Pastor Ignacio Chamorro Ramírez’s flock isn’t typical. “My members are rapists, kidnappers, murderers and fraudsters — all washed by the blood of Jesus our Lord,” he said. Chamorro directs an...
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RIO VERDE, Paraguay — A peace march of historic size and participation took place in September when thousands of conservative Mennonites from surrounding colonies took part in a demonstration in Santa...
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Performing before hundreds of Mennonites and passersby at a downtown park Sept. 16, a drama troupe from the Mennonite church in Villa Adelina mimed challenges and struggles facing...
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Despite warnings from Mennonite Central Committee, Low German Mennonites from drought-prone regions of northern Mexico have bought more than 49,000 acres of land in Colombia. Kennert Giesbrecht, editor of Die...
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WINNIPEG, Man. — When Rosinda Picon goes to work, she trusts the staff at Stansberry Children’s Home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to care for her children. The children’s home, which is a Mennonite Central...
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Die Mennonitische Post, one of the last remaining German-language publications in North America, celebrated its 40th anniversary in June. Mennonite Central Committee, which supports the Post, has longstanding...
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Partners of Mennonite Central Committee in Colombia continue to walk with people affected by more than 50 years of violence as new armed conflict emerges even after a peace accord. Violence among armed groups...
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By what seemed like divine coincidence, Mennonite World Conference Andean regional representative Pablo Stucky planned to visit Peru in early April. His scheduled meetings with church leaders came shortly...
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FILADELFIA, Paraguay — Violence tore through this traditionally pacifist community on the night of March 11, 1944. All the more remarkable, its perpetrators and victims were all Mennonites. And they all...
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Mennonite Women USA is building stronger leadership for its Sister Care seminars in Latin America, where enthusiasm for the program is high. Sister Care seminars and materials have been received with much...
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Runners don’t improve by sitting around and talking about the sport. They get better by running. If you doubt that you can finish a five-kilometer race, the only way to find out is to try it. In September...
[read more]The transformative power of the process that sought to end Colombia’s 50-year civil war was evident in the bilateral cease-fire and the FARC guerrillas’ commitment to meet their objectives through dialogue...
[read more]“War-torn” preceded “Colombia” in media reports for so long it seemed the three words would always cling together. For more than 50 years Colombia endured the longest war in the Americas. Fighting...
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BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Angélica Rincón could not stop smiling. All around her, crowds cheered and waved signs, banners and Colombian flags. Rincón — like others who have worked with Mennonite Central...
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The possible signing of a peace agreement between the guerrilla group FARC and the Colombian government brought for me, as a Colombian Mennonite, a sense of hope that the path to peace is starting in my...
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Local Mennonites and mission agencies responded after a powerful earthquake struck the Pacific coast of Ecuador April 16, followed by a second quake four days later. At least 570 people were killed, and more...
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EBENFELD, Paraguay — Rain woke me in the night. The roar on the tin roof drowned out the frogs, if any were still singing. Only the thrashing of palms cut across the downpour. In the morning I learned that...
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The word on everybody’s lips right now when speaking of Colombia is “peace.” There are encouraging signs and broad support for a negotiated peace accord between the Colombian government and the...
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HESSTON, Kan. — Even though Buhler Mennonite Church Pastor Willmar T. Harder wasn’t preaching, he brought a pair of austere black boots to his presentation on the Low German Mennonites of Bolivia at the...
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