The word “learning” greatly sums up my past year in Germany. Coming to a new language, culture, land, people, and work has made each day full of unknowns, surprises, challenges and all together constant learning. I came to Kaiserslautern in December 2010, as a missionary intern, desiring to learn the language, heart and people of this land and culture. My desire and delight is in relationship building, opening doors of opportunity to share Christ’s love and active movements today.

I started German language class a year ago, never realizing the impact God would use in friendships built with my
classmates. I have made international friends from Norway, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Estonia. We still meet together on a regular basis, even one year after our German course ended. These women now live in Germany for several years, and most do not know Christ personally. God has really impressed upon my heart a passion and love for these middle-30s-aged mothers.

In meeting regularly for coffee or being invited to one of our homes for a meal, God has provided time and conversation to share His love to these women and their children, giving opportunity to demonstrate His mission in active and personal ways. Several have opened up to me personally, sharing life difficulties, questions and struggles. I am able to show God’s grace and support through listening, understanding and praying with and for them. I am the youngest and only single woman in the group, but I feel equally respected and listened to in our circle.

Where I once was completely timid and new to missions and speaking boldly of God’s love, I am learning the importance of sharing His love, even at the face of possible rejection. I continue learning love and boldness for Christ’s mission and glory!

Marsha will be in Virginia in June and July. Watch for details for a fundraising event on July 12 at Shady Oak (Weavers Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg).

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Marsha Kanagy (right) with German course classmates. Roberta Lotvola, EMM missionary, is on left. Courtesy of author.

As a child, I believed my father would actually carry out this threat since he punished me severely when I didn’t do my homework well or for other childish misdeeds! My Dad grew up in a family greatly influenced by the mafia mentality where violence was the means to gain respect and control. He attempted to instill this lifestyle in all of us, creating an atmosphere of fear, confusion, and distrust. He often humiliated me, saying that I was a “good-for nothing” who would never amount to anything. Abuse in various forms were common occurrences. Consequently, I grew up having low self-esteem and recall longing to die to escape my painful, miserable life. I thought, why do I exist anyway?

When my aunts were converted, I observed the dramatic changes in their lives. At age 12, I accepted Jesus into my life and intermittently attended the Mennonite church near us, but was spiritually confused. When I was 16, my father was incarcerated and our family broke apart. This was a time of great turmoil.

I began keeping bad company and taking drugs. My job pressured me into fraud and cheating so was on probation with the law. My life went downhill rapidly as my addictions intensified. I began living and begging on the street, throwing all self-respect, dignity, and values to the wind as I sought after freedom and love, only to discover that my heart grew increasingly empty. One day when a street companion spit contemptuously in my face, I vowed to murder him. But thankfully, God restrained me from this violent crime. Today I feel only compassion for him!

After eight years, I finally reached bottom and started thinking about God. His Word, planted in my soul, still spoke to me. A tremendous inner battle raged. Although drawn back to church with a deep sense of guilt, I was still shackled to worldly friends and vices.

During those years, the church prayed fervently for me and my pastor loved me like a father, doing everything possible to help me. One night while drunk, I rang my pastor’s doorbell. After he welcomed me inside, I vomited all over the house. As his wife quietly cleaned up, he said, “Mario,* you can’t continue to live like this; you must make a decision!”

Soon thereafter, I had a dream in which God spoke to me very clearly that I needed a new birth. Kneeling beside my bed, I wept tears of true repentance and cried out to God as never before, to remove my sin, “From now on, I don’t care what others think. Help me look straight ahead and keep praising You because You alone can save and free me!” The Lord gave me a lovely Christian wife who helped me break free from my “crooked” lifestyle and together we are rebuilding a new life of fellowship with Him and others. A theme verse of my life, “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6)

Mario* (name changed) and his wife are active in the Mennonite church in Sicily. He eagerly participates in the Discipleship School, personal evangelism, and assists in various ministries of the church.

Networking. This is the one word that can sum up what my role in the Czech Republic has been this past year. Being the first mission intern in Prague for EMM and VMM means my primary role is networking. Networking is defined as the process or practice of building up or maintaining informal relationships, especially with people whose friendship could bring advantages such as job or business opportunities. You build relationships because you can see the potential for a partnership that will further the kingdom of God. In the process, you sometimes develop deep friendships that will leave a lasting impact.

I have had the joy of working in a country that thrives off of networking. Czech Christians used networking to band together during communism. They only went half underground, forging together across denominations to spread the Word and support each other.

I have learned the importance of a team. Networking put me in contact with other missionaries, Czech Brethren churches,
international churches, schools, and organizations who share a common bond: we want Czechs to know Jesus.

The bulk of my connections formed through English camps in the summertime. For five weeks I attended different camps as an English teacher with a variety of organizations working together to share their knowledge of English and Jesus. These camps are powerful and I was delighted to discover that in the months to follow, those relationships continued to grow deeper.

