wfn.org | Re: MCC calls for prayer for Zaire

[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC:  MCC CALLS FOR PRAYER FOR ZAIRE
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa. --  The headquarters of all three Zairian Mennonite
church groups are in territory now controlled by rebels who have
seized more than half of Zaire over the past six months.  Alliance
troops, as the rebels are called, captured Kikwit, home of Mennonite
Brethren (CEFMZ) offices, on April 29.  They are now headed for
Kinshasa, the capital, some 400 kilometers/250 miles west of Kikwit.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers in Kinshasa report
Kikwit appears to have been taken without much fighting.

Terry Sawatsky, co-director of MCC's Africa programs, requests
prayer for:

  Residents of Kinshasa as war approaches the capital.

  MCC workers in Zaire as they think about personal safety and how
to respond to needs around them.  Currently three MCC workers
remain in Zaire, all now in Kinshasa.  They are Ann and Bruce
Campbell-Janz, who direct MCC's Zaire programs, and Michael
Salomons, who had been working on agricultural projects in Kahemba,
near Zaire's border with Angola.  Two other MCC Zaire workers,
Krista Rigalo and Fidele Lumeya, are in Nairobi, Kenya, on a short
vacation.

  Zairian friends and partners who are grappling with current realities. 
Several Zairian church leaders met recently to discuss producing a
peace poster relevant to the current situation.  "Throughout our history
Mennonites have refined our peace position as we have personally
come into contact with conflict," says Sawatsky.  "The Zairian conflict
is the current chapter in this book."  Many Zairians, weary of the
current corrupt government headed by President Mobutu, have tended
toward anti-Mobutu sentiment and support for, or silence about, the
rebels' leader, Laurent Kabila.

  Rwandan refugees caught in tragedy, among them some refugees
from camps MCC had supported near Bukavu, Zaire.  When rebels
captured eastern Zaire in October 1996, several hundred thousand
Rwandan refugees fled west into Zaire's dense forests.  The United
Nations is now locating and transporting some back to Rwanda; many
others remain unaccounted for.  "It is difficult to predict how many
have died, but it seems clear the numbers are very high," says
Sawatsky.
                         -30-
pls2may1997
MCC photo available:  Going, going, gone -- sold to the highest bidder
for $400 Cdn./$300 U.S.  To help people in war-torn areas of Africa,
including Zaire, P. Buckley Moss prints are being auctioned at MCC
relief sales throughout North America.  Pictured here at the Harrisburg
(Pa.) relief sale on April 5 are (left to right) auctioneer Sanford
Alderfer, MCC constituency relations staffperson John Hostetter and
MCC Africa co-director Terry Sawatsky.  Moss has donated to MCC a
print, "Community Spirit," with the request that proceeds go to Africa
programs.  Prints can also be purchased by contacting Peter Passage at
(717) 859-3889; e-mail pcp@mccus.org  (MCC photo by Mark Beach)TOPIC:  GOOD NEWS -- FOR NOW AT LEAS
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

A joint release of MCC, the Colombian Mennonite Church,
Mennonite World Conference and the National Interreligious
Board for Conscientious Objectors (NIBSCO)

AKRON, Pa. -- Colombian Mennonites recently received good news. 
On April 25 a Bogota court closed the legal case against the
Colombian Mennonite seminary.  The court ruled the seminary may
remain open and need not be registered with the municipal office of
education.  

Several months ago Colombian military and government officials had
attempted to close the seminary, which offers an "Hacedores de Paz"
(Peacemakers) program as an alternative to military service for
conscientious objectors.  Some 70 youth participate in the program.

Late last fall, the Colombian government refused to exempt the youth
from military service, saying the seminary was not registered.  With
the new ruling that the seminary need not be registered, Colombian
Mennonites may once again ask the armed forces for conscientious
objection deferrals for seminary students.

"It's likely that this isn't the last round, but for now we're not feeling
harassed or threatened," reports Peter Stucky, pastor of the Teusaquillo
Mennonite Church in Bogota and vice president of the Colombian
Mennonite Conference.

