PRESS RELEASE ~ Coffee Morning

PRESS RELEASE JULY 23, 2009
Sadu House on Gulf Road will be the location of a happy send-off of 90 quilts to orphans in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan. With the help of the Civil Military Operations Center-Kuwait (CMOC Team), the quilts will be delivered to a Civil Affairs Team in Northern Iraq. CMOC Team members will meet in Sulymaniyah where Joe and Alanna Petrusich will claim the quilts and deliver them in person to 90 orphans.
Two years ago, Alanna Petrusich had a vision of providing orphans with something special that they could call their own. Her husband Joe had been to Kurdistan on a business trip and toured the orphanages at that time. Upon his return to Kuwait, Alanna decided to jump into action and begin her challenging task of making and acquiring 90 quilts. With the help of her many friends in the Kuwait Textile Arts Association Quilt Group and several loving quilters worldwide who answered a plea from an internet posting on a quilt site, the goal has been reached.
Once the quilts are delivered by the Civil Military Operations Team, Joe and Alanna will fly to Sulymaniyah and present these orphans with a colorful, handmade quilt that they can all their own!
On July 29, from 10:00 – Noon, Alanna is hosting a coffee morning for the purpose of displaying the many quilts that have been crafted and sewn. She invites everyone to come and see the quilts and meet the Civil Military Operations Team who will assist in this Humanitarian effort. Come help celebrate our achievement!

LOVE CAN BUILD A BRIDGE ~ ONE QUILT AT A TIME!

Sadu House is situated next to the newly constructed library on Gulf Road.

GETTING READY TO ROLL !

Joe and I had a wonderful meeting with LTC Herrera and CPT Gregory Larson (the Team Logistics Officer) yesterday. Their team will get the quilts and any anything else we have for the orphans all the way to Sulymaniyah. As well, he said that his team will be adding to the bundle with an ample supply of school supplies! How great is that?? We have set a tentative date for my delivery of the quilts to LTC Herrera for the end of July. Our target date for travel to Suly is around September 7th. Joe and I will travel together. I can hardly wait!

God Kissed

As my dear friend Beverly would have said - this next wonderful bit of news is "God Kissed". My friend Lorraine recently was introduced to a Lt. Colonel Herrera on the base where she works here in Kuwait. After a brief conversation, she learned that he was in charge of "humanitarian issues" for the military. Of course, she told him all about the quilt ministry and my effort of the past two years to get a large number of quilts made as well as the logistics of getting them to Sulaymaniya to the children. Lorraine tells me that his eyes lit up and he said that she should tell her friend to contact him - that he would help me get those quilts to those kids! Today - that prayer was answered. I received an email from LTC. Herrera confirming that his team would get my quilts to Sulaymaniyah at no cost to the quilt ministry. I was so excited - I had to go run on the treadmill for 45 minutes just to wear off the excited energy!! Joe and I will now look at planning our days and flights to go to Suly in early September. I am hoping to meet this wonderful LTC. Herrera in person one day soon! Praise God for him and his team!

Meet Tahseen

I want to introduce you to a wonderful person who I met by sending an inquiry email to the American University of Iraq in Sulyamaniyah. His name is Tahseen and he has been incredibly helpful in becoming my "communicator" between the orphanages and myself. I am ever so thankful for him and his efforts. He has also informed me that there are two other orphanages that he knows about - one south and one north of Sulyamaniyah. I will receive a total head count of all 4 orphanages and hopefully my 90 quilts will be enough ~~ and plans can be made to head north to Kurdistan and the kids! A big thank you Tahseen!