The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Our Entrance Into Albania

December 31, 2019

When the walls came down, “We were swept along, praising God for opportunities! We didn’t program it! We could hardly keep up with it,” Willard Eberly exclaimed. An isolated nation after a forty-five year communist regime, Albania opened in 1991 to the outside world and to the gospel of Jesus.

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In honor of Paul Timothy (PT) Yoder, 12th president of VMMissions

December 20, 2019

Paul Timothy Yoder, Sr., president of Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMMissions) from 1985 to 1990, died on December 16, 2019. He was 91. Paul brought to his presidency the particular perspectives of his medical background, and during his tenure, Paul envisioned VMMissions as a channel through which personnel and material resources would be released for the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom.

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Update: Albania Earthquake Relief Fund

December 5, 2019

VMMissions is delighted to report that the Albania Earthquake Relief Fund needs have been met! Thank you! Through December 31, 2019, VMMissions has received $28,712 towards the expenses of a temporary shelter in Lezhë, Albania, for 15 Roma families who lost their homes in Albania’s recent 6.4-magnitude earthquake.

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It’s #GivingTuesday!

December 3, 2019

This year for #GivingTuesday, join with VMMissions as we equip the church to share new life in Jesus Christ with neighbors near and far. All donations will go to the Mission Fund, which allows us to support 32 individual ministries in 24 countries.

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Tidewater Virginia: Our Antioch

December 2, 2019

“We know that in the time of the early church, ministry began in Jerusalem. Later, Antioch became an important mission center. The Shenandoah Valley is the Jerusalem of Virginia Mennonite Conference. But, realize, Tidewater Virginia is our Antioch!” What made that particular context so special? How did VMMissions contribute to the picture, promoting greater faithfulness and fruitfulness?

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Call to Prayer: No junior Holy Spirit for children!

September 26, 2019

By Priscilla Gnanamanickam Children don’t have a junior Holy Spirit.” This is what we were told by a missionary couple when we were young parents in India, as we were learning to listen to the voice of the Lord and follow him. “Encourage your children to listen to the voice of the Lord speaking, like […]

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Centennial Celebration

VMMissions Centennial Celebration Photos

July 20, 2019

VMMissions is celebrating one hundred years of equipping the church to share the good news with neighbors near and far. View images from the celebrations at Virginia Mennonite Conference Assembly on Thursday, July 18.

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Call to Prayer: Can prayer make your family unique?

July 5, 2019

Our priority on prayer is guided by clear biblical principles. We emphasize the fact that God hears our prayers and that we can hear from him. But principles are not enough; we need to practice. Here are a few family-friendly prayer ideas that we have used to develop our family prayer life.

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Teachers: God’s love in the community

June 27, 2019

All Kids Club volunteers love the children who come, and there is something special about teachers who choose to be at Kids Club each week. They are experts at giving and receiving the love of God in our local communities who are competently leading both at school and at Kids Club.

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Jim and Pam Beachy

Seeds of transformation

May 22, 2019

I soon came to realize that my primary purpose for being at LAC was to build relationships. Teaching my subject area well was important; but the real substance of our time there was in the one-on-one conversations with students, other teachers, and persons in the community. Students watched us closely and asked deep questions, trying to understand our faith and our relationship with God.

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Putt Fore Missions

Putt Fore Missions is May 23

April 24, 2019

Join Putt Fore Missions, a mini-golf tournament and meal fundraiser for VMMissions on Thursday, May 23, 5:30PM – 9:30PM. There will be two waves of the tournament, with teams of four. Not a golfer? Come just for the dinner (suggested $10 donation) and enjoy a fun, family atmosphere and support missions!

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Ceramic water filters

For such a time as this

February 14, 2019

Business for transformation (B4T) is a way of opening doors for the gospel in areas that might otherwise be closed. Here are a few examples.

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Maia, daughter of VMMissions workers J and H, walks through thick mud with her family to reach the home of a Rohingya family that had fled Myanmar.

A harvest in the hard places

February 7, 2019

Workers in Asia and Europe share stories of potential harvests in difficult soil, and of immense needs. Is God inviting you to serve?