Indeed, Stucky reports the case has given conscientious objection and
the Colombian Mennonite Church a high profile in the Colombian
media -- and even internationally -- over the past few weeks.  CNN,
for example, ran a report on the seminary's struggles on one of its
Spanish programs.

"The preponderance of the coverage has been sympathetic or at least
even-handed, only occasionally has it been not very favorable," Stucky
says.

 Stucky and other Colombian Mennonites thank all those who
supported the church and the seminary with prayers and letters, in
response to the church's appeal for action on its behalf.

The letters and prayers -- as well as Colombian Mennonites' ongoing
efforts -- seemed to have provided a powerful force in getting various
government officials to talk with Colombian Mennonites face to face.

Raymond Toney, NIBSCO program director, notes with some
amazement the quantity of letters -- hundreds of them -- Mennonites
wrote on behalf of the Colombian seminary.  He hopes concerned
individuals and organizations will be ready to respond as vigorously to
any possible future challenges to the Colombian Mennonite Church
and/or its programs.
                         -30-
Emily Will, MCC Communications
2may1997
TOPIC:  MENNONITE VIEWS ON PACIFISM CHALLENGED IN THE PHILIPPINES, SAYS
MCC WORKER
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Editor's note:  This is the first of three articles in this week's news
service package that profile Manitobans serving with MCC in the
Philippines.  Gladys Terichow of MCC Manitoba communications
visited the Philippines in February and wrote these stories.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines -- It is easy to be a pacifist when
one isn't directly affected by issues relating to violent confrontations. 
But what does it mean to be a Mennonite pacifist when you are
involved in protests that could lead to violent confrontations?  What
issues would you be prepared to die for?

These are some questions Wendy Kroeker, a Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC) worker from Winnipeg, Man., is facing during her
two-year service assignment in the Philippines.

Kroeker had expected to work at a women's resource centre at
Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negroes Island, when she and
her husband, Gordon Zerbe, and their two pre-school children, began
their service in May 1996.  Her husband teaches at the university.

When this assignment didn't work out Kroeker got involved with a
local non-governmental organization that addresses human rights
violations, particularly those that occur around land disputes.

"This looks like a peaceful country but there are goon squads out there
and people are being killed," says Kroeker. 
 
Seventy percent of farmers don't have legal title to the land.  Although
they have rights to the land, they often don't know what their rights
are.  Wealthy landowners, who want to use the land for residential
subdivisions, industrial development or mining, try different tactics to
get tenant farmers to lose their rights to the land.

One way is by convincing them to plant cash crops such as sugar cane,
instead of subsistence crops.  Peasant farmers don't realize that when
they plant sugar cane their legal status changes to farm laborer and
they lose their rights to the land.

"Leaders of the tenant farmers are getting killed," says Kroeker, noting
widespread speculation that the deaths are not accidental.

As a gesture of solidarity she went into the mountains to the funeral of
a tenant farmer who was likely murdered. "In my North American
mindset I thought I was going to a funeral," she says.  She had not
realized violence could erupt at the funeral but had to face this
possibility when the priest told her where to hide if shooting occurred.

"This prompted the question -- what issues are so important to me that
I would be willing to die for them?" asked Kroeker.
Squatters, people living in shacks on land to which they don't have
official titles, face similar problems.  Often they are forced to relocate.
Kroeker is working with representatives from non-governmental
organizations and leaders of squatter groups to lobby for fair relocation
benefits.

"Some fear that those who protest could get involved in violent
situations," says Kroeker. "Violence is not their first option -- it is the
last resort but it is always a possibility."

Kroeker says she is constantly asking herself - "What does it mean to
be a Mennonite - what does it mean to be a pacifist when you are in a
place where people say that nobody listens to them and violence is
always a possibility?" 

Kroeker is originally from Winkler, Man.  She and her husband are
members of Fort Garry Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man.

