For more than a decade, Cullen Klassen has been behind the camera telling stories. What began with homemade music videos and a GoPro camera eventually developed into a vocation focused on capturing stories of transformation and mission.

It has been over six months since the Kola EMC church sent a team of 14 participants to Guadalajara, Mexico, to serve with Israel and Sandra Chavez Plett. What was intended to be a youth trip turned into a multi-generational service team age 12 to 50-plus.

The team serving in Poplar Hill landed just as the electricity went out in the whole community. The team adapted along with the community until the lights came back on, Albert Martens writes, and despite the surprise at the start he says they had one of the best “camps” ever.

In chapter 45 of her life, Jodie tells of learning new ways to serve her church. She talks about saying a new and scary “yes” to the Lord—and how rewarding her new roles were as she led and taught in youth ministry.

♪“Everyone’s plate is full; some of us just have bigger plates.” This quote was given to me by a couple in our church that have demonstrated a significant capacity to serve within the context of our church community. For a time, I was a part of the group that had big plates, and I was proud of the capacity that I had for service.

♪ In recent years, SIL has felt it necessary to shift our approach in serving minority peoples. In the past we focused on languages; we now want to put “people before language.” This is a very welcome turn. I reflect briefly on my experience of these two approaches as I look back on my career with SIL (see sil.org/about).

On May 6, Braeside Church held its first ladies breakfast of 2023, where the men of the church treat the women to a delicious breakfast.

Although thousands of fallen trees were cleaned up by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers after the hurricane struck Cape Breton, and some roofs were patched or tarped, the organization was unable to do more before winter came.

For a number of years EMC has been sending out teams to pray for missionaries on EMC-administrated mission fields. Those who have gone on such trips can testify to the blessing it is.

The grants can be used for food banks or other ministries assisting low-income people or seniors, and for construction or renovation projects to repair a home or make it more livable.

It’s exciting to see our sanctuary nearly at capacity every Sunday, and the new expansion of our building filled with young and old alike attending Sunday school.

The Board of Missions (BOM) held the annual Missionary Fellowship on June 8, 2022, to recognize the service of Lesley and Marianne Fast, who are soon moving back to the Netherlands.