Winter 2023
SERVE
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?” – Matthew 5:13
It’s not a secret that we are living in difficult times. I often hear sentiments like, “things aren’t like they used to be…” While this is certainly true, the deeper truth is, things have never been easy. The state of the world has never looked particularly dreamy on a global scale. In the face of such darkness, there is a natural human response to withdraw, to pull back for self-protection. I see this not only on a human level, but at a Church level, as well. Yet in Holy Scripture, Christ consistently challenges those that follow Him to something greater.
In Christ’s words above, I love the analogy of salt. Salt left in the saltshaker on the table does nothing. To be effective, it must get out, be mixed into the unsalted food, stirred up, and there, it enacts change.
“I dream of a ‘missionary option,’… that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world, rather than for her self-preservation.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium).
The way Jesus chooses to reveal Himself to people is through relationships. We see this is true in the life He lived, we saw it carried on in the lives of His followers and the disciples they made. This necessitates His followers having relationships with those who have yet to know Him. Let’s be salt!
Kevin Granger
Executive Director
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Featured Story
Seeds Sown in Guatemala
Interview with Millie Hennemann
In 2018, the Hennemann family received their first mission assignment to Costa Rica. As part of their preparation, they attended Spanish language school in Guatemala. While new missionaries might be excited to immediately settle into their new home in a new country, language school is an important part of a successful mission. For Nick and Millie Hennemann, this was the door to a future ministry.
Millie’s Spanish teacher was a Catholic woman named Florinda. During the course of their classes, Florinda asked if the Hennemann Family could help a man in her village who was paralyzed and unable to work. They went with Florinda to visit the village and were able to give some assistance to the family of this man.
The following year, the Hennemann Family returned to Guatemala for continued language classes, and they encountered Florinda once again. They returned to Florinda’s village, and this time Florinda introduced them to a mother with ten children. Several of the teenage daughters could not read or write, and did not speak Spanish, but only spoke a Mayan language. This concerned Millie, and she wanted to do something to help them with their education.
Through this encounter, the Lord put the education of Guatemalans on Nick and Millie’s heart. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these needs became even more urgent.
So many children were spending their days on the streets because schools were closed. Millie worked with Florinda to hire a teacher to begin tutoring about 20 kids. They met in the upstairs terrace of Florinda’s home.
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