I was recently asked, "What does church planting look like?" I have been privileged to be part of two church planting efforts, one in Ohio Mennonite Conference and one in LMC: a fellowship of Anabaptist churches.

It began September 4, 1944. A little girl was born to an unwed mother. This little girl would go on to experience pain, shame, and rejection throughout her early years. She was socially awkward and always felt left out. You see, during this period of her life, it was a disgrace to have a child out of wedlock. Her mother hid her for over 14 years before anyone got a chance to meet her. Not sure of her place or purpose in life, she began dreaming of being important — or rather, being noticed.

In 2015, an intense tropical typhoon named Soudelor hit the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the U.S. in the Pacific Ocean, and caused extensive damage to the island of Saipan. I was oblivious to a place called Saipan, and the typhoon that devastated it, until I visited friends in Alabama a whole year later.

For Miriam Eberly, a former Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) worker in Belize, her scholarship fund for Belizean secondary students is a way to invest in the future of the country that captured her heart over 50 years ago.

MORGANTOWN, Pa. — Excitement, danger, and transformation through the gospel: the stories of missionaries throughout the past century still hold inspiration for people today. In the new book “Surviving, Thriving, and Multiplying: Three Decades of Growth in the Honduras Mennonite Church,” former missionaries tell the story of the Mennonite movement in Honduras, which started through the ministries of Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) pioneers.

LANCASTER, Pa. — For Miriam Eberly, a former Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) worker in Belize, her scholarship fund for Belizean secondary students is a way to invest in the future of the country that captured her heart over 50 years ago.

Melissa Stehman of Manheim, Pa., was a trekker on EMM's 2017 Peru Trek for PROMESA. Along with nine other hikers, Melissa trekked 61 miles over five days, sometimes climbing higher than 16,000 feet above sea level. The purpose? Raising funds to build a new school for Peruvian Mennonite K-12 students! Here are Melissa's memories from the trip.

From March to July 2017, Brooke Leaman spent part of her gap year between high school and college serving in Guatemala at a children's home called Casa Shalom in partnership with the organization We Help Children. In an interview after her mission internship, Brooke told us about her experience, which included toddlers, friendships, and lots of dancing!

Over the past seven years, I've met inspiring, resilient, kind, hilarious, hospitable, hard-working friends who all have one thing in common: they've come to North America as refugees. 

In 1999, when my husband Jimm and I were on our way to Halle, Germany, to help start a community of believers, we did our research.