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.”

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — On Christmas Eve, nearly 2,000 people — many of whom are homeless — will be invited to a beautiful white-linen meal in Tegucigalpa. For the sixth year, this free meal, Una Cena con el Rey (A Dinner with the King), will be held in the historic city center by the ministry Talita Cumi.

Former EMM worker Brook Hostetter connected a North American children's choir with a Peruvian children's choir. The result was this original song and music video, recorded and filmed in Cusco, Peru! Enjoy Kuska Takisun ("Together We Sing"), and read the story behind the music video below.

"Would you like to join us for a Bible discussion? There's free food ..."

LANCASTER, Pa. — Five hundred fifty Lancaster Mennonite High School (LM) students were challenged to go 48 hours without using their smartphones or social media. Smartphone addiction is becoming an increasing concern for 21st-century society, especially for adolescents.

CHEPILAT, Kenya — In 2015, Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) gave a $250 grant to Kenyan pastor and entrepreneur, Kefa Moirore, to fund his business, Loafstar Bakery. “The amount has multiplied like the ‘loaves of bread and fish’ in the Bible,” said Moirore, allowing him to acquire a plot of land worth 1 million Kenyan shillings (about $10,000).

I have a confession to make — I LOVE to fix things. I mean I have it bad, and if you have known me for long, you know this about me, because it has become such a core piece of who I am. As soon as I hear of a need, immediately I am brainstorming and asking, "What can I do? Let's fix this!"

LANCASTER, Pa. — Before moving to Lancaster County 18 years ago, Donna Becker had little exposure to Mennonites. In fact, she was not aware that she had ever met a Mennonite until she began studies with Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 2015. Becker spent most of her life in the Baltimore area, in the Lutheran and United Church of Christ traditions.

ATTAPEU, Laos and KERALA, India — Two devastating and unrelated flooding incidents in Asia have resulted in high numbers of death and displacement. In August 2018, Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) sent $9,500 toward relief efforts.

Before Mary and I went to Vietnam, I was profoundly moved by reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and pastor, hanged in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, had written: "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die."

FOZ DO IGUAÇU, Brazil — A first-ever interfaith dialogue gathering for evangelical Christians and Sunni Muslims in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu was held on July 17. The Centro Cultural Beneficente Islâmico de Foz do Iguaçu and the Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) Christian-Muslim Relations Team (CMRT) co-sponsored the gathering with the theme, “Peace: Connecting personal experience with Peace on Earth.”

SEMARANG, Indonesia — A trip to Indonesia changed the way that 29 students see the world. From June 26 to July 14, the Chamber Choir of the Mennonite Children’s Choir of Lancaster (MCCL) participated in a GO! Summer mission assignment with Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM).

Many people have never heard of this country, or if they have, they know little about it. The government has guaranteed this cloak of secrecy over the last 60-plus years of military junta ruling by keeping much of the country closed, with severe and swift consequences for anyone they even suspect of questioning their laws or legitimacy. Secret police are located everywhere, spying on their own citizens and making those they feel may be a threat disappear, temporarily or permanently.

LANCASTER, Pa. — “Discipleship sessions were a big area of focus,” said Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) Kingdom Team Director Krista Martin when asked to highlight what is new for the program this year. The curriculum is based on EMM’s mission statement, providing instruction for Kingdom Team staff to help teach the program participants.

WILLOW STREET, Pa. — It’s all about the international food — at least according to Luke Charles, 35, of Millersville, Pa., who has not missed Eastern Mennonite Missions’ (EMM’s) Global Fair for 19 of the event’s 23 years.