LEBANON, Pa. — After one very long day on the road, having traveled more than 900 miles, the record-setting youth group from Kalona (Iowa) Mennonite Church arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, July 28.

WILLOW STREET, Pa. — On July 13, 2019, Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) held its annual missions and culture event at the Hans Herr House and Museum, drawing an estimated 1,600 visitors to Global Fair. Attendees had opportunities to hear a number of international performers on the fair’s new World Stage and to interact with EMM workers and community organizations, purchase food, or play kids games at more than 50 stands representing about 30 different cultures.

MUSOMA, Tanzania — Shouting, singing, and celebration resounded throughout the village. Water came flowing into tanks from Lake Victoria, which is just to the north of the Mennonite Theological College of East Africa (MTCEA). Acting Principal John Wambura recalled people in the village declaring, “God is back in Nyabange Mission.” 

WILLOW STREET, Pa. — A limited budget or scant vacation time doesn’t have to mean a dismal summer. In fact, you can go around the world in just 4 hours at the 24th annual Global Fair on July 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Hans Herr House and Museum in Willow Street, Pa.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — A father and his young child sat together in a quiet and removed location. While other conference attendees enjoyed their lunches, the father worked to lull his irascible child to sleep. 

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Two books from “The Christians Meeting Muslims Series” are making new inroads for Christian-Muslim relations in Ethiopia and Somalia.

SALUNGA, Pa. — Rhoda M. Sauder, 83, a pioneer and career missionary, passed into eternity on March 23, 2019, in Ephrata, Pa. Rhoda and her late husband, James Sauder, served with Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) for 30 years.

You’re invited to join us in our annual week of prayer and fasting, scheduled this year for April 15–18. In particular, consider participating in our 24 hours of prayer from 12 noon Wednesday, April 17, until 12 noon on Thursday, April 18. Contact Jess Herlein or click the button below to sign up for a one-hour time slot. Use this guide as a resource as you pray.

SHIRATI, Tanzania — In mid-February, 50 Tanzania Mennonite church leaders, under the guidance of Palmer Becker, a Canadian Mennonite author and teacher, studied spiritual leadership, pastoral care, and Anabaptist essentials using the translated publication, “Begin Anew: Christian Discipleship Seminars.”

Gerry Keener, president of Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM), is pleased to announce that Lorri Bentch has been appointed as the Mission Team director. Bentch will begin employment on April 3, providing leadership to 111 global workers serving in 33 countries, including regional representatives, and five Central Administrative Office staff members.

AKRON, Pa. — Twelve people were gathered closely in a circle as Yvonne Garber uttered a simple Swahili phrase: “Mungu Anajua.” Garber then shared the translation of this short expression — “God knows” — as she and her husband, Joe, elaborated about how they first discerned a calling to serve the Tanzania Mennonite Church: Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania (KMT).

This annual report is an overview of EMM’s work in 2018. It provides glimpses of the major events that happened in each of the 12 regions where EMM workers are serving, introduces you to the people working in each region, and shows how EMM funds were allocated throughout the year. For a more in-depth look at EMM’s vision for each region of the world and the work taking place there, visit emm.org/regions. Stay updated on EMM’s work through news releases, feature stories, podcasts, photo galleries, and more at emm.org/stories. Thank you for taking the time to engage with EMM’s mission!

NAIROBI, Kenya — A little more than a decade and a half ago, Bud and Shari Yordy owned and ran a hardware store in central Illinois. Responding to an urging they felt came from God, they started to actively seek out volunteer opportunities.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Authors Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin will forge guns into garden tools as they release their new book “Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence.” On the first day of their book release tour, March 9, at 6 p.m., Claiborne and Martin will be at Neffsville Mennonite Church in Lancaster.

It’s no surprise that learning a new language is difficult. But add to that task the challenge of trying to learn an endangered language with no official written component that is spoken by only an estimated 200,000 people worldwide — and it seems overwhelming! Where to begin? EMM worker Tim Groff begins by singing.

Ethnomusicology is the study of musical styles and their respective cultures around the world. As an ethnomusicologist, EMM worker Glenna Sollenberger is passionate about helping every culture understand the Scriptures in ways that are meaningful to them. Glenna invites you to explore mission work through music among five different people groups.

SALUNGA, Pa. — The Board of Directors of Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) announces the appointment of Gerald “Gerry” H. Keener as the president of the organization.

CATEL, Guinea-Bissau — During its 2018 annual conference, Mennonite Church West Africa (MCWA) celebrated its first-ever credentialed leaders.

In 2008, John and Debbie Coats started a pilot program for children which focused on character training in a rural village in southeastern Cambodia. The program began with staff members meeting with children twice per week.

BADHOEVEDORP, Netherlands — It seems unlikely that a topic with apparently little common ground could serve as a starting point for Christian-Muslim dialogue: the relationship between humanity and divinity. On November 30, 2018, Tyndale Theological Seminary in Badhoevedorp hosted the event: “A dialogue comparing the divine and the human in Islam and Christianity.”