 | Mennonites in Quito pray and work for peace Ana (not her real name), came to Ecuador from Medellin, Colombia, in 2016 after escaping from paramilitaries who had taken and kept her hostage for two years. She was subjected to various kinds of abuse and violence, the result of which was pregnancy. In addition, she was forced to commit a number of crimes. Read more |  | The Holy Spirit transforming us Bogotá, Colombia – Throughout the history of the Christian church, followers of Jesus have been transformed and renewed by the living presence of the Holy Spirit. We persevere with hope in the face of overwhelming challenges. Read more |  | Deacons: servants in the Father's house Where do you look when you ask yourself what a deacon's task is? Very often, one turns to Acts 6:1–6, although the word "deacon" or "servant" (diakonos) does not appear in this text. In this passage, the community provides for those who are needy among them, and as the church grows, the needs grow as well. The community appoints men to organize the daily distribution of food. These men – deacons – listen to the needs and meet them with the means shared by the community. Read more |  | A transformative year: YAMEN participants meet God and people Bogotá, Colombia – "The gospel connects us all no matter where we are," says Laurey Segura. She lived out this realization as a teacher and youth worker with the help of Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN), a joint Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC) program which allowed the Costa Rican Mennonite to serve in Cambodia for a year over 2016–2017. Read more |  | Still transforming A rediscovery of Scripture was both a root and a fruit of the Reformation, the movement out of which Anabaptism grew. Not that the Bible had been lost, but it was not accessible to the average person. Nor did many people who understood themselves to be Christian have the conviction that the Bible has something to say about how they lived. Anabaptists in particular are characterized by our attention to Scripture, to the point of sometimes even appropriating the moniker "people of the Book." Read more |  | Hmong committed to Jesus despite persecution Ponchai Banchasawan, pastor of the Thupberg congregation of the Hmong Church of Christ in Thailand, stands next to a debris field where the chair of his congregation owned a guest house that he rented to people vacationing in the mountains. In the summer of 2016, government soldiers surrounded this property, told the owner he did not have proper permits, and destroyed the building – a loss to him of some US $166,000. Read more | Prayers of gratitude and intercession October 2017: Pray for the Kenya Mennonite Church who will host MWC meetings in Kenya in April 2018 (Executive Committee, General Council, Renewal 2027). Another election is scheduled to take place 26 October 2017 after irregularities rendered the previous invalid. The uncertain outcome is causing financial instability and social unrest. Pray for honesty, fair process and peace to prevail in the process. Read more.
October 2017: World Food Day in October calls our attention to God's provision for us through the land, and calls us to lament with those who do not have enough. We pray particularly for Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen which have been experiencing famine. Read more. | |
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