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Communion on the beach

Grants received for Thailand Anabaptist Gathering

November 30, 2018

Traveling for up to 14 hour by public bus, van and train, Anabaptist believers from Thailand and Laos gathered together in Chonburi, Thailand, for a rich time of lively worship, fellowship and interactive teaching at the 4th Thailand Anabaptist Gathering (TAG), October 8-12, 2018.

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Alternative Christmas Gifts

Consider Alternative Christmas Gifts this holiday season

November 28, 2018

Each year, VMMissions workers propose projects to meet some special or immediate need for our Alternative Christmas Gifts program. Consider a gift to engage their ministry passion and enhance their mission.

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Donor & Prayer Partners Banquet

Donors & Prayer Partners Banquet is November 17

October 10, 2018

As a small token of our gratitude for the ways in which you have prayed earnestly and given generously to the work that God is doing through Virginia Mennonite Missions, we invite you to an evening of food, music and stories of our work in the past year and right now.

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Results of fiscal year end campaign

September 10, 2018

We are seeing the fruit of changed lives and communities that God is producing through our ministries! Like an abundant harvest, a great deal of work lies behind these fruitful ministries. Thank you for making this possible.

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N.T. Wright to give lectures in Harrisonburg, VA

September 4, 2018

Prolific writer and New Testament scholar N.T. Wright will give a series of presentations on “Discerning the Dawn” in Harrisonburg, Va., November 13-14.

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Carol Tobin

From anywhere to anyone

August 16, 2018

At first glance, the idea of all of us “going” sounds like a perfect recipe for chaos! But, somehow, this is what the Holy Spirit does when he gets a hold of us. Our hearts enlarge. Our vision expands. We go beyond our culturally comfortable borders.

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Norma Teles

Called to go: Norma’s story

August 14, 2018

Norma Teles is a Brazilian VMMissions worker in Lezhë, Albania, working with Roma children at the school she has founded, the Joshua Center. By Norma Teles   Norma Teles at the Joshua Center. Courtesy of Janet Blosser   I grew up in a Christian family with nine siblings in Salvadore, Brazil. I was expected to […]

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Francisco and Juanita Machado

Preserved for a purpose

August 13, 2018

Francisco and Juanita came to the U.S. as asylum seekers from Honduras. Now God is using them as church planters in Madrid, Spain.

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Writing calligraphy

A tailor-made niche

May 21, 2018

With J.T’s type of design work, he gets to continue in this “cultural mandate” of developing this language and while doing it, share with his Muslim colleagues this beautiful heritage of how Christianity uniquely uplifts languages.

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Aaron Kauffman

Work as witness

April 30, 2018

Too often we as Christians have adopted our culture’s divide between the spiritual and the secular. We designate what we do at church or in our personal devotional life as “spiritual,” and the rest of life as “secular.” Except for paid ministry, we rarely think of work as spiritual. The Bible, however, makes no such distinction between spiritual and secular.

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Bruce Bennett

Community Church Planting Local Training

March 22, 2018

Attend a training by Bruce Bennett, CCP founder and international church planter, on Thursday, June 7 and Friday, June 8, at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. You can attend one or both days of this two-day training.

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Shenandoah Valley Men's Chorus

SVMC concerts benefit worker family

January 29, 2018

The Shenandoah Valley Men’s Chorus, directed by Jared Stutzman, performed two public concerts on Sunday, February 25, at Eastern Mennonite School and VMRC. Offerings collected to support a VMMissions worker family serving in South Asia raised $1,945.

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Volunteer this summer at Lady Latte!

January 23, 2018

Lady Latte needs summer time volunteers in 2018! A couple is needed to come to the beautiful rural town of Istog, Kosovo, from May 15 – September 1 (flexible) to give temporary oversight to a recently opened coffee shop just for women!

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Peter Eberly

A shared heartbeat for mission

November 3, 2017

If the church is made up of disciples, then everything we are part of should replicate: disciples who can make disciples, small groups who can make new small groups, churches that can plant churches. I have missional dreams that from Eastside would come churches in many locations. That replication process must begin with individual disciples.

