About this project:
This ministry is a joint venture between Canadian and American Churches to expedite the immigration of persecuted Pakistani Christians who cannot return to their land of birth without the imminent danger of death at the hands of militants who have accused them of blasphemy and similar religious crimes. This ministry began with a request from a member of our Church Family to sponsor a Pakistani refugee family he had met while on holidays in Koh Samui. It took almost a year but eventually we made a motion to apply to the Canadian government to sponsor them through the umbrella of Canadian Baptists of Western Canada and with the assistance of Rev. Faye Reynolds who is the Director of Refugee Applications. A number of months later Rev. Reynolds contacted us with the information that an American couple was seeking a Canadian congregation who would apply for sponsorship for friends of theirs who they had met at church in Malaysia. This couple has been forced to flee Pakistan under threat of their lives but were finding they were very unwelcome in that country and were desperate to find a country to accept them. This American couple proposed a partnership between churches in our two countries; they would provide the financial support needed and a Canadian church would take care of the application process and assist the family when they arrived in Canada and make certain that all the practical needs are met in line with the Canadian government requirements for the first year the family are in Canada. Since that time…we have been approached by a number of other Pakistani refugees and are actively seeking American partners to assist us.
Team Lead:
Marc De Vries
Team Members:
Rosa Juncosa
Laurence and Kathy Chevaldayoff
Pastor Sarfraz Sagar
Garnet and Sue Margetish
Dorothy Sowden
Norman Sowden
@millbaybaptist