Prayers of gratitude and intercession

A YAMENer’s reflection from Colombia 

Peace doesn’t look the same in every context. That’s a lesson that Hector “Ramon” Calix Dueñas says he’s learning during his YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) year in Colombia. 

“Ramon” Calix Dueñas is 27 and from Saba, Honduras, where his parents are pastors of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Hondureña, the church he grew up in. He says service has always been an essential element of his expression of Christianity.  

Recently, he wanted to match his desire to serve with travel and cultural discovery. When a friend completed a year with YAMEN and encouraged him to consider the program, he knew he found the match and applied for the program. 

YAMEN is a yearlong service opportunity for young Christian adults outside Canada and the USA. Participants experience living in a different culture while serving alongside local Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partners in schools, farms, community agencies and day cares, gaining hands-on experience. The program is jointly operated by MCC and Mennonite World Conference. 

“Ramon” Calix Dueñas has completed eight months of the program, working with two church ministries in Cali, Colombia. One of these ministries, Cruising for Jesus, operates in one of Cali’s roughest neighborhoods, where talking about peace collides with the reality of everyday violence for most attendants.  

“The kids who are coming to these meetings are coming from a very vulnerable place, really harsh and difficult situations,” says “Ramon” Calix Dueñas. “We have a big focus on conflict resolution, not only with the kids, but for the community in general. The neighborhood we’re in, fights can take place at any time of day. We talk a lot about forgiveness and the process of healing your heart.” 

Cruising for Jesus offers two weekly events that “Ramon” Calix Dueñas helps run: a Wednesday evening service designed for those who haven’t had a lot of exposure to the Bible or Christian teachings and a Saturday afternoon meeting catered to teens and young adults. While Dueñas has been working on transforming communities, he’s also felt like he’s been transformed himself. 

“One of the most important things I’ve learned through my year is being able to see Jesus from a different perspective,” he says. “It’s beyond what you can learn about Jesus during a church service; it’s how you see him outside of it. It’s understanding what Jesus preached about while you are teaching kids math or Spanish, or just seeing Jesus through different eyes. I love seeing him through those small things.” 

“Ramon” Calix Dueñas says these new perspectives have helped him realize that understanding context is critical for building a lasting peace. 

“When you’re carrying peace in a very difficult environment or to a very vulnerable population, you have to understand what you’re bringing with you, in Jesus’ name,” says “Ramon” Calix Dueñas. 

With the end of his term not far off on the horizon, “Ramon” Calix Dueñas says he’s not sure what his plan is when he returns home, but there is one thing he already feels excited about. 

“Part of me wants to stay longer, but I also can’t wait to go back and share what I’ve learned and seen with my community. There’s just another thing that the church needs to understand – this is our responsibility, to take care of people. That we need to look after the people who need support and figure out how we can just walk with these people and teach more the way Jesus tried to teach us.” 

For more information about YAMEN or to sign up, visit MCC’s website. 

—A Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release by Jason Dueck, Communications Specialist. 

Before Esther Aguilar began her Bolivian adventure, she asked God for one thing: to teach her in a deeper sense the commandment where Jesus says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (…) A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22 37-39).” 

Although she had grown up hearing this commonly used verse, Esther Aguilar was ready to be challenged to understand what it meant to love others from a different culture and to meet Jesus in a new part of the world. 

Through YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network), a joint service program through Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite World Conference, God placed her in Samuelito, a daycare for children in Bolivia.  

Before working at Samuelito, Esther Aguilar had never worked with children before. She recalls those first days as an education and healthcare assistant, trying to navigate children’s screams coming from multiple directions and learning how to change a diaper for the first time. “I remember the first time putting it on backwards!” But instead of shutting down, she remembered the verse she was asking to be transformed by. She thought, “How should I react better in this moment and what can I do about it?” 

Although Esther Aguilar came from Honduras, another Spanish speaking-country, she still found that adapting her language was key in relating and caring for vulnerable children.  

“We’re all Latinos-as and share cultural things at a minimum level,” she says. “But I’ve had to adapt my language even here. I’ve had to adapt my way of speaking to children of different ages. Like different ways to call their attention or to correct their speech. Understanding and communicating with each child differently is a way of empathizing with them.”  

During her time with YAMEN (August 2022 to July 2023), Esther Aguilar learned to love each child as an individual. It was a test of patience, but she strove to create a safe space where they could freely express their range of emotions within a day. 

Another way she practiced ‘loving thy neighbour’ was by becoming part of the fabric of a new Mennonite church community, Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Boliviana – Sinai.  

