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Stories of Mission

Explore mission themes in our quarterly magazine as workers tell stories of making disciples in the way of Christ.

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Aaron M. Kauffman

Mission Begins With God

My father was crazy enough to believe that while it was his job to model and invite faith, it was God’s job to convert me to it. He chose patience over pressure. At VMMissions, we recognize that God is at work long before we ever arrive, and will continue to be at work long after we’re gone.

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Seth Crissman leads an activity at Kids Club

A Snapshot of Kids Club with Seth and Theresa Crissman

Every Monday evening at Immanuel Mennonite Church, you can find volunteers in blue t-shirts with around 40 children, pre-K through 8th grade. Together, they sing, act and retell stories from the Bible, eat and play together as they learn to give and receive God’s love with each other.

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New Creation shop rehab

New Creation Opens Shop to Combat Sex Trafficking

God led Caitlin to stay in her own community and to work with New Creation, a Harrisonburg, Virginia, ministry that combats human trafficking. Her heart was drawn to this business fulfilling a need and shining the light of Christ.

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Living the Incarnation

If you joined our team, we would have you live with a local Muslim family for about a year. It is terribly hard: You must eat and sleep as the family eats and sleeps, and function without any English. All of our teammates can attest to days in which each moment was painful.

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After church in Lezhe, Albania

Being a Bridge

I need to be God’s humble servant (at least that feels more comfortable to me than being his raging prophet) sharing God’s love when trying to bring the good news into another culture. Only as I really know the culture and love the people will I be aware of how to address the culture’s issues.

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Aaron M. Kauffman

Extending God’s Embrace

On the cross, Jesus extends his arms in an embrace that’s big enough to reach our entire broken world. Embrace is a compelling image for mission in a divided world. Like Jesus, we open our arms to others, inviting them to the kingdom. To make the offer understood, we learn their language and adopt their customs.

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Twinkle with Daniel Pantoja

Twinkle’s journey: The education of a Kalinga missionary in the Philippines

Twinkle’s early missionary zeal persisted through her teenage years, as did a sense of inferiority regarding her Cordilleran identity. She was seventeen before, as she says, “I fully embraced my identity as a Kalinga without the shame.”

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Learning to Walk After Jesus

I moved to the slums four years ago. My mind was full of big ideas of hope and the dream of seeing slum communities transformed by the love of Jesus. But in my time here, I have witnessed grueling poverty, a devastating fire, demolition and eviction of over 1,000 homes. What does discipleship mean in such a context?

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Eating together at the table

Come to the Table

The idea of meeting around the table for a meal and talking, listening and telling stories is all a part of the Mediterranean culture and has been for centuries. During our time in Italy, we were able to experience fellowship at the table as opportunities to share with them the hope of Christ.

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Aaron M. Kauffman

Know Them by Their Fruit

What motivates you? What underlying beliefs and values inform the decisions you make? These are hard questions for many people to answer. Our convictions and motivations often lie below the surface, beyond our full awareness. Yet they are at work all the time.

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Life Enrichment Church members and the Schoenhals family

When Waiting for God’s Spirit, Who Knows What Will Result!

Mark and Sarah Schoenhals were given the opportunity to share in village gatherings and to teach a Bible study for leaders of the LEC. Although their ability to communicate is still limited, these occasions brought them encouragement and renewed vision.

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Prayer at service in Trinidad

Mennonite Church in Trinidad Now “Totally Local”

Borrowing from a popular local slogan, Pastor Ganesh Kalloo described the signficance of the day at Sangre Grande Mennonite Church in Trinidad as “Totally Local.” On Sunday morning, January 9, the Mennonite Church of Trinidad and Tobago (MCTT) commissioned and installed the first Trinidadian as their conference overseer. Rawl Gunpath had pastored for many years…

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