Focus

At the heart of a movement of the Spirit in the Middle East is the new reality of two peoples learning to become brothers and sisters in the Lord. In the midst of a global pandemic, Michael and Laura* have sought to creatively connect these people through the wonders of modern technology.

On November 3, a category four hurricane named Eta reached the shores of Nicaragua. Continuing on its path, the storm wreaked havoc on Honduras and Guatemala. With the torrential downpours of the hurricane’s rain, the region has seen devastating flooding, landslides, and the displacement of people.

When Amaris and Stuart Allan first decided to serve with EMM, they didn’t expect to spend time in two very different contexts in the course of their three-year term. Partway into their second year in Zanzibar, they were asked to consider a transition to Nairobi, Kenya. Almost 10 months later, the Allans unexpectedly returned from Nairobi to the U.S. a few months early due to the coronavirus pandemic. Amaris shares with us a few of the lessons she learned in those transitions.

As Christians, transformation is what we all seek. EMM’s mission statement clearly states that transformation, which comes from Christ, is the foundation upon which all of our work is built. It sounds so simple: “Christ’s transforming love.” But change is not easy. So what leads to transformation? What can we do to be transformed in our hearts and minds?

Elizabeth* recently celebrated a joyous breakthrough: She can pray in her new language! Elizabeth has only been wanting and trying to do this for about five years, back from when she first spent a year in Central Asia and studied the local language at a university. By the end of that year, she found that she could talk to people in the language, albeit clumsily, but not to God.

Over the past 20 plus years, EMM has occasionally considered the idea that EMM should move its Central Administrative Office to Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. EMM’s previous efforts at exploring this possibility resulted in no action taken, and EMM continued its operations in Salunga.

We are excited to announce that the EMM Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Marvin Lorenzana as our ninth president. Dr. Lorenzana brings extensive multicultural leadership, discipleship, and mission experience to his new role as EMM president.

Jeremy and Jennifer* realize that the greater the suffering, the greater the potential for hope. And most importantly, they realize that looking beyond themselves to others is a choice they can always make.

As COVID-19 became a worldwide pandemic, Costa Rica was no exception. EMM worker Austin Zuercher was given the opportunity to return to his home in Ohio, but he decided not to. The Costa Rican government put out a restriction for driving, social distancing was in place, grocery stores had limited entrance, and soap could be found everywhere. Obviously, this also affected ministry — Austin did not leave the base very often but God still opened doors in spite of this.

Foleza is a small program with an ambitious vision: to see each student succeed in school and life. Translated “little nest” from the Albanian language, Foleza was started in 2013 when the Ersekë Evangelical Church saw first-hand the need for children to have extra support in order to thrive in school.