Outreach to Somalis continues to be a great need and a significant challenge in East Africa. This fund helps to support the work of EMM partners as they share the good news of Jesus with Somalis refugees within their borders as well as in Somalia.
Thank you for your interest in the Unexpected Peace documentary. As you may know, stories of peacebuilding rarely make it to the big screen, but these stories need to be told. We invite you to join us in responding to Jesus’ invitation to be peacemakers and ministers of reconciliation.
Please would you consider a generous gift to Unexpected Peace today? Your generosity will help to share stories to touch people’s hearts and open their minds to new ideas about forgiveness, peacemaking, and reconciliation.
To learn more about the Unexpected Peace documentary visit unexpectedpeace.com.
To learn more about EMM’s Christian-Muslim Relations Team visit emmpeacemakers.org.
Alexander and Maria* work in a transformational business and an international school. Alexander also serves as the regional representative for Central and South Asia. They serve in Central Asia with their children.
*Names changed for sensitivity reasons.
Andrés and Angélica seek to be winsome ambassadors of the Messiah Jesus for people in North Africa and South Europe:
*Names changed for sensitivity reasons.
Michael Baker serves as the non-resident regional representative for West Africa.
Jonathan serves globally as a consultant for churches and leaders, especially in the area of teaching/training Christians how to build life-giving relationships with Muslims through dialogue, peacemaking, witness, and hospitality. He leads EMM’s Christian-Muslim Relations Team.
Michael serves in Lebanon, Pa., with his wife, Deborah, and their two children. Michael has experienced the life-transforming power of the gospel in his personal life, and he desires to extend the hope of Christ to others by reaching out to the forgotten members of society, including people in his city who are returning from incarceration or rehabilitation from substance abuse. He understands the obstacles to reconnecting with society and building meaningful relationships. It is his deepest desire to come alongside men, supporting his community through social relationships and mentoring, and also by networking among ministries and city services.
Our ministries have evolved repeatedly over the years. John overseas an after-school children’s program in several village centers, teaches and disciples local Christian leaders, and now provides a local village trash service. Debbie is still involved in public health education and frequently sees patients who have not been able to get help elsewhere.
Darrel and Miriam* and their family serve with a young church that has become a home to people from many nationalities. Darrel has served in pastoral oversight, and Miriam has been involved with the development of various church ministries, including reaching out to immigrants. Darrel serves as regional representative for West Europe.
*Last name omitted for sensitivity reasons.
Angie Earl serves as a volunteer worker with EMM’s Christian-Muslim Relations Team, which helps to teach/train Christians how to build life-giving relationships with Muslims through dialogue, witness, peacemaking, and hospitality.
J.C. is a non-resident worker, serving as the director of Africa Association of Bible Schools.
Tanner is serving in Costa Rica for 10 months at a discipleship training school with Vida220.
Elizabeth* is learning a Central Asian language and culture so that she can use her storytelling skills to both honor and share the people’s stories and to share the stories of Jesus with them.
*Last name omitted for sensitivity reasons.
Eric and Janelle* are working, as members of an international church, to build a healthy, diverse, Christ-centered community that equips disciples to extend the kingdom of God to their city in Germany and to the world. They are also actively becoming more involved in their local neighborhood by prayer-walking, volunteering at their children’s schools, hospitality, and participating in a community garden. Their prayer is that the kindness of Jesus, working in and through them, would draw their neighbors and friends to repentance and freedom in Christ.
*Last name omitted for sensitivity reasons.
Kandace is engaged in language study and relationship building in Cambodia. She is involved in a variety of dynamic friendships and discipling relationships in which she seeks to help university/post-grad students discover God‘s purpose for their lives as they grow in relationship with Jesus.
Phil and Linda serve Ukrainian refugees in a cooperative ministry with a number of local churches and other missionaries in Bucharest, Romania. They are theological educators, having trained pastors and other Christian leaders since 1986 in Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They intend to move to Ukraine to serve with Zaporizhzhya Bible Seminary after the Russian war against Ukraine is over.
Tim and Julie serve in Belize with their three children. They support the local outreach of the Garifuna churches in southern Belize — helping to envision and develop new ministries, mentoring leaders, and walking with an emerging youth movement. They are building relationships with the leaders of the broader Christian community in Dangriga to determine what supportive ministries are needed.
Sonya serves in administration at Crossroads-Torchbearers Albania which facilitates an international Bible school and Christian summer camps for children and youth. She serves alongside the Erseke Evangelical Church in ministry to disadvantaged children through an after school program and children’s home.
