a psychologist (Alla) to work with children at the shelter: The Way Home. We pay another psychologist (Olga) to work with at risk kids in public school. We pay for teams to go into orphanages to help kids with personal boundaries, addictions, self-esteem and life in community. We pay for clothes and after school programs to help kids feel good about themselves. I hope that through a program of bicycle repair, some kids will learn responsibility and even a career.
    Can you donate a good used bicycle? It is tax deductible. These should be used bikes and can be many years old but they need to have been good quality, mountain bikes or road bikes. We cannot take Huffy or heavy steel frame bikes as the market in Ukraine is already flooded with them. I am hoping to collect 200 bikes from individuals and churches in the southeast. If you have a bike please email me.