At first, she was afraid to get involved with a new church. She remembers feeling out of her comfort zone and vulnerable to attend church camps by herself for the first time. But looking back, she feels joy about this part of her experience because it’s taught her that the kingdom of God reaches far past her home church, Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Santa Rosa de Copan, in Honduras.  

Esther Aguilar’s new workplace, home and church community were avenues of deeper cultural connection and a place to practice living out the day-to-day messiness of loving her new neighbours, children’s screams and all.  

“When I began to embrace this culture, I started to feel a bit more ownership and began to understand what it’s like in other people’s shoes in the context of Bolivia,” she says.  

“I have learned to love the Lord in another church, in a different home and have learned to love myself.” 

—A Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release by Rachel Watson, communications and program support facilitator for Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia. 

The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a cross-cultural assignment starting in August and ending the following July.  

YAMEN 2023-2024 participants 

What do cooking and graphic design have in common? For Adi Nugroho, it’s never been about mastering either of these skills. Technical skills are simply the backdrop for developing emotional tools and creating a space for connection, even across cultures.  

When Adi’s host mom, Angela Opimi, was asked if she’d like to open her home up to a participant of the YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) program, she was reluctant at first. Angela has been connected to the Mennonite church for years, and she now acts as vice president of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Boliviana (IEMB) and is a member of Mennonite World Conference’s Deacons Commission. But despite those strong church ties, having someone live in her home felt like a big step. Her biggest fear in hosting? Preparing food.  

She remembers telling Adi Nugroho about her fears around cooking when he first arrived. He assured her that, “as long as there’s rice to cook, I’ll be fine.”  

To Angela Opimi’s surprise, the kitchen has become a place where they’ve built a friendship, shared jokes, and for Adi Nugruho, learned a new language. In the beginning, he didn’t know any Spanish, so the words they had to communicate were limited. But in the kitchen, his relationship with his host mom and his comfort in Spanish grew.  

When Adi Nugroho heard about YAMEN, a one-year service term for young adults outside of Canada and the U.S. that provides the chance to learn, serve and grow in another country, he knew that going to Bolivia would be different than his home country in Indonesia.  

YAMEN is a joint program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC).  

Adi Nugroho arrived in Bolivia with an openness to see how his experience in graphic design could be used at Talita Cumi, a home for orphaned and at-risk children and youth. Talita Cumi is supported by two churches Restoration Church and Trinity Church, which help provide spiritual support and activities for children.  

For traumatized youth, qualities like time management, patience and teamwork have often taken a back seat to other family priorities. After a few months of building relationships with the children, Adi realized that while teaching a hard skill like graphic design would be fun, it could also be an opportunity to teach emotional development in an indirect way.  

Adi Nugroho uses the example of developing confidence; he explains that many children don’t have much confidence in their abilities. Children might draw something in his class but would quickly scribble on top of it if anyone looked at it. But once they see their own posters hung in the halls of Talita Cumi they think, “wow this is my project!” It builds confidence. They might think “oh, maybe I can do more.” They can picture a future for themselves that they couldn’t imagine before. 

His experience with YAMEN has pushed Adi Nugroho to practice the emotional skills he’s teaching.  

“When I first came here everything was hard, the culture was difficult to adapt to, and the language made everything harder.” Rice, a staple food in Indonesia, was prepared differently in Bolivia. But after a long day, Adi Nugroho and Angela Opimi would meet in the kitchen to cook a simple meal. He shared some of his favorite recipes from Indonesia and she shared easy Bolivian dishes.  

While he’s building skills while cooking with Angela Opimi, Adi Nugroho is also expanding his ideas about how food can be prepared and building a relationship along the way.  

Angela Opimi says, “I enjoy spending time with him in the kitchen because he doesn’t just wait for food to appear. He says, ‘let’s make it together and we can make it faster’. I’ve remained an independent person, but he’s not a stranger in my home, he’s more like a nephew.” 

Maybe Adi Nugroho and Angela Opimi won’t become master chefs. Maybe the children at Talita Cumi won’t want to continue in a career with graphic design. But the emotional tools that they carry with them as they interact with other people and cultures, will last a lifetime.  

—A Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release by Rachel Watson, communications and program support facilitator for Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia. 

YAMEN 2022-2023 Participants

The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and‚ÄØMennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a‚ÄØcross-cultural assignment‚ÄØstarting in August and ending the following July.‚ÄØ 

Stephanie Setiawan from Sidoarjo, Indonesia, had no plan to go to Latin America. She applied for Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program in 2013/2014, but the slot for her synod was already taken. The coordinators offered her a YAMEN placement in Colombia instead.  

