January 2015 Archives - Virginia Mennonite Missions

Thanksgiving celebration in Italy introduces new traditions

[dropcap]Thanksgiving[/dropcap] is the beginning of the American holiday season and can be a time of struggle for those of us living in another culture and missing family and friends back home. It is also an opportunity to create new traditions, to share a bit of our culture with our friends and contacts here, and to…

A visit to Purok Pluto’s coffee fields

[dropcap]We[/dropcap] rose early on a Sunday morning and accompanied a group of Purok Pluto’s farmers into the coffee fields to observe and participate in the harvest of the coffee cherries. As we hung the plastic collection buckets around our necks and followed the farmers down the slope into the rows of coffee trees, the chilly…

Learning to receive

[dropcap]God[/dropcap] loves a cheerful giver. There is joy in giving. It is better to give than to receive. We have been taught the importance of giving, but what about those times when we find ourselves on the receiving end? I was recently visiting a neighbor who lost her husband in a construction accident early this…

Making disciples through Life Transformation Groups

Workshop will explore ways to create a discipling culture in congregations Are you interested in exploring a deep, reproducible yet simple way of making disciples within the congregation? Are you tired of talking about becoming missional and are eager to gain traction in the disciple-making task? Join us on Saturday, January 31 (8 a.m. to…

¡Hagámoslo juntos! Let’s do this together!

. Mennonite Hispanic Initiative hosts first retreat for leaders “Hagámoslo juntos!” or “Let’s do this together!” was the first-ever Mennonite Hispanic Initative (MHI) leaders retreat at Highland Retreat. Four Spanish-speaking churches from the Harrisonburg area were represented: Iglesia Discipular Anabaptista, El Camino Discipular, Enciende Una Luz and Iglesia de Dios de la Profecía. Twenty-six church…

Dianna Lehman to join VMMissions

Beginning March 16, 2015, Dianna Lehman will join VMMissions as Executive Assistant and Human Resources Manager. In this role she will provide administrative support to the President, including handling logistics for the Board of Directors and managing human resource functions for VMMissions’ staff and mission workers. Dianna has over 25 years of experience in executive-level…

Sister Care seminar in Trinidad “part of God’s master plan”

Forty-two women participated in a Sister Care seminar held in St. Helena, Trinidad October 31-November 2. Marsha Ragoonath coordinated the event attended by women from the five Mennonite churches in Trinidad with two women participating from the Jamaica Mennonite Church. Carolyn Heggen, psychotherapist specializing in trauma healing, and Rhoda Keener, Mennonite Women USA co-director, led…