So for those who wonder what a “pioneer” does, the answer is they are really networkers. They are the ones laying the foundation work for others to come and add onto it. And I am truly grateful for the opportunity to help lay the ground work for future EMM and VMM workers in the Czech Republic.

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Emily Gingrich (right) with students at Family English Camp. Courtesy of author

For years, the Life Enrichment Church (LEC), has been praying and waiting for youth to have greater involvement in the life of the church. A few months ago, seemingly out of the blue, a small group of young people from the church came forward with a proposal to the church council. They wanted to serve their very rural community and bear witness to the Gospel by teaching English and Thai classes for local children on Saturdays. With the intent of service and witness, a youth group was formed, by the youth themselves! God’s Spirit is moving and breathing new life. Who knows what might result!

In the same way, for the last two years, Sarah and I have been waiting. We have been learning language and culture, waiting for the time when we can communicate well enough to begin teaching and other more concrete tasks. I have sometimes become quite discouraged, wondering what in the world I have come to Thailand for. Will I ever be able to communicate anything? Will I have
anything to offer?

Recently, we have been given the opportunity to share in village gatherings and to teach a Bible study for leaders of the LEC. Although our ability to communicate is still limited, these occasions have brought us great encouragement and renewed vision. The waiting has not been in vain and God has been at work, both in the church and in us. We pray that the Holy Spirit will move powerfully through us and the church as we serve and learn together.

Waiting is difficult, and in the midst of waiting it is hard to see the blessing. But wait for God’s Spirit we must, and when we do, God receives the honor and the glory.

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Mark & Sarah Schoenhals, daughters Heidi and Hannah, and members of the Life Enrichment Church. Courtesy of author

For more than three years we have met with Roberto. In the last six months there has been a noticeable change in how he responds to what we say and how we react. In all the meetings that we have had, we have never once condemned him or what he thought. We continued to eat with him and his family and show grace. During our discussions, we continually responded with Scripture to explain how we approach difficult issues. Over time he was able to not only hear our explanations, but see how we put into practice what we believed.

His wife and daughter were in the hospital for more than a week, and Melody and I were able to care for Roberto’s son so that he could go to work and visit his wife and daughter in the hospital. We fed them meals and we showed love that they did not receive from their own families. It was a turning point in his life.

When his own family had let him down in a time of need, Roberto experienced the love that a church family can give. Since this event, he has read the entire Gospel of John! We are still having lunch with them on a regular basis and we study the Bible together. Through the grace of Christ, we have seen Roberto do an about face!

* not his real name

Contrasts abound. A quiet sorrow hovers, a faint memory of a city, once great, now reduced to rubble. As we traveled from the relative safety of a car with tinted windows, my host pointed at mounds of concrete, skeletons of the past with rebar arteries bleeding from their surfaces. Her voice carries a longing of someone who has lost a love. She points. “There is the hotel where I spent my honeymoon. On that corner, the ice-cream shop. There, the cinema. People vacationed at the beach, eating in outdoor cafes with ocean breezes.” She sees through a lens of memory, now clouded with the blood, dust, and destruction of decades of war. She remembers more. I see only ruin.

Gunfire punctuates every hour. “Popcorn,” my host calls it. “We don’t hear it. We no longer duck our heads.” The people don’t beep their horns to part the unruly traffic. “They fire their guns.” It is the tenor voice that accompanies the base rumble of nightly mortar fire. But the city is thriving again. Cars have returned. Fruit, bread, clothing and qat stands line the streets in front of buildings pock-marked with bullet holes.

There is a guesthouse within the guarded hospital compound. I peer through a hole in the front door. This bullet hole provides a window to inspect my surroundings. Around a table, we talk about their loved ones. “My mother was shot through the neck while sitting on the front porch.” “My brother was killed.” “My husband was suspected of being an extremist, so he was shot.” Justice executed immediately at the hands of someone with a gun. No police interrogation. No court. Only a man with a weapon.

But my soul was lifted. Christ in me, the hope of glory, has sent a call even into this dark place. There is an invitation to join and work to be healers of those the war has flattened. But there is risk. Will you pray?

Friday morning, we had our first clinic at Payen. We saw about 150 patients who had a variety of complaints. They had interesting ways of describing their ailments, and it was often challenging to interpret their symptoms.

Saturday morning, we traveled by truck, boat, and foot to the clinic at LaRaquint. The medication suitcases were carried by motorcycle and mule. We saw about 140 patients at this clinic; lots of children with fungal skin infections received donated anti-fungal creams.