                        -30-  

Gladys Terichow, MCC Manitoba Communications

pls2may1997

MCC photo available:  MCC worker Wendy Kroeker meets with
women who are living in a squatter community that will be
demolished.  (MCC photo by Gladys Terichow)
TOPIC:  CANADIAN TEACHER GAINS NEW UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
THROUGH `FILIPINO GLASSES'
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Editor's note:  This is the second of three articles in this week's
news service package that profile Manitobans serving with MCC
in the Philippines.  Gladys Terichow of MCC Manitoba
communications visited the Philippines in February and wrote
these stories.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines -- You won't find teaching
handouts in the garbage at The Divinity School of Silliman University
here.  Materials given out in class have great value because they are
among the few resources graduates will have when they begin their
pastoral ministries, explains Gordon Zerbe, who is teaching at the
Protestant university during a two-year leave from the Canadian
Mennonite Bible College in Winnipeg, Man.

Zerbe, who is teaching New Testament, says Bible commentaries,
dictionaries and other resources are sold in the Philippines at North
American prices, making them unaffordable for students. 

"To give someone a book is very special," he says, adding foreigners
who teach at the university occasionally give books to students. The
students, who are mainly from poor, rural regions, are sponsored by
their local church conferences.

"They don't have the means to buy many textbooks - they are very
resourceful in managing what little they have but their educational
resources are very slim," he says.

Zerbe and other teachers subsidize reproduction costs of seminary
notes that are distributed in class. These handouts are written in the
English language. "What would be most useful is to have Bible study
resources translated into their own language," says Zerbe. 

Students are expected to do academic work in the English language.
When they graduate they will be starting pastoral ministries in their
native languages. Zerbe expects some graduates will have a difficult
time translating their notes into their own language.

Biblical teachings take on a new meaning when you study the Bible
with people who are experiencing poverty, oppression and various
forms of injustice, explains Zerbe. He currently teaches two classes -
one is lecture style, the other is interactive.

The interactive style is fairly new for most students. "My goal is to
affirm what they think, to treat them as equals and to encourage them
to develop their own ability to think, reflect and make judgements. I
want them to evaluate what they read and what they hear."

Zerbe says he enjoys this class because it gives him an opportunity to
become part of the learning process. Through these discussions he is
learning that his students see God as a merciful God on the side of
those who are poor. They see God as a God of justice who comforts
those who are experiencing various forms of injustice.

"Now that I have first-hand experience with people who think in a
different way I will see things more through Filipino glasses," he says.
"When you hear their stories, when you can smell and see first hand
what they are experiencing, it affects you in a way that head
knowledge can't do."

When Zerbe returns to his position in Winnipeg he expects his new
insights will be reflected in his teaching. But he also wants to continue
the partnership with his colleagues at the Silliman University.  Now
that he is aware of the shortage of resources in the Philippines he
wants to share some of the resources he has access to in Canada with
his colleagues in the Philippines.

Gordon Zerbe and his wife, Wendy Kroeker, are members of Fort
Garry Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man.
                         -30-

Gladys Terichow, MCC Manitoba Communications

pls2may1997

MCC photo available:  MCC workers Gordon Zerbe and Wendy
Kroeker with their children, Silvie May and Micah James in
Dumaguete City, Philippines.  (MCC photo by Gladys Terichow)
TOPIC:  LOW COST HOUSING PROVIDES HOPE FOR FILIPINO FAMILIES
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Editor's note:  This is the third of three articles in this week's
news service package that profile Manitobans serving with MCC
in the Philippines.  Gladys Terichow of MCC Manitoba
communications visited the Philippines in February and wrote
these stories.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines -- It is a very hot day in the
Philippines.  Nobody knows the exact temperature but it is a day that
local people describe as very hot.  The work is hard.  People are
building houses without the use of modern equipment.  Sand is
shovelled by hand.  Water is pumped by hand.  Cement is mixed
manually.

