Focus

Eric and Janelle* are EMM workers who serve in Germany. The month of March was busy for them as they prepared spaces in their church’s building to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the current war.

EMM workers Andre and Karen* had just returned to Thailand after having traveled from the United States. They were immediately asked by two friends if Andre and Karen would take them to a wedding three hours away. Andre was reminded of something he felt God was speaking to him as their flight was landing in Thailand.

A few weeks ago, EMM worker Jonathan Bornman went for a walk and stopped to chat with two teenage boys, refugees from Syria. Jonathan asked them if they had witnessed the shooting that happened in front of their house. No, they had not, but their younger brother was on the porch and saw the whole thing.

Esther and Lance are Thai church leaders. The couple’s closest neighbor, who they practically were family with, had a complicated conflict with the couple. Esther and Lance’s neighbor is an older woman who is also a member of the church. Her daughter lives in the same house and became very angry with the church and began verbally attacking Esther and Lance.

Michael Clancy is an EMM urban missionary serving in Lebanon City, Pa. Last summer, there was a couple who had been sleeping near the railroad tracks behind Michael’s church parking lot. One of the church members noticed the couple and invited them to a Sunday worship service, enticing them with air conditioning and coffee.

EMM worker Jen Hoover serves in disciple-making in Costa Rica with her family. Just the other day, she enjoyed her first quiet morning in a long time. She enjoyed a second cup of coffee and had a peaceful conversation with her son on the back porch. It was the first day of a new school year — a year with much-hoped-for in-person learning. On this day, Jen said that the “to-do list” had to wait.

On January 3, we flipped the switch to begin generating enough solar energy to meet half of the electrical demands of our Hub 450 property. We are delighted to be able to initiate this renewable energy resource as part of our renovations on this historic building!

EMM worker Carol Wert, who serves in Wales, U.K., was teaching an English lesson one day on different types of transport and asking her students which type was their favorite. Along with the usual mentions of bus, car, train or plane, there was horse and camel, including some fun animal sounds and gestures because the students didn’t know the words in English.

EMM president Marvin Lorenzana refers to this “in” relationship as “the great investment.” Simply put, because we love God we also love our neighbor. We love our neighbor enough to invite him or her to follow Jesus with us (discipleship).

EMM worker Eric gets excited when he hears the word “mentoring.” He desires human relationships that simultaneously empower and encourage both individuals. Mentoring has formation/transformation as its goal, and that is worth being excited about. However, Eric’s experiences with mentoring have often left him feeling less than satisfied with what he finds conceptually to be such a positive and powerful idea.