After nine years in Thailand, Dave and Summer Houser were planning to move to Pennsylvania in early April. As reports of an unknown virus grew into a major worldwide concern, flights from many places around the globe were being canceled. Instead of having a week — or even a few days — they had mere hours to tie up their loose ends. They frantically packed, gave things away, and even sold their car that day! 

Polio was once the most feared disease in the U.S. Particularly in the 1940 and 50s, parents were sometimes fearful of letting their children even go outside. Each summer, polio seemed to strike without warning. Swimming pools, movie theaters, and Sunday school classes were closed. Almost 100 years passed from the first polio outbreak of any size in the U.S. through the development of a vaccine in 1955 to the eradication of the virus in the Americas in 1994.

As the world faced COVID-19, gathering food for Ramadan celebrations was difficult in places like Nairobi. Many workplaces shut down due to COVID-19, and as a result, many Kenyans lost their income, facing significant food insecurity. Christians in the Eastleigh neighborhood of the city decided to bless their Muslim neighbors by distributing free food.

How can we engage and equip the thousands of church leaders in Africa who have little or no biblical training? How does the church multiply and grow under these circumstances?

On a blustery afternoon, EMM worker Bethany Tobin, who is also jointly appointed with Virginia Mennonite Missions, grabbed an umbrella as protection from the sun and slid on her flip flops. Leaving her boisterous home-schoolers with her husband, Steve, she walked around the corner to her neighbor’s house. 

Despite the interruptions, the changes in our plans, and the disappointments of unfulfilled expectations, the mission of God goes on. EMM workers continue to cross cultures, engage the world, and make disciples of Jesus.

Lucy has been amazed at the range of human resilience she has seen from her perch on the balcony. It is amazing how God has made humans to be able deal with life's circumstances. People have been creative with entertainment, their spaces, and their resources. They can find community when they are not allowed to leave their homes. 

Multiplication is the heartbeat of EMM. EMM has a more than 100-year history of establishing churches in many parts of the world, that are now planting communities and fellowships of believers in their own contexts and cultures.

We are connected to each other. And we believe this because Paul told us so. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the church as the body of Christ. There are many members, all different, but they all come together to form the body and without any one of those members, the body is missing an important function.

COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for Alan and Carol Wert. On March 23rd, the U.K. went into lockdown with each part of the U.K. enforcing their own rules. So what does this mean for the way the Werts minister to people?