Stories of Mission
Explore mission themes in our quarterly magazine as workers tell stories of making disciples in the way of Christ.
Stay informed of all the latest VMMissions news.
Update: Albania Earthquake Relief Fund
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.
Read MoreBeing a bridge
Richard and Elsie Bowman served with Partners in Mission at Lezhe Academic Center and as a bridge to the local Mennonite church, living the Gospel incarnationally in the city of Lezhë, Albania. Elsie Bowman (left) and Xhilda visit after a church service. Photos by Richard Bowman As I consider some of the scenes from our…
Read MoreMeaningful work, God’s provision
By Katrina Schmid This first-year teaching business literally takes over your life. I am trying to make a practice of taking one day a week to not think or do anything school related for the whole day, but I still find myself thinking about projects I could do, tests I need to make, and how…
Read MoreOrientation for tranSenders held at VMM
The morning of July 9, tranSend participants gathered in the Virginia Mennonite Missions conference room along with the VMM staff, providing a time of getting acquainted with each other. Park View Federal Credit Union brought a full breakfast for everyone to enjoy; PVFCU holds the accounts for all the workers who serve through VMM. Orientation…
Read MoreOur journey of breaking through
By Caleb Benner At Lezha Academic Center in Albania, we believe that we have been called to make an impact on the spiritual life of each student. Emerging from centuries of atheism and isolation under communism, most of the Albanian people lack an understanding of faith and have not truly encountered Jesus Christ. By modeling…
Read MoreA journey of mutual sharing and prayer
It was more than just an ordinary afternoon of coffee, cake and conversation as ladies gathered recently at Lezha Academic Center (LAC). Instead, it was another stepping stone in principal Klementina Shahini’s vision of sharing God’s love with the women of Lezhë, Albania. Chatting together around the cafeteria tables were mothers, students, church members, the…
Read MoreMy seven-mile journey to Emmaus
My experience in Albania has taken me on a path very similar to the road that two disciples traveled after Jesus’ death, seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. I learned two valuable lessons on my seven-mile journey that drastically changed the way I trust God. God is at work even when we can’t see Him.…
Read MoreFlowing river baptisms provide firm foundation for faith
By Gloria Lehman In June, the Eastern Mennonite High School Touring Choir traveled to Eastern Europe for a three-week tour of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Italy. Galen and I accompanied this group of lively, talented young people and listened to them singing in both big and small worship spaces. On June 17, we were…
Read MoreA Trip to Albania: Our Availability as God’s Instruments in Mission
By Lee and Peg Martin A picture may be worth a thousand words, but actually being there is in a totally different category. For us, Albania was a distant place we’d hear about through faithful missionaries including Allen Umble and Norma Teles. Allen is a former member of our congregation, Mt. Clinton Mennonite, and Lee…
Read MoreBrazilian couple returns to Albania for second term
Rafael and Solange Tartari along with infant son, Paolino, recently returned to Lezhe, Albania, following a busy three-month “home assignment,” visiting family and churches in Brazil. They were commissioned by their sending agency, Junta Menonita de Missões Internacionais (JMMI), and seconded to work collaboratively with VMM missionary team in Albania for a second term. Their…
Read MoreMission encouragements at Joshua Center
By Norma Teles It has been a cold winter here in Lezhe, but we have been blessed in a lot of ways. The work at Joshua Center is going well. I can see God working in a very special way in the lives of the little ones. In spite of the cold, attendance was very…
Read MoreA thirty-year round trip of mission
Thirty years ago this year, in the early years of Eastern Mennonite Mission’s Youth Evangelism Service (YES) program, three other young adults and I loaded into a gigantic Buick and sailed from Pennsylvania to the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base in Elm Springs, Arkansas, for three months of discipleship training. This was followed by…
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