Virginia Mennonite Missions: Called. Sent. Transformed.

December 2011

Marie Shantal’s story: a very bad day in Haiti

December 30, 2011
by Galen & Gloria Lehman, as told by Joe Arbaugh

Marie Shantal’s story: a very bad day in Haiti

Eight-year-old Marie Shantal went to school just like the other children in her middle class Haitian neighborhood on that fateful day in January 2010. But, as she walked home from school with her friends, the ground began to shake. Buildings fell around her. Thousands of people ran, screaming, into the streets! She got separated from her friends as she ran home, in fear, to see her mother and baby brother. She arrived to find that her house was only a pile of rubble. She frantically screamed for help. Her desperate …

Continue reading »

Remember, remember not

December 6, 2011
by Aaron Kauffman
VMM Global Ministries Director

Remember, remember not

One of the paradoxes of the Bible is God’s call to remember but not dwell on the past. “Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there,” declares Deuteronomy 24:18 (NRSV). That memory forms the basis of Israel’s identity. When remembrance turns to nostalgia, however, God has a different message. To the exiles in Babylon, Isaiah 43:18-19 proclaims: “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing.” Both forgetfulness and wistfulness …

Continue reading »

Will you join us as we join God?

December 6, 2011
by Loren Horst

Will you join us as we join God?

Christmas reminds us that God is on a mission. Our future and the future of the church rest entirely on our embrace of that mission. We start by discerning God’s activity in the world. Then we enthusiastically align our priorities with God’s. At VMMissions, God’s work takes many different forms. • Church planting efforts in our conference find fresh ideas and counsel through the coaching of Skip Tobin. • Thirty-one high school students learn from a biblical worldview at Lezha Academic Center in Albania. • Ministries are taking root among …

Continue reading »

.