Cisca Ibanda serves on the Executive Committee of Mennonite World Conference. She was able to spend several days visiting with Florence while on a tour across the United States. Suzanne traveled with Cisca to an MCC gathering in Ghana where they became good friends. Nina met Cisca in Paraguay while at the MWC Assembly.
"As it says in Jeremiah, God called you while you were in the womb....God says, in John, "You did not choose me, I chose you."...God starts a work and makes a foundation and is the owner of the work. What kind of work? To share the love of God, to be a new person....Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need God's energy and power to do His work.
"In John 15 it says we will do MORE than the work of Jesus. But we must humble ourselves. We cannot be the arm and say "I will not feed you." In Africa we say, "One finger cannot wash your face. You need your five fingers to wash your face." When we do the work of God, people will ask how we do it. Even in great loss, we will have great joy. It is very good work and very hard work at the same time. There are 1.7 million Mennonite peacemakers as part of Mennonite World Conference. Right now we have many crises in the world -- economic, climate, food -- but we can change all this. We are the body of Christ!"
Saturday afternoon tea at the home of Suzanne Lind. (left to right: Nancy Myers (Michiana Friends of Congo -- Community Mennonite, Chicago), Cisca Ibanda, Nina Lanctot, Christine Nofsinger holding Amari Lind, Kathy Fenton-Miller, Vicky Smucker (Michiana Friends of Congo -- Kern Road Mennonite), Suzanne Lind.
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