At no time did we hear the word leaders, but instead we spoke of the missionaries. The first leaders of the church were Mennonite Brethren: Jakob Franz in the 1930s and later Gerhard\u202fHein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people left, but they sowed the Word in the community. First it was in Filadelphia that a church was planted, then in Cayin \u00f4 Clim (today it is\u202fNeuland). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the early days, the leaders\u2019 priorities were to proclaim the Word to other communities. They did so through worship services, Bible studies and translating songs into the language of the\u202fpeople. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1960, a group was baptized by the missionaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organization Luz a Los Ind\u00edgenas (Light to the Indigenous peoples) gave the opportunity for us as Indigenous people to be part of the church, people of faith in God. Since 2006, it has been called ACoMeM (Asociaci\u00f3n Civil Obra Misionera Evang\u00e9lica Menonita). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The church joined the Mennonite church as we became more aware of the Mennonites in our\u202fcommunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the church\u2019s strengths are our love for the Bible and our school to help members to study the Word. The important thing is to have faith, and that faith is not\u202flost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our challenge is to help other people to trust in\u202fGod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 2018, the church reported 2\u202f600 baptized members in 12 congregations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsa P\u00e9rez is a member of Iglesia <\/em>Evang\u00e9lica <\/em>Hermanos Menonitas Malaqu\u00edas located in the Comunidad Campo Alegre, Paraguay. <\/em>She is from the Nivacl\u00e9 Indigenous tribe.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n