I was born and raised in Saigon, Vietnam, with Chinese parents who worshipped ancestors, Buddha, and other idols. My father’s business was seized in 1975, when the Communists took over Saigon. In 1978, for the sake of freedom, our family escaped the country. We travelled by train to China, then spent 30 days on a 40-foot sailboat to Hong Kong. My first contact with Christianity was at the refugee camp when a pastor came to preach every Sunday.
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An animated effort to reach the community
On June 6, Cedar Park Church in Delta, B.C., staged its second annual Breath of Life Animation Festival, using cartooning and claymation workshops to intrigue both kids and their parents. Under the guidance of church member Ken Priebe, a faculty member at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, church and community members were invited to learn how to draw a cartoon character, make clay models “move” for frame-by-frame storytelling, and do related skills. The event attracted nearly 100 participants.
A team of young people, most of them connected to Yarrow (B.C.) MB Church, went to Mazatlan, Mexico, from April 15-11 to help build two houses through YWAM Mazatlan’s Homes of Hope program.
Men of Stone; Losing ForeverAuthor: Gayle FriesenCommentators such as Booklist Magazine critic Michael Cart, and former president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Paula Brehm-Heeger have called the first decade of the 21st century the golden age of young adult (YA) literature. According to the Association of American Publishers, in spite of all the media available, young adults are not only still buying books but buying books in unprecedented numbers.
ICOMB encourages churches to schedule classes; Ian Martens wins photography prize; Amy Gingerich appointed position for Herald Press, MPN
More than 150 people attended the opening ceremonies of an exhibit at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery, Winnipeg, June 20, showcasing art by prisoners and ex-inmates.
n September 2008, Neil Klassen travelled with his family to visit Friesland, the Paraguayan Mennonite colony where his grandfather settled in 1937. While there, the Toronto-based artist (www.neilklassen.com) was inspired by Mennonites’ relationship with the land. He began to explore this theme in a series of paintings, using a traditional motif of oil on canvas to symbolize the conventional values of the Mennonites.
At the core re June; Why it matters re April, June; A unique opportunity re June; How do we respond? re June; Questionable statistic re June; Our story re June
It was a proud moment, that June 2005. He stood there in cap and gown, graduating with honours plus several scholarships.
I have watched, with dismay, the growing disconnect between our local MB church families, and the provincial and Canadian conferences. There was a time when poverty, persecution, struggle, and common goals knit us together; but times have changed and the family is drifting apart.