South Africa:

Hippolyto and Miriam Tshimanga report in their recent newsletter the gratitude of Pastor James Gayiya of the Colesburg congregation. Gayiya testified in a joint worship service in May how thankful “to the Lord he was because his congregation is now busy making bricks for the construction of their house of prayer.” Pastor Gayiya continued to express his gratitude by sharing with those in attendance “about the many nights, over the years, that he had spent worrying and praying the Lord asking for the ways to build a house of prayer for his congregation. He spoke to them about the brick making press and the other tools that the concerted effort of a few Mennonite institutions, namely Mennonite Church Canada, Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM), Mennonite Mission Network (MMN), and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), had facilitated for the Grace Community church. The Pastor also spoke of the brick making phase in which the congregation is now engaged. This has been invigorated in the last three months thanks to donations made by both MMN and Mennonite Church Canada, respectively.”

Hippolyto and Miriam also invite prayer “for the Grace Community Church so that the Lord may keep her faithful in unity as she is still struggling to build herself as a Pentecostal Peace Church and a strong member of Mennonite World Conference in South Africa.”

Mennonite Delegation attends Indigenous Theology Conference

More than 20 Mennonite pastors and leaders have been sponsored by Indigenous-Settler Relations to attend the NAIITS Indigenous theology conference at Acadia University in Nova Scotia (June 7-9). Young and older will be learning about the realities of white privilege and how that impacts racial conflict and our collective efforts toward reconciliation. Please pray for us. That we would have open hearts to learn from the wide diversity of peoples who will be offering their gifts; that we would share our gift too; and that we would come home ready to pass on what we have received to our congregations.

Burkina Faso

We celebrate the relationships that Norm and Lillian Nicolson have been able to foster over the course of their extensive ministry in Burkina Faso. Even though relationship building is difficult to measure in terms of “success,” the Nicolson’s have modeled God’s love through their daily interactions and have been witnesses to His miraculous work in the lives of others.

Here is one such example of how Norm and Lillian have witnessed God at work in one of their relationships (as told by Lillian):

“As I walked into the courtyard I heard a woman screaming. I couldn’t understand the words she was saying but her tone of voice and posture communicated rage. My first memories in the village of Tin are a blur of yelling, anger and beaten, crying children. Initially, I held back from these conflicts, not understanding the language or culture and not knowing how to model a different way of communicating.

After 18 years of living and interacting with this woman, I have noticed that she has become gentler, calmer and more understanding. I realized how much she has changed when she pulled her six-year old grandson onto her lap to hold when he was sick. (Culturally, any child over two years old has been ‘weaned’ of sitting on laps or cuddling.) Now she is eagerly listening to Bible Stories and is ready to learn about Jesus and how God’s word can be applied to her life. I pray that God will send someone to continue teaching her the way of salvation.”

We invite prayers of peace and God’s grace for Lillian, Norm, Nadine and Kenneth as they transition to Canada after 20 years of ministry in Burkina Faso.

This full time chief executive officer is accountable to the Joint Council, and responsible for working with the Executive Staff Group for the nationwide program of Mennonite Church Canada.

This position requires considerable travel within Canada, and occasional travel outside of Canada. Living in the Winnipeg area is required. Assistance will be provided to cover relocation expenses.

Start Date to be negotiated.

Inquiries, resumes and letters of interest may be directed to: searchcommittee@mennonitechurch.ca

Review of applications will begin on July 31, 2018 and continue until a suitable applicant is found.

Completion or updating of the Ministerial Leadership Information forms will be required as part of the process.

To view a full job description for the Executive Minister role, visit: www.commonword.ca/go/1551 or home.mennonitechurch.ca

“We are grateful for the depth of leadership and commitment Norm & Lillian and Gregory & Jennifer have brought to their work with Witness,” says Willard Metzger, Executive Minister of Mennonite Church Canada. “The words in Matthew 25 come to mind: ‘well done good and faithful servant.’”

Twenty years ago, Lillian (Haas) Nicolson (Bluesky Mennonite Church) was invited to Burkina Faso to minister in the work of literacy which then grew into Bible translation. Alongside literacy and Bible translation, she has also been involved in church planting within the community. Norm (North Peace Mennonite Brethren) has ministered in Burkina Faso since 2007. He taught and assisted people to develop trade skills that enabled them to better meet the needs of their families, congregations and communities. He also audio-recorded biblical and other teaching materials to share the gospel with those who have limited literacy abilities. Norm, Lillian and their children, Kenneth and Nadine, will return to Canada at the end of May. Celebrations of faithful ministry will be planned with the Nicolsons and the congregations who have supported them.

Jennifer Otto (Steinmann Mennonite Church, ON.) and Gregory Rabus (Montreal Mennonite Fellowship) were originally invited to plant a church in Mannheim, Germany six years ago in partnership with the Conference of Southern German Mennonite Congregations and the German Mennonite Mission Committee. Together, they established a community-building ministry in the Ludwigshafen Mennonite Church. They used their linguistic, organizational and hospitality gifts to develop Friedenshaus (Peace House), a community centre working especially with refugees offering German language instruction, community building events, friendship, and help settling into a new country and culture. As reported in 2017, Gregory, Jennifer and their children, Alex and Ian, will return to Canada in June 2018, where Jennifer has accepted a position as assistant professor of Christianity at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.

“The impact of these ministries will never be truly known,” says Metzger. “We call on our nationwide community of faith to pray for the Nicolson family and the Otto/Rabus family as they leave their communities and return to Canada.”

MC Canada continues to strongly affirm and be engaged in international ministry with its Witness partners. All Witness projects are currently being reviewed by Mennonite Church Canada – a process that has led to the conclusion of the involvement of MC Canada in the work in Burkina Faso and to the transition of the Germany ministry to local ownership and leadership.