Despite the heat and hard work a spirit of optimism permeates this
Habitat for Humanity construction site near Dumaguete City on
Negroes Island.  The 137 homeowners are working together to build
the fifth Habitat for Humanity community on the island.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-governmental, non-profit Christian
housing organization that builds simple, decent homes for low-income
families. The 137 houses in this community are identical - one and
one-half story houses built on 96-square-meter lots.

"I like this house because after 20 years we will own it," says Luc
Macabinguil, 32, a mother of five children. She and many other
families at the worksite are being forced out of their squatter
communities when landlords decide to demolish their houses to use the
land for other purposes.

Her husband, who delivers rice and corn to the public market, works
six days a week but doesn't earn enough money to pay the costs of
most rental accommodations. If her family had not been able to get a
house through Habitat for Humanity, Luc and her children would have
been forced to leave the city and live with her parents who are farming
in the mountains 70 kilometers/43 miles from the city.  Her husband
would have moved in with his mother.

"Now we can live together and raise our children," says Luc. "It makes
me very happy."

Her neighbor in the squatter community, Dora Gabotero, is also getting
a house in the Habitat community. Dora, 23, has one child. She is the
seventh of 12 children and does not have the option to move back
home with her parents. Her husband is self employed -- he shines and
repairs shoes at the public market. Dora makes stuffed toys to
supplement their income.

When their houses are finished both women plan to plant a garden and
raise a pig on their small yards. Money from the sale of the pigs will
be used to pay for their children's school uniforms, books and
transportation costs. Luc will also wash and iron clothes to earn
money.

Laurel Terichow, a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker from
Winnipeg, Man., who lives and works with Habitat homeowners, says
decent, affordable houses provide hope and stability for Filipino
families.

"I really enjoy working on the construction site," says Terichow. "I
love the atmosphere. I can really see the Lord at work here.  The
homeowners smile all day - their eyes have a special sparkle.  They
thank God continually for the opportunity to own a house.  They
recognize they have been given this opportunity through the grace of
God.  They always remind me that everything we have comes through
the grace of God alone." 

Terichow, 22, who assists the office staff with inventory control and
general office duties, is in the Philippines on a one-year service
assignment with the MCC youth program, SALT (Serving and
Learning Together). 

Habitat for Humanity is planning to build more houses to give more
people from squatter communities a chance to own a home. During the
past eight years about 400 houses have been built in five Habitat
communities in the region. These communities are developed on land
donated to Habitat for Humanity. 

Homeowners help build their homes through hundreds of volunteer
hours of sweat equity. They must earn enough income to pay back a
no-interest, no-profit mortgage over 20 years. This money stays in the
program and helps keep the program going.

To qualify for a house, potential homeowners must participate in 24
orientation sessions held Sunday afternoons, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.  At these
meetings they learn about the Habitat for Humanity program, money
management and other life skills, and study the Bible.

Laurel Terichow is associated with the Evangelical Mennonite Mission
Church in Morden, Man., and with The Meeting Place in Winnipeg,
Man.

                         -30-

Gladys Terichow, MCC Manitoba Communications

pls3may1997

MCC photo available:  MCC worker Laurel Terichow (left) chats with
Habitat for Humanity homeowners, Luc Macabinguil (middle) and
Dora Gabotero (right).  Terichow, 22, who assists the Habitat office
staff with inventory control and general office duties, is in the
Philippines on a one-year service assignment with the MCC youth
program, SALT (Serving and Learning Together). (MCC photo by
Gladys Terichow)TOPIC:  COUPLE FINDS "FACING AND EMBRACING GRIEF" OPENS SPACE FOR NEW
LIFE
DATE:   May 5, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Hartman-Souders' struggle with infertility, desire for simpler life
lead them to MCC service in Nigeria 

AKRON, Pa. -- Brenda and Mark Hartman-Souder had good jobs, a
comfortable house in a middle-class Syracuse, N.Y., neighborhood,
friends and a supportive church.  They felt ready for the next step --
having children.  However, after several years of difficult, invasive
medical tests and procedures, the Hartman-Souders had to face the
reality of infertility.  

