Focus

EMM worker Andre Provost asked a group of church leaders in Thailand: “Can you read the label on the bottom of the crate?” They responded, “MADE IN THE USA!” A PowerPoint slide of a Thai person in front of an imported crate appeared on the screen. Andre exclaimed to the crowd, “This is our problem! We are following a model developed in an environment very different than ours.” 

It was the perfect day for a spontaneous picnic – there was no rain (even though it was the rainy season in Costa Rica). The blue sky beckoned to EMM worker Jen Hoover’s soul. She sun's warmth tenderly touched their skin and the shade promised to cool their sweat-moistened shirts.  Bar-B-Q meatballs, rice, and steamed broccoli would not be Jen’s first choice for a blanketed picnic meal, but it was delicious nonetheless. 

Sarah and Mark Schoenhals serve with both EMM and Virginia Mennonite Missions in Thailand with their two daughters. Recently, Sarah reflected on their trip to participate in the 2022 Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Indonesia. After months of uncertainty about travel restrictions, Covid, funding, and finding an interpreter, the details all came together. 

EMM volunteer worker Gerry Keener recently returned from a two-week trip to Vietnam to reconnect with the Mennonite church in the country. Gerry reflected on how it was a joy to experience the energy of refreshed relationships and … of course, delicious Vietnamese food!

Have you ever had an individual's name come to mind? Maybe you hadn’t thought of the person for a long time. Have you felt your heart grieved about the state of a nation you have never visited? Have you shed tears at the thought of the sins of your people? Was the Holy Spirit perhaps trying to get your attention?

With anticipation, EMM staff member Julia Tsai sits down for coffee with EMM worker Kandace Glenn. She lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with her roommates, Thida and Len. The three friends smile at Julia through her laptop screen— this is sure to be an engaging conversation. 

Every month, a small group of believers gathers together for communion at New Life Dangriga Christian Fellowship in Belize. Imagine a tray of about a dozen small plastic cups filled with grape juice and a container of bread on a table at the back of the worship space. But this week, believers in this Dangriga church filled a few more cups.

Wales is a rugby nation. It always has been. It probably always will be. But in early June it was football that captured the heart of the nation. EMM worker Carol Wert is not a football fan. She never has been, and probably never will be. But when she heard that Wales was playing Ukraine for a spot in the World Cup, she found tickets for what she knew might be a historical moment. But Carol was unprepared for was a spiritual encounter.

Tuesday mornings start a little earlier than the rest of the week for EMM worker Michael Clancy. Michael serves as an urban missionary in Lebanon City, Pennsylvania. His day begins at 7 a.m. meeting with a man who recently completed a discipleship program.

On February 24, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. EMM workers Phil and Linda Gottschalk planned to go in August to join the faculty of the Zaporizhzhya Bible Seminary in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. Phil had been administrating the seminary’s Master of Theology program there since 2012. He was there in May 2014 after Crimea and the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk were taken. They have both been to Zaporizhzhya numerous times since then but did not imagine that the conflict would come to a full boil again.