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Skip Tobin

Local mission on the map

November 2, 2017

I am excited about all that is happening within VMMissions USA Ministries: my daily interactions with workers and prospective workers, the requests for tranSend interns from local pastors, the interaction with district leaders regarding their missional hopes, the ground work of discipling that happens in my coaching contexts and in the many new huddles.

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Call to Prayer: Teaching children to pray

August 30, 2017

As believers, we are tasked with the job of bringing the little children to Jesus. One of the ways we do this is by encouraging and teaching children to pray. We can spend all the time in the world teaching children about God, but if we don’t teach them how to relate to God, we’re not doing any better than the disciples who tried to shoo the children away.

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Seeking and finding

A knock on the door, seeking and finding

August 19, 2017

“I believe that Jesus is God, and I want to be a Jesus follower.” I couldn’t believe my ears as Yousif prayed a beautiful prayer of repentance, expressing a humble need of Christ. How could this be happening? A Muslim young man, coming to faith so quickly?

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Don Clymer prepares for a seminar

Sharing the good news in Switzerland

August 16, 2017

I wasn’t sure if my writing and work on spirituality in the United States would connect with the people of Europe, but the loneliness, brokenness and hunger for a deeper relationship with God is as evident here as at home. Sharing the good news here in Europe is helping people develop a closer relationship to God and helping them to return to what God created them to be, rather than what the outer world forced on them.

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A family outing in South Asia

Sowing seeds of good news

August 9, 2017

Holy moments right here and now: mission workers and staff share fresh stories of gospel seeds being sown in the course of their everyday lives. “God, may you bring the fruit!”

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Grace reads a Bible story book

In Word and with Power

August 7, 2017

In a slum community in a large Asian city, Anita and Yosiah have gained their community’s trust through deeds of love. Now they ask, “How do we proclaim the gospel holistically?”

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Loving our neighbors in jail

June 15, 2017

Jason Wagner, appointed to serve as chaplain at the Rockingham Regional Jail. Courtesy photo   By Jason Wagner I have seen firsthand the deep hunger for connection to God and loving fellowship that inmates have in the Rockingham Regional Jail. Since being appointed as a VMMissions worker to serve as jail chaplain, I have been […]

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Sarah Showalter

Call to Prayer: Praying Together

June 15, 2017

  By Sarah Showalter “The difference between success and failure is a great team.” —Dave Kerpen “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” —Michael Jordan “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller “Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results.” —Ifeanyi Onuoha “Sticks […]

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Teachers at Buenos Aires International Christian Academy in Argentina.

Becoming one: God’s purpose for community

June 12, 2017

Crystal Lehman (second from right) works with an international team of teachers who actively support each other to love and effectively educate the students at Buenos Aires International Christian Academy in Argentina. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lehman   By Crystal Lehman ​Missions has always played an important role in my life. I am, however, still […]

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Worker commissioning and Taste of Missions

June 8, 2017

  You are invited to celebrate the commissioning of new mission workers at the Friday evening worship service of Virginia Mennonite Conference Assembly, held at Park View Mennonite Church, 1600 College Ave, Harrisonburg, Va. (map), on Friday, July 21. Gathering music begins at 6:45 p.m.; the service begins at 7:00. The 2017 class of tranSend, […]

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Win a VMMissions t-shirt!

Visit our booth at Convention in Orlando

June 5, 2017

If you are attending Mennonite Church USA Convention in Orlando this summer, stop by the VMMissions booth in the display area of the convention center. Staff will be available to connect with you and share some stories of our work. Pick up a mission activity card, complete it, and you will be registered to win […]

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Steve and Bethany’s Isaan friends help with evangelism efforts to share the Good News with other Isaan people over pizza at the Horst’s home in Bangkok. Photo by Steve Horst

Better together

May 31, 2017

Bethany and Steve desire to enhance their evangelism and discipleship ministry among Isaan migrant workers in Bangkok, Thailand, by again bringing a team together.   Steve and Bethany’s Isaan friends help with evangelism efforts to share the Good News with other Isaan people over pizza at the Horst’s home in Bangkok. Photo by Steve Horst […]

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Aaron Kauffman

The wisdom of teams

May 31, 2017

Have you ever tried playing baseball by yourself? Or singing four-part harmony alone? There are some things you simply can’t do without the help of others. And we believe mission is one of them. One of the guiding principles for our work at VMMissions is that team is our preferred mode of engaging in mission. […]

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Steve Campbell outside the church in Montenegro.

