CAIRO — Since 1980, A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue by Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk has been helping Christians and Muslims cultivate mutual understanding. On March 15, prominent Egyptian Muslim and Christian leadership gathered at All Saints’ Cathedral to celebrate the official launch of the Arabic translation of the influential book.

AKRON, Pa. — “I think religious minorities in this country, no matter who they are, are feeling under threat,” said Trina Trotter Nussbaum, interim director for Eastern Mennonite University’s (EMU’s) Center for Interfaith Engagement.

Lancaster City has recently become known as “America’s refugee capital,” following a report by the BBC which said that Lancaster takes in 20 times more refugees per capita than the rest of the U.S. Meet Barbara Witmer, one Lancaster City resident whose longstanding commitment to refugee resettlement has affected hundreds of lives.

The annual report provides a window into the work EMM is doing in 11 regions of the world. For a more in-depth look at our vision for each region and the work taking place there, visit www.emm.org/regions. You can also stay connected with our work through news releases, feature stories, podcasts, photo galleries, and more at www.emm.org/stories. Thank you for taking the time to engage with our mission!

EMM’s regional representatives (RRs) are experienced missionaries who specialize, serve, and usually live in a particular region of the world. Due to their insight and experience, each RR provides valuable oversight for the EMM work happening in his or her region. This includes general guidance (for example, forming a mission vision and strategy for a region), and also counsel in specific situations. Recently, RRs were essential in helping two West Africa workers navigate a tricky situation.

LANCASTER, Pa. — It had been two and a half weeks since President Trump’s executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for three months, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for four months, and slashing the number of refugees permitted into the U.S. in fiscal year 2017 by more than half.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Lancaster City has recently become known as “America’s refugee capital,” following a report by the BBC which said that Lancaster takes in 20 times more refugees per capita than the rest of the U.S. Meet Barbara Witmer, one Lancaster City resident whose longstanding commitment to refugee resettlement has affected hundreds of lives.

An Eastern Mennonite Missions statement in response to current events

SAN JERÓNIMO, Peru — On a sunny November day, art teacher Ryan Sommers was arguing with five of his high school students.

In the 1970s, a Marxist military group called the Derg gained control of Ethiopia by force. There followed several years of civil unrest, in which gunfire seemed to resound beyond every horizon, friends and neighbors were divided by fear and betrayal, and the church was forced deep underground.

CUSCO, Peru — Bringing light to the darkness. For Chilean couple Eliana Medina and Ricardo Ibaceta, that is what their childhood sexual abuse prevention nonprofit, Niños Caminando en Victoria (Children Walking in Victory), is all about. As the value of their ministry has become apparent to the Chilean government, Niños Caminando en Victoria has won grants enabling its message to spread further.

Germany — Eastern Mennonite Missions’ Christian/Muslim Relations Team (CMRT) traveled to Germany for 13 days (Nov. 8–20, 2016). The team supported churches in reaching out to new Muslim neighbors brought by the refugee crisis. Some names and locations have been omitted due to security risks.

HALLE, Germany — Now it seems hard to believe, but Kaylene Derksen remembers a time when Eastern Mennonite Missions’ (EMM’s) church plant in Halle, Germany was close to dying out.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Many individuals, small groups, and congregations desire to engage in mission, but do not know how to discern a way forward. Others are already engaged in mission, but do not know where to find the resources needed to increase their effectiveness. Initiated by a conversation about planting new churches, a network called Missional Pathways was developed to help churches think through new ways of engaging in mission.

LITITZ, Pa. — Luke S. Martin, a former missionary to Vietnam, is releasing his new book “A Vietnam Presence: Mennonites in Vietnam During the American War.”

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Vietnamese pastor Nguyen Quang Trung led a 40-year struggle to see the Vietnam Mennonite Church (VMC) legally recognized, finally succeeding in 2007. Now, after 51 years of service to the VMC and eight years as its first official president, Trung is stepping down. Entrusting its future to the next generation, the VMC elected Pastor Huynh Dinh Nghia as its new president on Dec. 2, 2016.

"Healthy teams don't just happen — they are built!"

A GO! participant in Peru teaches not only art, but self-worth. “I can’t draw that!” my second-grader exclaimed as she slammed down her pencil on the desk.