Dreams with the Cofán
One rainy morning, Jerrell and I found ourselves in our home with a group of neighbors who had gathered to wait out the storm. Everyone in the circle was Cofán except for the two of us. We were the guests, listening with curiosity to the lively conversation in Cofán buzzing all around us. The room quieted […]
Breath-taking sweetness in the eye of God’s storm
We love to hear about new initiatives. Stories of God’s people responding to a need inspire in a world that often feels lacking in hope. But, it’s not popular to share the end of a ministry. That could be interpreted as the failure of God’s collaborative, kingdom-building project. However, reality teaches that finalization does not […]
Howard Habegger: a committed mission leader remembered
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) — Howard Jay Habegger tended to the church in North and South America. A leader in God’s mission, Habegger was born Sept. 6, 1932, in Berne, Indiana, and died Dec. 28, 2018, at Schowalter Villa in Hesston, Kansas. Howard Habegger circa 1970. Habegger dedicated himself to ministry through teaching, pastoring, […]
Settling in and reaching out
My experience here with Service Adventure has been a lot different than I imagined it would be. When I came to Alaska, I had the same mentality I would have on a short-term mission trip. I’ve been on plenty of mission trips, and on every one, the flow was the same. At the start, everyone […]
A gut-punch of the divine: a redefining of faith
Several weeks into my year of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS), my pastor, Ruth, preached about faith as "a brush with the divine." I grasped eagerly at that idea and have held onto it tenaciously ever since. I was always taught, per the book of Hebrews and the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, that faith was "the […]
Anabaptist wings help fledgling churches in Thailand take flight
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Mennonite Mission Network) – On the outskirts of Chiang Mai, Thailand, down a narrow dirt road, a plot of land sits enclosed by a weathered concrete wall. Leafy banana trees arch over the wall, framing the mountains that stretch out along Thailand’s northern region. Rev. Ponchai Banchasawan, president of a governmental religious […]
Missionary in Asia served in churches, health and children’s ministries
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Belva Unruh, who served as a long-term mission worker in both Japan and Taiwan, died Nov. 20, 2018. She was 94. Unruh was born Sept. 1, 1924, in Freeman, South Dakota, to Anna (Tschetter) and Edward Waltner. After graduating from Freeman Academy, she attended Bethel College in Newton, Kansas, […]
Melding ministry with medicine
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – For more than 120 years, Mennonites have realized Jesus’ call for holistic ministry through founding and serving in clinics and hospitals around the world, often through alternative service programs organized in response to military drafts. Many of these organizations became fixtures in the communities in which they were built, […]
Mission in classroom, office and kitchen
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Susanna Marie Duerksen Kleinsasser, who served as a long-term mission worker in India, died Oct. 27, 2018. She was 96. Kleinsasser was born in the village of Hotevilla on the Hopi Reservation of Arizona, May 24, 1922, to John and Susanna (Quiring) Duerksen, who served as mission workers in […]
You, too, can become a leader
I served in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in Service Adventure right after high school. For me, it was a year of feeling the freedom to "find myself" in a new place with people who didn’t have a clue who I was. It was an exciting challenge to figure out how I wanted this new world to perceive […]
Mission worker forged a legacy of compassion and advocacy
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Alice Ruth Ramseyer, who served as a long-term mission worker in Japan, died Nov. 5, 2018. She was 89. Ramseyer was born in Kai Chow, China, Sept. 27, 1929, to S. F. "Floyd" and Sylvia (Tschantz) Pannabecker, who served as mission workers in northern China. In 1941, she attended […]
Coming to terms with the road not taken
A few weeks ago, I turned 40. The birthday itself was perfectly lovely, but the year to six months preceding it … was not so lovely. If it wasn’t such a cliché, I guess I might say I was suffering from a mild version of a midlife crisis. I was never in danger of abandoning […]