Jan serves in Prague through teaching English, building local relationships, and discipling youth and young adults in her local congregation. She strives to model a biblical lifestyle in post-Christian Europe and nurture others into the freedom and life that Jesus offers.
William serves globally providing discipleship training, leadership development, and mutual learning and encouragement with EMM’s partners.
Daryl and Jen serve in Costa Rica with their four children, supporting the local discipleship network VidaNet. They serve on the leadership team of VidaNet and give leadership to the daily operations at Casa VidaNet. Daryl assists with organizing finances and administrative responsibilities for VidaNet. The programs of VidaNet provide long- and short-term discipleship and leadership training for young people from Central and North America. Jen serves as hospitality coordinator for VidaNet, planning and preparing for individuals and groups who stay at Casa VidaNet. Jen also serves as a counselor for El Nido, VidaNet’s crisis pregnancy center which provides support and resources for mothers and children in crisis.
Steve and Bethany, and their family, are serving with the Life Enrichment Church in Thailand, expanding the reach of God’s Good News by cultivating the next generation of disciples.
Our mission includes walking with people as they discover God’s purpose for their lives and as they grow in relationship with Jesus. We partner with a Christian non-profit focusing on the prevention of childhood sexual abuse and the development of a local Christian retreat center.
Donations may be sent to Old Road Mennonite Church, 5795 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gap, PA 17527, along with a note designating it for Nancy and Michael Hostetter.
Note: This form is not for rental payments or payment for classes. Please see this page for rental information.
We are a Hub of welcome for the Nations to build bridges across cultures through hospitality, learning, and creativity.
Hub450 is also available as an event space that can be rented by the community for corporate or private functions (and at a discounted rate to new immigrants).
Lancaster County is best known as a tourist destination for those wanting to learn about its Amish and Mennonite communities. Many do not realize that Lancaster is also home to immigrants from many nations. Lancaster was named “America’s Refugee capital”, by the BBC, as Lancaster boasts the second largest refugee population per capita than any other city in the USA.
There are a variety of programs running at Hub450 to serve and welcome refugees and immigrants to Lancaster. To name a few: Global Women’s Village, English as a Second Language Classes, Driver’s Ed Classes, Prayer for the Nations Night, After-School Tutoring, and (coming soon) an International Cafe.
Our core values include the following:
Hospitality: sharing food, friends, and relationships at the table
Opportunity: partnering with neighbors, community, nations
Presence: practicing Christ’s love for the well-being of the city and world
Engage: creating space for education, art, business, innovation, and faith
We hope you will consider partnering with us in welcoming our New Neighbor to Lancaster!
The Impact Fund is essential to all areas of EMM’s mission. It enables EMM to recruit and send workers, cover some of the cost of worker support, communicate with constituents, provide salaries and benefits for the staff who support these activities, and much more. A charitable gift for which you do not indicate a preference will benefit the Impact Fund.
Jeremy and Jennifer* serve as Regional Representatives, walking alongside the people of Southeast Asia.
*Last name omitted for sensitivity reasons.
Jonas and Hannah* serve in intercultural church planting and mentoring church planters in Germany.
*Names changed for sensitivity reasons.
Gerry and Donna are volunteer workers, who travel to Vietnam and other international locations to train pastors and church workers. They also develop curriculum from an Anabaptist perspective for post-high school learners.
To contribute toward the program expenses of the Keeners’ work, checks may be mailed to:
Eastern Mennonite Missions
PO Box 8617
Lancaster PA 17604
Memo line “SE Asia Program Ministry/G&D Keener.”
Michael and Ruth serve as members of the Christian-Muslim Relations Team, having served previously for nearly 10 years in South Asia. During this time they lived and worked in a Muslim community. This deep background experience is critical to understanding Muslims and gives them something to draw upon as they equip others for fruitful and life-giving relationships with Muslims. During those years in South Asia, they were devoted to prayer as one of their primary ministry functions. Their gifts and experience help the CMRT continue to grow in prayer and equipping others in prayer as a vital part of mission.
Aaron and Katarina are living on Tenglo Island and assisting in the work of a summer camp called Siloé. Part of their job is to maintain the property on the island where they hold the summer camp. They also assist with other various ministries of community outreach and church planting.
Deb coordinates Hub 450, EMM’s new community center in Lancaster city. This hospitality center is a place of connection across cultures, creating a safe space for Lancaster’s refugee community and beyond. It is a place of food, creativity and cross-cultural community.
