Christmas Day in Edenglen

Christmas day was a celebration of friendship and comaraderie. After a morning service at the nearby Presbyterian church we returned home and enjoyed tea on the stoep (deck). It was a beautiful and warm day. Later around 3pm nineteen people gathered in the conference room of the nearby Baptist guest house to enjoy 3 turkeys, mounds of mashed potatoes with gravy, salads, Canadian cranberries someone had found, desserts, coffee and tea. MCC workers, exchange participants and friends working in Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa and the entire region, shared stories, prayers and songs of celebration in the hope that Christmas engenders. After dinner was cleaned up we joined our voices in singing carols (with North American tunes) and hearing readings from the prophets and gospels. The harmony was truly amazing. Following this there was a sharing of gifts appreciating each others role in the region.

Seven of the group were SALTers (Serve and Learn Together) and YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network) participants working in Zambia and Mozambique.

They hail from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Brazil. These young adults offer tremendous potential to our global future as they seek new ways to address old issues and cross cultural boundaries and establish global friendships and opportunities for collaboration. The young men and women pictured here are currently involved in education, peace clubs, sand dam engineering, HIV/AIDS programming, organizational resourcing, and support for girls in a boarding school. A salute to them and our global future!!!

YAMEN  yamen.mcc.org        
SALT       salt.mcc.org