"I don't know how other couples make these decisions, but we knew
we couldn't continue the medical route and weren't ready to adopt. 
We had to look at what our experience with infertility was telling us,
and ask what meaning we should find," says Brenda.    

As they prayed and talked with others, the couple began to feel they
should look for ways other than birthing children to affirm life.  At
about the same time, the big, 1920s house they had lovingly renovated
with future children in mind was beginning to seem like an "albatross."

"One American myth is that you can grow into a mortgage because
your income will continue to increase," explains Mark.  Instead, the
large monthly mortgage bill left the couple feeling "stuck in the rat
race."  They began to look 
or ways to simplify their lives.

It became clear to the Hartman-Souders that the various strands of
their life were tugging them in a new direction.  This month the couple
will leave for a three-year Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
assignment in the West African nation of Nigeria.  There they will use
their entrepreneurial skills to help Nigerians market their products. 
Some of their work will be with Ten Thousand Villages, the MCC job
creation program formerly called SELFHELP Crafts of the World. 

"None of our earlier life choices were necessarily wrong and I don't
have regrets," says Brenda.  "We had to go through those experiences
to discover what our values are."

The couple is also quick to note that they don't expect everybody to
uproot themselves to serve in another part of the world.  In fact,
Brenda says as they prepared to go to Nigeria, she realized "how many
hands uphold each MCC worker."  

When the couple was accepted for MCC service, they asked six close
friends to be their support group.  Through meetings and phone calls
this group helped them think through the many decisions they faced,
such as how to sell their home and possessions.  The group also
provided emotional support as the Hartman-Souders faced the prospect
of leaving behind all that was familiar. 

"Hundreds of volunteer hours are behind our going to Nigeria," says
Brenda.  Friends and family members helped them organize a sale for
their household goods, one adopted their cat, another agreed to serve
as power of attorney.  When the buyer of their house heard their story
she offered to store their remaining furniture.  At their commissioning
service, the couple's pastor at Plymouth Congregational UCC Church
in Syracuse promised that the congregation will "hold you consistently
in our prayers."  As well, members have committed themselves to
writing letters and holding educational and fund-raising activities.

"Before, money insulated us and we didn't really need to depend on
other people," says Mark.  "Now that we have no home, people have
become our `home'." 

As they travel to Nigeria, the Hartman-Souders know they will
continue to deal with their pain over infertility.  Nigeria has one of the
highest birth rates in the world and children are valued.

Brenda expects constant "reminders of what we don't have." 
However, she says "we have learned when we face and embrace grief,
something good can happen, such as freeing up space for a new life."  

The couple's "new life" in Nigeria will include living in a cinder-block
house in Jos, a city of 300,000, and traveling around the country as
they work with Nigerians on income-generation projects.

Nigerians are finding it increasingly difficult to make enough money to
feed their families and educate their children.   Most hold down
several "side" jobs, such as raising chickens or selling vegetables, in
addition to their main jobs. 

Oil-rich Nigeria borrowed millions of dollars in the 1970s when its
economy was expanding. In the 1980s interest rates soared and oil
prices plummeted.  International lending agencies then asked Nigeria
to devalue its currency, increase exports and remove food subsidies,
among other measures, so it could repay its debt.  As a result, prices
for everyday items rose.  

This month Ten Thousand Village shops in North America will begin
selling items from Nigeria, Zaire and Burkina Faso.  The crafts include
musical instruments, greeting cards and fabrics, such as the colorful
batik for which West Africa is famous.

The Hartman-Souders are members of First Mennonite New Breman in
Lowville, N.Y.  Brenda Hartman-Souder is originally from Kidron,
Ohio, and is affiliated with Pleasant View Mennonite Church in North
Lawrence, Ohio.  Mark Hartman-Souder is originally from Grottoes,
Va., where he is affiliated with Mt. Vernon Mennonite Church in
Grottoes. 

                         -30-

Pearl Sensenig, MCC Communications

2may1997

MCC photo available:  Brenda and Mark Hartman-Souder.  (MCC
photo by Tony Siemens)