God’s worldwide team

May 30, 2017

Steve and Laura work with the leadership team of one of only five evangelical churches in the country of Montenegro, with a focus on discipling believers, and a vision for growth.   Vladimir Cizmanski and Steve Campbell meet to plan various activities at the church. Photo by Janet Blosser   By Steve Campbell When Laura […]

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Eve, Benjamin, and Natacha, teenaged refugees from DR Congo, helped the author distribute cookies to Sentara RMH employees working on Christmas Eve. Photo courtesy of Ben Emswiler

Loving our refugee neighbors

March 15, 2017

By Ben Emswiler It was yet another very cold night in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as we searched for a parking space outside of James Madison University’s Convocation Center where JMU was hosting Eastern Mennonite University in a cross-town men’s basketball game. I apologized to my Congolese friends in the car with me for having to park […]

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Aaron Kauffman

Coworkers for the kingdom

March 8, 2017

Our culture idolizes heroes. Hollywood tells story after story with the message, we need heroes to solve the world’s problems. Right now my little boys are fixated on Superman, Spider-Man and Batman—a curious thing, since they’ve never seen them on the big screen. But somehow they’ve caught our culture’s love of heroes. Who doesn’t wish […]

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Elsa Miller with colleagues

Nazareth Village: a living witness to Christ made possible by partnership

March 6, 2017

By Elsa Miller Located in the city of Nazareth, Israel, Nazareth Village is a working historical village that gives visitors to the Holy Land a chance to experience what life would have been like for Jesus growing up in his hometown. One aspect that brings the village to life is the team of historical actors […]

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Rafael and Solange Tartari

Local church, global body

March 3, 2017

Rafael and Solange Tartari serve as pastoral leaders of the Guri I Themelit (Cornerstone) congregation in Lezhë, Albania. Through a partnership that spans three continents, they engage in evangelism, discipleship and mentoring. By Solange Tartari In Ephesians 2:11-22, the Apostle Paul gives us a vision of the church that is not just the local community. […]

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Partners in planting

February 21, 2017

Mennonite Hispanic Initiative is a joint effort to birth, nurture and sustain new mission impulses among Spanish-speaking people in Virginia and beyond. By Lizzette Hernandez and Marvin Lorenzana God’s model for eternal existence is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living in loving relationship with each other. God has modeled this perfect relationship of […]

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Vince Ramella and gym mates, Kosovo

What is church?

December 2, 2016

(From left) Granit, Bledor, Bek, Valdet and author Vince at the fitness center. Vince is holding his training schedule. Photo courtesy of author  Living in an under-reached nation, with no church in their community, Vince and LaVonne Ramella and their children seek to embody the gospel in their daily lives as a picture of church […]

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Stutzman family

Mission and the church in a post-Christian context

November 21, 2016

The front entrance to the Protestant church the Stutzmans relate to, with a crane in the background. Photo courtesy of author  In Mannheim, Germany, Dave and Rebekka and their three children serve in a context where churches have experienced decline, but opportunities for mission abound. By Dave Stutzman One of the things that interested me […]

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Thai Anabaptists gather for encouragement on the journey

November 15, 2016

Some of the participants at the Third Thai Anabaptist Gathering. Photo by J*  By Carol Tobin, VMMissions Asia Regional Director Det Udom, Thailand – A simple open air pavilion at the Life Enrichment Church Center in a far corner of Northeast Thailand (Isaan) served as the location for Thai Anabaptist Gathering, from September 27 to […]

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Perspectives

Get threaded into the story with Perspectives

November 10, 2016

  Since 2008, more than 200 students have been challenged and blessed by taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class right here in the Valley! The Harrisonburg coordinating team is thrilled to bring the Spring 2017 class to the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Center, 711 S. Main Street, Harrisonburg, Va., on Monday nights, January […]

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