Global Bridge for a Global Family By Larry Neufeld and Mark J. H. Klassen | SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA & USA *Certain names have been changed for security reasons.
“In many ways, it’s an unlikely global connection,” said Stephen Humber, Mission Mobilizer, referring to the bridge that God has been building between America’s Midwest and Sub-Saharan Africa. “Those two parts of the world seem so far apart,” he said, “but during the past several years God has linked them together in ways that are having a huge impact.” Several years ago, God called Travis Jost, a man from Kansas, to move to Sub-Saharan Africa where he would partner with local churches to see the nation of Burundi reached with the love of Jesus. In some ways, it seemed random. But God was up to something. He brought different churches together throughout the Midwest to get behind Travis and to support the work in Burundi. In the process, many people sensed that God was doing something bigger, creating a connection that would involve many more lives. They envisioned a global bridge.
What does mission look like today for the global family of Mennonite Brethren? What does mission look like today for the global family of Mennonite Brethren? It’s about people coming together for a purpose. It’s about collaboration between workers willing to go, churches willing to send, and others willing to partner, whether in the host country or elsewhere, all for the purpose of reaching a nation with the Gospel of Jesus. Around the time that Travis was mobilized, a relationship was also growing between several Midwest churches and a couple named Youssef and Reyna. Youssef was
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originally from Sub-Saharan Africa where he grew up as a devout Muslim, but he came to the US to study agribusiness and miraculously met Jesus. Eventually, he and his wife, Reyna, returned to Africa with a strong sense of calling to proclaim Jesus among the people of his home home country and beyond. When they returned to Africa, Youssef and Reyna went with the prayer and financial support of a variety of churches in the US Midwest. One of those was an MB church in Enid, Oklahoma. As these churches continued to invest in the work of the Gospel through the faithfulness of Youssef and Reyna, the global bridge was strengthened and the work in Africa flourished. Today, the Gospel is having an impact as God continues to open doors in many peoples’ lives. Again, God had gathered a diverse team of people and churches to collaborate on a specific mission assignment— in this case, for the sake of the Gospel in Youssef’s home country. The bridge that God was building was facilitating more and more traffic for greater mission impact. In 2016, Enid MB sent a short-term team to visit Youssef and Reyna to offer assistance and encouragement. “The team from Enid invited a few people from Buhler MB to join them on the trip, including a young man from Kansas named Kai,” Stephen recalled. “For Kai, that trip was a life-changer.” While in Africa, Kai saw a broader picture of how God could use his practical skills to support Youssef and Reyna’s ministry. The following year, he and his wife, Denisa, made a long-term commitment to serve in Youssef’s homeland. In 2019, the couple was mobilized,