As a result, Stephanie Setiawan discovered a love for Latin culture and training for future service. “I am so grateful to have served in Colombia. There, God prepared me for serving at Assembly in Indonesia,” she says. 

The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a cross-cultural assignment starting in August and ending the following July. 

“I’d never paid attention to Colombia before,” Stephanie Setiawan says, but she began to learn. She initiated correspondence with a young person from the church where she would be serving. “It felt great to have a friendship before I went there.” 

“When I arrived, I didn’t speak any Spanish and my host family could not speak English. They were so committed to teaching me the language,” she says. “They explained Spanish words; if there were things, they showed them; if there’s an action, they acted it out for me. Every time we had free time, they gave it to conversation with me.” 

In her service placement, “the children were so patient,” she says. She showed them pictures to teach English vocabulary and the children taught her Spanish in turn.  

After several months, Stephanie Setiawan was able to speak and understand Spanish, but “I still didn’t get the jokes. It’s weird when people are talking and I couldn’t see the funny things. One day when I laughed, it felt really good. Finally, I could get the interactions.” 

“It would be great to meet more people from other cultures,” she thought, as the YAMEN program introduced her to friends from around the world. She began to anticipate the MWC Assembly in Indonesia which her host mom told her about. “It would be really powerful to worship God together with our diversity.” 

When Assembly arrived, Indonesian language coordinator Ary Rusdianto turned to Stephanie Setiawan, now working as web communications assistant for MWC. Interpreters for Spanish and Indonesian were scarce: she knew both languages.  

“I’ve never been a translator. I rarely talk in a big group. This is the biggest stage in my life. If I had an option I would say no,” says Stephanie Setiawan. Friends encouraged her and helped her prepare.  

And she remembered the neighbourhood Barrio Tokio in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.  

Part of her YAMEN work took her to this neighbourhood with a difficult reputation. “Never once did I feel afraid,” she says. “My interaction with children and parents is still fresh in my memory. I felt the peace of God in that place and the warmness of those people.” 

The miracle of peace amid uncertainty occurred again on stage in Salatiga as she interpreted for José Rutilio Rivas. “It was an honour to serve in this way.” 

“I feel it is really important to have connections to people from around the world,” she says. “When you embrace the differences and diversity you can grow, and your soul can be rich. There is always something good in another culture just waiting to learn.  

“When you know someone from far away is praying for you, it will touch your heart. It’s important for us to pray for our brother and sister around the world especially when you know they are facing difficulty.”  

YAMEN 2022-2023 Participants

‚ÄîA Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release by Karla Braun, a writer for Mennonite World Conference who lives in Winnipeg.  

The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a cross-cultural assignment starting in August and ending the following July.  

“I can see one family with a lot of members, worshipping the same Father,” says Natacha Kyendrebeogo from Burkina Faso. 

She is one of four young people serving through YAMEN on the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly team in Indonesia. YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) is a program that places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe.   

All four members of the Assembly team are working on MWC’s five-day global gathering. Assembly happens once every six years, and the YAMEN members of the planning team are looking forward to being part of the community meeting of world-wide Anabaptist-Mennonites in Indonesia.  

“The Global Church Village, the programs, the workshops: I have this whole picture of a crowd that is so joyful, doing things together,” says Loyce Twongirwe from Uganda. A filmmaker, she serves on the communications team for Assembly. 

“I am looking forward to creating lasting friendships: getting to know each country, how people live, how they are as a congregation,” says Sunil Kadmaset from India. 

While waiting for visas for Indonesia, Sunil Kadmaset and Ananda Mohan Murmu began to get to know the wider Anabaptist family as they served with Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India (MCSFI).  

Sunil Kadmaset (from the Brethren in Christ in Cuttack, Odisha) and Ananda Mohan Murmu (from a Bharatiya Jukta Christa Prachar Mandali (BJCPM) congregation in Balarampur, West Bengal) lived among Mennonite Church India members in Chhattisgarh. They collaborated with Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations from eight national churches in India and Nepal. 

Ananda Mohan Murmu was drawn to YAMEN after hearing from his friends who participated in MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP) and how the program had an impact on their perspective. Alongside MCSFI director Benjamin Nand, he called on gardening and peace projects and he visited churches with MWC regional representative Cynthia Peacock. “People’s joy gives me my greatest joy,” he says. 

