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 […]
Academia Menonita Betania in Puerto Rico welcomes volunteers and celebrates 70 years
AIBONITO, Puerto Rico (Mennonite Education Agency/Mennonite Mission Network) — Students, families, friends and visitors from Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) and Mennonite Mission Network lined the basketball courts at Academia Menonita Betania on Saturday, Oct. 27, for music and dance performances to celebrate the school’s 70th anniversary. The festivities included a bounce house and swimming, and ended […]
Extending God’s table
I have a polo shirt from the 2003 Mennonite Church USA Assembly that depicts the message of God’s story. It says: “God’s table—Y’all come!” I have long resisted getting rid of the shirt, even though it doesn’t quite fit me very well anymore. I think I’ve kept it because I want to hang on to […]
Following Jesus’ example at the table
Believers from three countries gathered around the communion table in Yaracuy, Venezuela. Erwin Mirabal, president of the Venezuelan Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Oriente (Evangelical Mennonite Church of the East), reflected with the group on how many of Jesus’ experiences revolved around a table and sharing food. He emphasized how reading the Bible from an Anabaptist […]
Cloth diapers create happy babies, families, earth
Four and half years ago, Delicia Bravo sewed her first cloth diaper for her daughter, Aliyah. Now, Bravo makes and coordinates the Yura (Kichwa for plant or tree) Project, which produces cloth diapers for families seeking refuge in Ecuador. This country receives more refugees than any other in Latin America. "When we had Aliyah, […]
How to be ambitious
In the vast hellscape that is children’s television programming, one show always stood out to me as the most painful to watch. No greater love has a parent for his or her children than to watch Thomas the Tank Engine with them. Calliou is a close second … and then Yo Gabba Gabba. Like I […]
La Casa Grande – Large enough to embrace four continents
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) – Mennonites from four continents worshiped and worked together in Benin in July. They came through different Mennonite Mission Network programs – some having served for more than 12 years; others participating in a 12-day experience. They joined their gifts and energies to provide personnel for the annual camp at […]
What can I do?
We are hearing the question "What can I do?" a lot these days as immigration rules change often and make life very difficult for those directly affected by the changing landscape. Once again, here in LaGrange, Georgia, we are incarnated into the lives of people directly affected, through the households on our street as well […]
A strong commitment to education in Colombia
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) – After 94 years of a life dedicated to education and advocacy, Vernelle H. Yoder of Berne, Indiana, passed away Sept. 26. She was born July 26, 1924, in Adams County, Indiana, to Ida (Habegger) and Raymond Yoder. Yoder graduated from Fort Wayne Bible Institute with a bachelor’s degree in […]
Out-Spokin’ staff reunion creates space for celebration and reflection
Former Out-Spokin’ staff spent Labor Day weekend reminiscing at Laurelville Retreat Center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty-five of us celebrated, laughed, cried, and shared memories of how lives unfolded over the 50 years since Terry Burkhalter founded Out-Spokin’ – Christian community formed on 10 speed bicycles. The mission of Out-Spokin’ was to engage youth on 10-speed bicycles, […]
Rosedale communion and airport reunions
Six weeks ago, my dad dropped me off at the beautiful Mennonite Voluntary Service home in the neighborhood of Rosedale in Kansas City. Within five minutes, the entire staff of Rainbow Mennonite Church, my down-the-street host congregation, had arrived to say hello, help me carry my bags up the stairs, and assure me that friendly […]