wfn.org | Overseas workers relax at seminar

[Beth Hawn]

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To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-07-22 14:16
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Message ID: 6A54EF4D5621D211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Overseas workers relax at seminar

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July 22, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

MBM/COM workers relax at Overseas Missions Seminar

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. (GCMC/MBM)-Their accommodations overlooked the giant
"Liquidation World" and a strip mall. They were fed (well) several times   
a day
and went swimming at the Holiday Inn. Their lifestyle was, overall,   
typically
North American.

Ironically, those attending the Mennonite Board of Missions/Commission on   

Overseas Mission "Overseas Missions Seminar" here July 12-18, weren't
there to learn how to live a plush North American lifestyle, but how to   
give
one up.

More than 80 MBM and COM mission workers attended the conference, coming   
from
all over North America and the world. They learned from the experiences   
of others,
and they shared stories of their own. They worshipped together, played
together and ate together for six days, all preparing for some sort of a   
change
in their lives. Some of the associates had never been overseas before and   

learned a little better what to expect. Some were retiring after 20 years   
of
service in countries far away - countries they have learned to call home.

These missions workers attended worship services and preparatory seminars   

for several hours each day, discussing subjects from transition and   
re-entry
 to missions and the North American church. John Driver, longtime MBM   
worker
in Latin America and Europe, spoke daily from his new book, Images of the   

Church in Mission, sharing insight on the church gained from a lifetime   
of
overseas service.

"John Driver's input was the highlight of the week for me," said Paul   
Dueck, a
COM worker recently returned with his family from Paraguay. "It was so
 meaningful - thought-provoking and challenging."  Linda Dueck echoed his   

sentiments. "His ideas resonated with me - I could clearly identify with   
his
examples."

"I am still mulling over some of what John Driver said. I am left with   
questions
like 'how does one relate to God's work outside the church?'" said Peter
Rempel, COM personnel secretary and administrator for Europe and the   
Former
Soviet Union. "I found his input provocative."

Others found the afternoon seminars on various issues surrounding the
church and missions to be thought-provoking and helpful, finding in them   
an
aspect of hands-on practicality absent elsewhere in the conference. "I
enjoyed the seminar tracks - the practical sessions," said Paula Hanes, a   

COM worker who will be going to Senegal in August. "I had hoped there
would have been more of that."

Many other of the conference attendees appreciated most the informal   
times
 of gathering around meals and free time. "Over the table was the most
meaningful time for me," said Connie Byler, an MBM worker in Spain.

Although they spent several hours each day in meetings, many enjoyed most   
the
times of laughter and social interaction. "The fellowship and evening
meetings were fun - when you come out of such intense experiences, you   
need to
laugh together," said Janie Blough, an MBM worker in France.

In addition to facilitating cut-throat games of Rook and trips to Baskin
Robbins, the conference provided an opportunity to reunite with old   
friends
and make many new ones - all of whom had had or would soon be having
similar experiences and feelings.

"I liked playing with Stephanie," said 5-year-old Eva Lapp, daughter of
Sandra Shenk Lapp and John Lapp, MBM/COM director for Western Asia and   
the
Middle East. "I liked playing with Eva," said Stephanie, the daughter of
Kathi and Rod Suderman, newly appointed COM/MBM workers in China.

The sense of identification with others with the same background was
especially important to the young people. "It was good to discuss our
experiences," said 14-year-old Emily Dueck, from Paraguay. "It was   
helpful
 to talk with other kids going through the same experiences."

The experiences that the workers had were perhaps most dramatically and
humorously shared in the evening worship services. Each continent was
responsible for one worship service, and the results varied greatly from
continent to continent. As different as the services were, they all had   
some
aspects in common - energy, education and humor.

"I really liked the evening jamborees and learning about all the   
different
countries," said Cliff Dueck, who will be returning to the Ukraine in   
August.
"I finally learned how to dance during an offering," said Sarah Bornman,   
who
will go to Senegal in 1999. Paul Dueck "enjoyed hearing the Lord's Prayer   
and
singing in different languages."

There were, indeed, several languages spoken at the conference. Workers
came from or were going to 24 different countries in Latin America, North
 America, Europe, Asia and Africa and spoke languages from Japanese and
Arabic to French. "I was struck by the diversity in the group," said Rod
Suderman. "It came through in so many good ways."

On Thursday, July 16, the entire group traveled to nearby Breslau (Ont.)
Mennonite Church for a missions commissioning service. Both new and
returning missions workers shared their experiences, stories and
testimonies with each other and with North American supporters. They read   

the Bible in several languages and sang songs from different areas of the
world.

The service concluded with a formal commissioning by MBM and COM and with   

members of the congregation supporting the missions workers in prayer.
After the service ended, the missions workers mingled with members of   
nearby
Canadian churches. Several met for the first time some of their "prayer
partners," who had been faithfully reading their prayer letters and   
praying
for them.

At the commissioning service, Cheryl Paulovich, the daughter of
missionaries to India and an MBM administrative assistant for the Global
Ministries division, was reunited with her third-grade teacher, Mary Jane   

Brenneman, who taught at Woodstock School in India. "She was entering the   

front door of the church just as we approached the entrance," Paulovich   
said.
"Even though she now has snow-white hair, I recognized her immediately.   
  A lot
of warm, mission family memories erupt for me - even 40 years later -   
when I
think about Mary Jane Brenneman and her influence on my growing-up years   
as an
MBM 'mish kid' in India!"

Although most who attended the conference will be somewhere far away from   

Cambridge, Ont., in the next months or weeks, they will take with them   
the
 lessons learned and the friendships they made and renewed.

"The most meaningful part of our time together was the bonding of the   
mission
of the church," said Kathi Suderman. "Now I'll be able to make   
connections
when I read about people."

* * *
Rachel Lewis      PHOTOS AVAILABLE