Wendell and Melanie serve in Costa Rica with their four children, mentoring and making disciples as directors of VidaNet. They are regional representatives for Central America, overseeing all of EMM’s programs and personnel in the region.
*Name changed for sensitivity reasons.
Peter and Christy serve in French-speaking Central Africa, jointly appointed with Mennonite Mission Network. Peter is joining the work of a seminary and an interfaith relations office of the local churches. Christy works in a hospital as a nurse/midwife. The children are in the local French school. Peter is also a member at large of the Christian-Muslim Relations Team, encouraging churches and individuals through teaching, preaching, writing, and example, to build meaningful relationships with Muslims. Peter and Christy previously served in East Africa with their children for five years.
*Last name omitted for sensitivity reasons.
Vojta serves with Prison Fellowship Czech Republic (a local branch of Prison Fellowship International) through which he serves both persons incarcerated, and their children and families outside the prison. He helps to lead, translate and facilitate “Battle for the Heart” cohorts, and offers language coaching to missionaries living in the Czech. Stacy teaches English and helps to give leadership to an informal language café hosted by a local Czech Brethren church. Together they serve as EMM’s regional representatives for Eastern and Central Europe.
Mark and Sarah serve as the primary EMM link with the Life Enrichment Church, walking with them in such a way as to deepen their biblical/theological understandings, encourage the vision for multiplication, provide pastoral care for the church leaders, and facilitate opportunities for deeper relationships with the broader Anabaptist world.
Hello! I am glad you stopped by this page. My name is Becca Smoker and I am serving in an administrative role within the Hub’s Internship Program. I organize events, head up publicity and social media, and connect with people who want to learn more about Hub450. I spend my afternoons twice a week serving at the after-school program with the students from all around the world.
I am thrilled to build relationships with our new neighbors from around the world, share the Gospel, and learn about cross-cultural ministry through this opportunity. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like a tour of the Hub450 and are interested in learning more about what God is doing in Lancaster City!
My passion is that some from every people, tribe, and tongue might come to know and Glorify the King of Kings and my dearest friend.
We aim to model healthy Christian family life to the community, connect with the existing Mennonite Church for ongoing discipleship and training while we also learn and receive from them. We also want to focus energy into being a witness to the surrounding unreached people groups where we will be living.
Jennifer will accompany believers in Marseille, France, as they disciple new believers and train leaders.
Alan and Carol have lived in Wales since 1999. They have been involved in church development, teaching English, discipleship training, and more. They are a part of a missional community in Cardiff, where they strive to model a biblical lifestyle in a post-Christian culture.
Bekka is participating in Advance Global, a 9-month, international discipleship and service opportunity.
Jon and Heleen served for three years in Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone. During this time, they worked effectively and amiably with their national colleagues and launched a ministry to children with trauma and disabilities that continues in their absence. They now serve as volunteer workers with EMM, following up with relationships in Sierra Leone, supporting the continuing development of the ministry (Nyandengoh!), and leading short-term trips to the region.
Leon and Naomi serve globally, providing theological teaching, leadership development, and encouragement to EMM’s partners.
You can help support an after-school program called Foleza (The Little Nest) and House of Hope Children’s Home run by the Evangelical Church of Erseke, Albania, for disadvantaged children. Funds will be used for program, daily living and staff expenses related to these 2 ministries for children who attend Foleza and/or are a member of the House of Hope family.
Austin serves with VidaNet, a discipleship training ministry based in Costa Rica. He leads VidaNet’s community outreach programs, and also plans and leads the short-term teams that come through the ministry while traveling to different parts of Central America. Austin builds and strengthens relationships with VidaNet’s partner churches.
Why do over 25% of children in Belize stop going to school by age 12? Because secondary school isn’t free. That’s why Miriam Eberly, who formerly served with EMM in Belize, started a scholarship fund to help students get the education they need to achieve their dreams.
Miriam’s scholarship fund, called the Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church Scholarship Fund, provides $200 to $250 scholarships (the equivalent of 400 to 500 Belize dollars) to secondary students who attend Mennonite churches. The cost of secondary school in Belize varies widely, from around $300 per year to $3,000 (USD). When evaluating applications for the scholarship, Miriam takes financial need, Mennonite church attendance and participation, leadership potential, and educational excellence into account.
Each student sends a letter when they apply for the scholarship. Miriam has received letters from Deaf students, students whose homes don’t have electricity, and students who hope to become doctors to serve the Belizean people one day. “My goals are to graduate and then be able to go to Bible college. One day I also hope to become a missionary in India,” wrote one student named Sally Padilla.