“We are different states, different castes, [yet] we are still as brothers and sisters,” says Sunil Kadmaset. With MCSFI, he met people who suffered from COVID-19, yet, with help from the Mennonite family and encouragement from the Spirit, they persevered. “To know each other from eight conferences – I am content with that.” 

Natacha Kyendrebeogo also tasted the fellowship of the global family before she even left home. After a military coup in Burkina Faso, “I received a lot of mail encouragement from those who don’t know me. They pray for my country; they pray for this situation. I couldn’t image the fellowship. I enjoy the love, the encouragement,” she says. 

As they tend their tasks, the YAMENers are spurred on by their hopes for Assembly.  

Loyce Twongirwe, started her work from an office in Uganda, and now is with the team in Indonesia, “We are advancing videos: how to register, how to book hotels. So, when they reach event, they don’t feel lost, confused, left out,” she says. “It’s a great responsibly to us to make sure it goes perfect as we picture.” 

“When I close my eyes, I see lots of people around me,…with people from Africa, USA, Canada, we are together, we are praising God. Between them I am in that moment, in that place, that gives me very big joy,” says Ananda Mohan Murmu. 

YAMEN participants 

Assembly team 

Other YAMENers

‚ÄîA Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release by Karla Braun, a writer for Mennonite World Conference who lives in Winnipeg.‚ÄØ‚ÄØ 

The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN) program is a joint program between Mennonite World Conference and‚ÄØMennonite Central Committee. It places emphasis on expanding the fellowship between churches in the Anabaptist tradition and developing young leaders around the globe. Participants spend one year in a‚ÄØcross-cultural assignment‚ÄØstarting in August and ending the following July.‚ÄØ 

“A chapter of my story was written while with YAMEN,” says Diana Martínez. The young church leader from Colombia served as an educational assistant at Casa Hogar Belén, a children’s home in Managua, Nicaragua, 2017–2018 through YAMEN.

YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) is a joint program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC). Participants aged 18–30 from outside of Canada or the USA serve in ministries or businesses in a culture outside their own for one year.

During this year of challenges and unfamiliarity, YAMEN participants experience God as protector, provider and parent.

“During this time I have managed to develop a deeper connection and dependence [on God] that makes me feel so good, so relaxed and at peace,” says Gloria Blanco a member of Centro de Discipulado Cristiano (Mennonite church) in Nicaragua who is serving in at Comisión de Accion Social Menonita (CASM) in Honduras.

Trust in the gifts 

“I had to trust in the gifts that God has given me,” says Diana Martínez, who memorized Psalm 32:8 in preparation for her year. “When you make your time and your heart available to serve others, the Lord uses you in ways that you can never imagine.”

YAMENer from Cambodia Malin Yem carried the quote “‘All things can happen in life under God’s management’ reminds me to be ready for new things” into working in Haiti 2018–2019. “It reminds me that every second, God is here with me: helping me, protecting me, teaching me and other thousand things I can’t even say,” she says.

In the river of life

The words of Romans 12:14–18 spoke to Diana Martinez in times of uncertainty. “To be at peace with the world is something that can only become a reality in my life to the degree that I have a sincere relationship with God.”

Diana Martínez was impressed with the hospitality and simplicity of heart of her host culture.

“When we are able to give as well as value what others can contribute, without worrying about cultural backgrounds, nationalities, race or language, then we are making real the notion of being one body with Christ as the head,” she says.

—A Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee joint release.

Laos and Indonesia are both in South East Asia, so some kinds of food are similar. But sometimes, as Laotian teaching English on YAMEN in Indonesia, I miss Lao food.

When I make food from home, it helps me to not feel as homesick. Cooking Lao food to share with others helps me to share God’s love with people around me. I enjoy it when they say Lao food is delicious.

Cucumber salad (for 3 people)

• 2 medium-sized cucumbers
• 4 small tomatoes
• 4 fresh chiles
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tablespoons lime
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (I brought it from Laos)

  

Instructions

• Cut the cucumbers and tomatoes in small pieces.
• Mix the fresh chiles, garlic, sugar, shrimp paste together.
• Add chopped cucumbers and tomatoes.
• Add the lime and fish sauce, then mix all ingredients together.
• Test for flavour; add more ingredients as necessary.

Pairs well with grilled fish or chicken.

—Khammoun Xayalath (Moon), from Lao Evangelical Church, serves as an English teacher and community worker. On her YAMEN year in Indonesia, she worships with Dorang Javanese Evangelical Church, a GITJ (Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa – Java Mennonite church).

YAMEN is a joint program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC).