A young girl models clothing of the Quechua people supplied by Ron and Regina Shultz, missionaries to Peru, at Global Fair. Photo: Joe Hollinger

Exciting new Global Fair draws record crowd

About 1,300 people flocked to Global Fair on the banks of the Millstream at Lancaster Mennonite School, July 14. A whole new set-up of regional foods, displays, stories, and children’s activities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America were clustered regionally in the shade-and-sun-speckled meadow.

There were rickshaw rides, pottery demonstrations, skyline painting, a piñata, and live goats, chicks, and alpacas. There was even a heifer – but not a “holy cow” from India.

You could rest in a Bedouin tent in the Middle East while sipping Moroccan mint tea, or try a tostado from Guatemala while chatting with missionaries from Latin America.

The Global Fair ice creams are always popular; this year there were also other delicacies like bannock from northern Canada and exotic European cheeses to sample.

“This is marvelous,” said John Hawbaker, pastor of Manor Brethren in Christ Church, as he dipped a piece of Middle Eastern pita bread into olive oil and zatar (spices). “I can’t believe you’ve been doing this for more than ten years. This is our first time here, but we’ll definitely be back.”

“I always come for the Ethiopian food,” said someone else as he headed over for a spicy plate of chicken and lentil injera and wat in the Africa region.

Another visitor lingered in the Middle East region to ask thoughtful questions about recent interactions they’d had with a Muslim businessman from the Middle East around their picnic table.

“I wouldn’t miss Global Fair or an EMM commissioning for anything,” one mother volunteered as she sampled Moroccan lemon cake. “That’s how God gave me a vision for missions when I was a child – and I want my children to catch the vision. We’re all missionaries whether we stay here or go somewhere else.”

--Jewel Showalter

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