After four years of running the scholarship fund almost entirely from her own savings, Miriam is beginning to hear from scholarship recipients who went on to pursue their goals. One female student was accepted to the University of Belize to study math, physics, and architecture. Another student is studying at a Bible school in Guatemala.
For Miriam, her scholarship fund is a way to invest in the future of a country she loves. Would you like to join her?
$15 helps a student afford transportation to school for one week
$50 helps a student purchase a secondary school textbook
$250 provides a student with a scholarship for a full school year
The beauty of the islands lying off the coast of southern Chile is tainted by darkness. Government studies indicate that as many as eight out of 10 children there are being sexually abused. Throughout Chile, EMM workers have joined with others to help prevent the abuse.
For example, Caminando en Victoria (Walking in Victory) is an organization that holds many workshops to educate adults and children about sexual abuse prevention. Another example is a ministry center for children living in La Vega, a section of Tenglo Island. The center, called Siloe’, is a safe place where children can relax, play, learn, experience healthy ways of relating, and receive affirmation, encouragement, and love from Christian believers. Parents and adult relatives of the children are mostly absent, living below poverty level, and lacking in education and resources. Funds are needed to purchase supplies for workshops, sporting equipment, games, books, art supplies, music-related items, firewood, gas for cooking, and snacks for the children.
$20 will provide art supplies for the children
$50 provides swimming classes
$200 pays for one person to attend a training seminar on the prevention of sexual abuse
$20, $50, $200, other
In rural Cambodia, an after-school children’s program is changing lives. Children ages seven to 14 can take part in a program that provides math tutoring, Khmer language skills (many enter the program not even knowing the basic alphabet), and Scriptural education.
Children are introduced to the Bible — learning about Adam to Jesus in one year! Christian character values such as honesty, respect for others, and honoring one’s parents are emphasized.
The “character teachers” are all committed local Khmer Christians who love kids. Games, skits, and play times provide fun for the children. The program is unapologetically Christian; parents know and understand their children will be learning about Jesus, singing Christian songs, and learning from God’s Scriptures. Parents or caretakers attend a parenting session.
Every child in the program is required to attend the local schools: the program provides each with a school uniform, a book bag, school supplies, and a set of play clothes. A local compound in the village is rented for a few hours a day. Used motorcycles must be purchased so teachers can travel between villages.
The program has just been expanded into two new villages, and parents are very eager to get their children involved. 120 new children have been signed up — more than expected!
$115 covers the full cost of one child participating in the program
$900 provides a teacher with a used motorcycle for traveling among villages
$18, $82, $115, $800, other
“Leadership development and theological training for pastors continue to be pressing needs of the Vietnamese church. While some Bible schools were legally recognized since 2004, there is still a huge shortage of adequately trained leaders, pastors and teachers. There is a lot of catching up to do as a result of 30 years of near total restrictions on training. Some of those restrictions continue to this day,” says Gerry Keener, an EMM non-resident missionary who teaches in a ministry training institute started by the Vietnam Mennonite Church. “The Mennonite training institute in Vietnam provides a framework in which we can train Mennonite leaders as well as share Anabaptist-oriented curricular materials with other denominations.”
The Vietnamese believers are energetic and dedicated to the Lord and His kingdom. Biblical and theological training are vital to provide enough leaders and teachers for the growing evangelical community and to stabilize the church.
$50 pays for textbooks and study materials for one student for four one-week courses
$100 pays for one student’s transportation and food for a week-long course
$200 pays to translate the teachings of visiting teachers in the classroom
“I have resolved to faithfully follow Christ all my life. I want to be faithful to obey the Lord’s teaching and to use His Word in edifying His household.” — Nguyen Dinh Vu, evangelist in Vietnam
$25, $50, $150, other
“The flow of refugees into Germany, already very high, is expected to increase in a way we’ve never seen before,” said an EMM worker in Halle, Germany. At Begegnungraum der Kulturen (The Meeting Place of Cultures) – an immigrant ministry through local church Soli Deo in Halle – refugees receive aid in their hour of need. Many arrive traumatized and fearful. But everyone who comes to the immigrant center is treated with dignity and respect, welcomed despite being strangers and foreigners in a new country.