We saw about 780 patients in five days of clinic. Sunday afternoon we traveled four hours to Gilbert to be ready for clinic Monday morning. As we neared the church in Gilbert, children came from everywhere and ran after our truck. They were so excited to see us! After unloading our supplies and having dinner at the pastor’s home, we had an evening church service with the congregation. The church was packed with standing room only and it was a wonderful time of singing, praying, clapping, drumming, and dancing in the aisles. Pastor Mark brought the message on true forgiveness. As the church service went on, people came in carrying banana mats. We wondered if they were bringing them for us or if they were staying the night with us. After church we learned the banana mats were for us, but lots of people were sleeping over in order to be first at clinic the next morning. We all spread out on the floor in the church, our team as well as about 30 Haitians. The night involved very little sleep, with the sick children coughing, people snoring, shining flashlights, slamming metal doors, children giggling, people conversing, the blowing wind storm, and a very cold night. Needless to say, we were up early and started clinic at 6:40 a.m.!

Wednesday and Thursday we had successful clinics at Delonye and Tapion. Preparing to depart, we packed medicines for next year. We had a very productive and positive week. We all feel very blessed.

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Several members of the medical team see patients in Haiti. Courtesy of authors.

Manuel Tosh, 21, (in photo at right with Nancy Marshall) has grown in confidence and faith, and now knows with certainty that God has called him to pastor our church. He is reading his Bible and watching the American Sign Language Bible video tapes. He is calling me with Bible verses that he finds meaningful. He’s leading the other boys to spend time together and support each other, calling each other “brothers.” God has worked some miraculous events that Manuel witnessed, which deepened his faith and sense of call. Now we are preaching together in a dialogue fashion and God is giving us His guidance. God will show the way. He is so good to us!

The devil was wreaking havoc among the deaf people a year ago when one of the men courted two women at the same time. When one, (“Beth”) had a baby, there was lots of tension when we gathered. But God brought peace and forgiveness when Beth turned her eyes to Jesus and chose to follow Him. She in turn offered forgiveness to the man and other woman. God gives us peace. He is so good to us!

A mother of one of the deaf children that I teach was reluctant to have her daughter learn to sign. Many people prayed for this situation. By December, the four-year-old was signing about 300 words. In January the mother wanted to know what she was saying and asked to learn to sign. By February, she was using her daughter’s communication book to teach the rest of the family. God answers prayer. He is so good to us!

Thank you to everyone for partnering with us as we share the Good News in Belize. God is so good!

We quickly noticed spiritual growth in Ramon & Kamla. They were humble and teachable. Before long they began participating in Friendship Bible Coffee (FBC) studies, and later became leaders of these studies, both in and out of the church building.

They have accepted additional responsibilities in the church and it has been recognized that God has His hand on them. Early in 2011 they began attending Bible School about an hour’s drive from their home. They are enjoying their studies and putting into practice what they are
learning.

We have been mentoring them since 2009. We meet with them weekly to encourage them, to discuss what they learned at Bible School that week and to work through concerns that have arisen in their lives. In October 2011 Ramon was commissioned as “pastoral mentoree,” and given more responsibilities in the church. Both Ramon & Kamla deeply love the Lord, the church and His people. They have the caring hearts that true pastors have, and members of the congregation are increasingly calling on them and interacting with them in this role. Later this spring Bro. Ramon will be appointed “Associate Pastor” as a further step in preparation for pastoral ministry.

We were given two primary assignments when we were commissioned as the pastoral couple at the Sangre Grande Mennonite Church—to identify and train someone from the congregation to become the future pastor, and to give spiritual leadership to the congregation. We rejoice and thank God for calling this couple to carry on spiritual leadership in our congregation. Our mission is coming to a close and we praise God for what He has done and is doing in our congregation.

The chicken operation at the school is in full swing and Rodney has plans to make it bigger! Right now, there are 36 layer chickens and we are selling out of eggs. We have 27 broiler chickens that will soon be butchered and a rooster that will become a father in the next month or two.

Rodney also built a pigpen with many of the older boy students and a few adults. It needs a roof yet and then will be ready for pigs! Thankfully the chicken operation is providing for the school and soon, we are looking forward to the pigs providing as well!

Eve continues to teach math, computer, and some P.E. while Rodney continues to work with the older boys in the workshop and around the school. We are praying that God continues to use us in those areas.

We felt like God was calling us to start to meet with the youth in the church, so we get together with them and have had some really good discussions. We pray that God will also raise up a Jamaican leader from within the church to come alongside of us in this.

We have also felt like God has been calling us to help create positive relationships between the community and school. More people from the community are buying eggs and coming to the school to do Zumba. Rodney, the older school boys, and some of the local men spent a morning patching up one of the roads. May God continue to use us!

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Rodney Knepp (l) with older boys from the school and local men who spent a morning patching a road. Micah Knepp is on the right, held by Keron. Courtesy of author