News & stories Mahlon and Mary Hess received the Elam W. Stauffer Pioneer Mission Award for their exemplary educational and medical missionary service in Tanzania. Photo by Tammy Evans. Sending out the seventy-four – where the church is not... yet. LANCASTER, Pa. – At an inspirational commissioning service for 74 short-and long-term workers, July 6, Eastern Mennonite Missions also honored six elderly missionary veterans who had begun service in the 1940s. more >> Kathryn Hess has blessed EMM office staff with periodic surprise snacks for the past decade. Photo by Tammy Evans. Mission volunteer finds novel way to serve SALUNGA, Pa. – Fourteen years ago when Richard Showalter became president of Eastern Mennonite Missions, an old family friend approached him with a novel idea. more >> Stories from the field As Joshua Blank, a member of the Hong Kong Youth Evangelism Service team, watched a recent baptism, he shared the following reflections on “the small picture.” “We went out to the Tuen Mun Center for a short time of worship after which we traveled by bus to a nearby beach for a baptism in the ocean. There was nothing spectacular or exciting that happened. But afterward I thought about the people being baptized and those that were helping with the baptism. “Of those being baptized, three are ladies who are part of a small group that was formed by some women in the church willing to invest their love and time into the lives of others. “The other, Lia Kauffman, is the daughter of Glenn and June Kauffman, who have been missionaries here for 15 years. “So many different people involved in little ways that, seen from the outside, don't really look like much -- just a few people getting dunked in the ocean while a small crowd watches. But it is really a small picture of what God's work looks like: one event leading to another, one little opportunity taken to reach out into the life of someone else leading to another opportunity, one small commitment of time leading to a greater commitment -- an ongoing cycle that can radically transform lives, which goes on so slowly that it is little known or recognized by the world, yet celebrated with all sorts of rejoicing in heaven. “So what opportunities am I missing? Too focused on the big picture and the big problems that need to be fixed, I lose track of the details and the day-by-day ordinary-looking choices, which is where God desires me to be acting. The truly great things, the things that will last the longest, are not one-time, here-and-done events, but a culmination of hundreds if not thousands of tiny choices, which seem so insignificant on their own. Sometimes none of the effects are ever seen until many years later, but the big picture never happens unless the small steps are taken.” While on a one-year GO! assignment in Halle, in the former East Germany, retired doctor Chris Leuz, and his wife Lois, share the following glimpse into the life of the young church they are helping to support. “When we think of the small groups here in Soli Deo we are reminded of the verse in Acts 2 – ‘They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…’ We attend the small group that meets in Charlotte Yoder’s apartment just above where we live. The small group, of course, uses German and we find that now, thankfully, we understand quite a bit of what is being said. Even though we do not understand it all, we enjoy the Christian fellowship which is easily felt. “The church is experiencing some bumps along the road to a significant change in the church leadership, but things are progressing well with the established timeline. The founding pastoral couple, Steve and Sharon Norton, plan to leave in October. The church needs your continued prayer support. We have heard from some of you that you are praying daily for the Soli Deo church; we thank God for your part in this ministry.” More news and stories: Subscribe to Transforming a free bi-weekly e-mail newsletter. To sign up, just send an e-mail to e-transforming-subscribe@lists.emm.org Read Missionary Messenger our monthly missions magazine Video and photos: Photo gallery Video gallery Blogs and websites; Read long-term missionary blogs Read short-term team blogs News & stories archives; Read stories from: Africa Asia/Australia Europe Latin America Middle East North America Read excerpts from missionary newsletters: Africa Asia/Australia Europe Latin America Middle East North America