Missionary to Argentina dies
Delbert Erb, who served God in Argentina for more than seven decades, died June 14, in Buenos Aires. “He decided that his heart and ashes would remain in Choele Choel, [Argentina],” said Rafael Stábile, pastor of the Mennonite church where Delbert and his wife Frieda Schellenberg Erb were members. Beginning his ministry in 1951, when…
Seeking to fulfill God’s mission in the world
“To be clear, this is not a missions consultation.” So said Ryan Siemens, executive minister of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, in his opening address to key regional leaders on March 29. From opening statements to the closing benediction two days later, MC Canada’s mission consultation was more about being a people with a mission than about…
Where he leads me I will follow
At a time when a woman’s sphere of influence was limited to hearth and home, Anna Dyck was making a difference. Dyck spent nearly 40 years of her life as a missionary in Japan. During those years she lived in three communities and worked as a nurse, Bible teacher, pastor and church planter. She helped…
Serving in Japan as ‘ordinary people’
Retired missionary Mary Derksen didn’t start out to write a book about the 45 years she and her late husband spent as missionaries in Japan. But she has just completed the story of the couple’s ministry there: Rise and Shine! 45 Years in the Land of the Rising Sun. She describes it as “the story…
Argentine Mennonites celebrate one hundred years
Performing before hundreds of Mennonites and passersby at a park in downtown Buenos Aires, a drama troupe from the Mennonite church in Villa Adelina, Argentina, mimed challenges and struggles facing youth: violence, drugs, promiscuity, greed, and death itself. Representing Argentinian youth, actor Laura Burgos sometimes seemed mesmerized as actors impersonated threats, but she also sought…
Nurse Katherine Dyck, 1956
Mennonite Central Committee nurse Katherine Dyck poses with mothers and twins in Pusan, Korea, in 1956. Born in Russia in 1925, she immigrated to Rosthern, Sask., and worked as a nurse in Saskatchewan and Maryland before beginning service in Korea in 1953. In 1954, she wrote, “As I daily try to help the many sick…
Anna Thiessen, Winnipeg missionary
Missionary to the city of Winnipeg, Anna Thiessen, is seated with some girls she worked with in 1919. Rural life has been an important part of Mennonite life and self-understanding. The city was seen as dangerous and unhealthy and therefore shunned. Mennonite Brethren missionary Anna Thiessen was one of the first Canadian Mennonites who chose…