Europe is seeing an influx of refugees from politically destabilized regions in North Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Since 2010, immigration has doubled in parts of Europe. Refugees may be Muslims, and they may be persecuted Christians. Marah is a single mother struggling to raise two children on her own. She arrived in Halle, Germany, from North Africa, with a price on her head for dishonoring her family. Fadiyah, abandoned by her husband, is from Sao Tome. Illness has added to the burden of taking care of her three teenage sons.
At Begegnungraum der Kulturen, practical help is offered – from setting up a household in Germany to applying for government paperwork. German language courses, music lessons, and a safe place to socialize and make friends help with the immigrants’ transition to a new country. “Germany is being stretched almost beyond its limits,” said the EMM worker in Halle. “While Germany has welcomed more refugees per capita than any country in Europe, there has been a minority speaking out against the refugees who are arriving. Now is the time for the evangelical church to join together and welcome the tide of refugees in the name of Jesus.”
Give towards immigrant ministry in Halle, Germany. Any amount will help.
$20 helps a refugee family buy groceries
$50 helps buy a tank of gas or pay the electric bill
$100 helps with a month’s rent
$20, $50, $100, other
Give the gift of a good start in life!
In Guinea-Bissau, where the annual per capita income is only $1,090, mothers have few educational options for their children.
EMM has partnered with local people in the villages of Catel, Guinea-Bissau, to start a preschool where children can get a good start on reading, writing, and arithmetic. But most importantly, the children learn that Jesus loves them and has good plans for their lives.
Village parents pay $10 per school year in tuition (a significant expense for them), but this is not enough to cover all costs. The preschool has a current financial need of $2,000.
Charitable gifts received will be used to outfit school rooms, make uniforms, purchase school supplies, and supplement the salaries of the the preschool teachers.
$54.50 provides one student with a uniform, books, and supplies, and supplements teachers’ salaries
$720 covers the cost of paint, window screens, cabinet locks, general care, and security for the preschools
Give towards the preschool in Guinea-Bissau.
$54.50, $720, other
Quechua children in Peru face discrimination in local schools due to their ethnicity and their evangelical faith. The Peruvian Mennonite Church decided to establish an alternative to the local school system by founding PROMESA, which offers an academically advanced, Christian education that also frees children from experiencing discrimination at school.
Two reasons to give to PROMESA:
New building
The school started in 2005 with 11 students; today, nearly 300 children, both Quechua and non-Quechua, are enrolled. Many children were being turned away due to lack of space and insufficient facilities, so the church purchased land in the mountains outside Cusco to construct a new school building. Volunteers from Engineering Ministries International (EMI) have created a three-phase construction plan. Walk through the planned campus here.
Just over $1 million is needed for site preparation and phase one of building classrooms. With our support, many more Peruvian students can have access to a safe, high-quality, Christian education. Read stories from the Peru Trek for PROMESA which helped raise money for the school.
Scholarships
You can help a bright child with insufficient resources get a high-quality Christian education! It takes $1000 to sponsor one student for an entire school year, but any amount helps.
In this short video, learn about PROMESA through the story of 15-year-old Jhon Erik — and find out ways to help this Christian school achieve its future goals.
$50 helps PROMESA expand and reach more children
$200 moves PROMESA closer to a larger facility
$2,000 is a generous gift promoting education!
$50, $200, $2,000, other
Children living in the remote villages of the Andean mountains of Peru face a number of health challenges, including malnutrition, parasites, and anemia. Fortunately, these conditions are treatable and preventable with education and assistance.
Born and raised in Peru, Gloria Mamani Nina is a health promoter who travels six hours by bus to reach the village of San Juan de Cotabambas. She provides the families there with the information and tools they need for better health. Gloria presents lessons on everything from a balanced diet to good dental care to the importance of hygiene.
Gloria works as a health promoter with PROSIM, a health care cooperative started by EMM and the Peruvian Mennonite Church. Each local church — many in outlying villages and communities — has a health promoter or representative. Every month, the health promoters gather to meet with PROSIM for training, a time of prayer and worship, and a short devotional. Some of the trainings have included CPR training, anemia, medications and how to use them, and dehydration. The health promoters go back and share this vital information with their own communities or an outlying village. In the process they are seeing lives transformed, physically and spiritually! Check out PROSIM’s work.
Give to PROSIM in Peru.
$20 covers the travel costs for a health promoter or representative (usually as far as 6-8 hours by bus) to attend monthly meetings
$30 provides ten elderly individuals with hygiene products and a nutritious meal
$45 replenishes the medications and supplies in the first aid kits of the health promoters and representatives
$20, $30, $45, other
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