Bogotá, Colombia – Smiles and a warm reception greeted Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Executive Committee member Steven Mang’ana and Regional Representative (Central/West Africa) Francisca Ibanda as they visited Église Mennonite du Burundi (EMB).

In May 2016, Mang’ana and Ibanda visited two Mennonite national churches who are not MWC members, to encourage further connection.

They brought greetings from MWC, distributed copies of Courrier and worshipped together with EMB in Bujumbura, Burundi. Ibanda and Mang’ana also travelled to the EMB congregation in Gatumba where they were warmly welcomed.

A series of mishaps prevented Mang’ana and Ibanda from making contact with leaders of the national church near Mbuyi-Mayi, DR Congo.

MWC Regional Representatives build fraternal connections with churches in their region. These part-time volunteer staff are responsible for developing and supporting relationships with MWC member, associate-member and potential-member churches; local congregations; and MWC-related partners and agencies.

Two new faces have joined the MWC Regional Representatives team since the Executive Committee meetings in February.

Representative for Southern Africa is Barbara Nkala, a Brethren in Christ church leader from Zimbabwe. She was a plenary worship session leader at the 2003 Assembly, contributor to the Global Mennonite History Volume on Africa, and has served with the International Bible Society of Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Representative for Latin America – Central America region is Willi Hugo Pérez, president of SEMILLA (Latin American Anabaptist Seminary), Guatemala. He has previously served as a professor of theology and of political studies, and as director of REDPAZ (Mesoamerican Anabaptist-Mennonite Network of Peace and Justice).

—Mennonite World Conference release