Canadian Mennonite
Volume 12, No. 3
February 4, 2008
Making connections
CMU prof meets fellow Christian in the back seat of a taxi
Santiago, Chile
 |
After attending a week-long conference of the Southern Cone Countries Latin Mennonite Churches in Uruguay, Karen and I are “coming down” from all the excitement—literally and figuratively. We emerge from the Santiago airport and attempt to locate an airporter van, a convenient and economic means for getting to the Methodist guesthouse, where we have a reservation for a two-day layover before our return to Canada.
But an eager taxi driver dogs us. “I’ll take you for the same price as the airporter and you don’t have to crowd in with others,” he insists. “I have to head back to the city anyway.”
We finally relent. When we reach his car, we notice it is not a common cab, but a classier vehicle used for well-to-do tourists. Our driver, it turns out, is the taxi service coordinator for businesspeople at Chile’s international airport.
He is an incessant talker. When he drops the word “evangelical” in reference to himself, I become attentive. Having formerly taught church history in Chile’s interdenominational Protestant seminary, I wonder if he is one of the country’s nearly two million Pentecostal Christians. When he proceeds to call himself a Baptist, my ears really perk up. Does he know the Baptist convention’s leadership, Freddy Paredes or Omar Cortés, I ask?
“Omar baptized me in the Fourth Baptist Church,” he replies.
Bingo! Imagine among the thousands of taxi drivers in this city of five-million-plus, we are being pursued by a “disciple” of a Mennonite Church Canada Christian Witness worker!
During my previous time in Chile, I had become friends with Omar. By providing a reference letter, I had helped him connect with MC Canada via Vancouver’s First Mennonite Church, when he came with family to do graduate studies at Regent College. And Karen and I had just spent a week at the Southern Cone conference with Omar.
As we share this with our driver, he volunteers his identity card, which reads, “Elías Pantoja Cid, Chief of Traffic (for Taxis).”
We now think it only fair to tell Elías that we are Mennonites. But Elías says he has only a “vague idea” of who Mennonites are. We point out significant commonalities between Mennonites and Baptists, and mention that the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile has begun conversations with MC Canada about setting up an Anabaptist Peace Theology Resource Centre for church leaders. Omar is playing a vital role in this initiative.
Elías quickly warms to the idea. “The proposal of collaboration between the Baptist Union of Chile and Mennonite Church Canada would be greatly helpful and advance our projects and activities,” he says.
A half-hour later, we arrive at the Methodist Centre. After paying our “moderate” taxi fare we take leave with a Chilean-style embrace from our erstwhile pushy taxi driver, an (Ana)Baptist brother in Christ!
Without his persistence, we could have easily missed the connection.
Building bridges
Toronto Mennonite New Life Fellowship seeks closer ties with Cuban denomination
Toronto
 |
Two years ago, Toronto Mennonite New Life Church was invited to develop a relationship with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Cuba. Under the guidance of New Life co-pastor Adolfo Puricelli—and in keeping with the framework of a partnership between the Cuban denomination headed by president Andrés Olivares and Mennonite Church Canada—a proposal of the types of spiritual support that could be extended across the miles was drafted.
When it was learned that congregant Olga Durán was travelling to Cuba, she was asked whether she would give the church’s communication a personal touch by taking its introductory letter herself. “Yes, I am willing,” she replied. Little did anyone know what a blessing this would become to her and, consequently, to everyone at New Life.
Durán was not familiar with the existence of Olivares’ congregation or the location of its denominational leadership, but her mission was to find him and pass on the letter.
“Upon arrival in Havana, I communicated by phone and discovered to my great surprise that the church was located almost in the patio of my house,” Durán recounts. “Within five or 10 minutes pastor Andrés Olivares was in my home, blessing me and setting a later meeting in which we shared the intention of . . . New Life . . . for relationship with this group of Cuban churches.
From that moment on, Durán became integrated into the Cuban congregation and became familiar with its efforts to direct Cuban families in the way of the Lord during her three-month stay. “For my part, I shared everything that is done at New Life to help immigrants in their integration into Canadian society,” she says.
With a personal knowledge of the Havana neighbourhood, Durán asked locals about the church. “They enjoy a high reputation and work cooperatively and respectfully with other neighbourhood organizations,” she notes. “Their growth demonstrates that the society really wants—and seeks—this spiritual support, this impressive joy and enthusiasm. I noted that the spiritual work they carry out strengthens family ties, cultivates love for our Creator, and forms young people.
“This church is building its meeting place, as we have in New Life, with congregational effort and the assistance of others,” Durán continues. “The building is modest, but has been built with great love, and is already too small given the growth of this church and the events they host there. It breathes unity, love, peace and the blessings of the Lord.”
Durán is happy to report that “the brothers and sisters there pray for the members of New Life, and intercede for the strengthening of relational ties.”
To aid in building a relationship with New Life, the Cuban congregation filmed a video about its ministry.
The Evangelical Missionary Church of Cuba is not limited to this one congregation, however, but has spread throughout the country. Durán was able to interact with some of the young pastors.
“They are full of faith in the success of their community work, and their joy and satisfaction at being in God’s service is contagious,” she says. “Much can be done for these new churches, and older churches can benefit from the energetic spirit and the youths [who] fill them. They receive with open arms all the help offered to them and this capacity to receive from others is matched by their desire to give to others what they possess.”
Having taken this first step of effective contact between two countries separated by distance and level of development, Durán is “sure that this beginning will grow into the spiritual support that both churches need. I’m ready to continue being the messenger, the link between these two congregations into which I have integrated, seeking peace and the way to eternal life.”
After the recent celebration of its 20th anniversary, New Life is sending a video of this event to Cuba so that the brothers and sisters there can get to know the Toronto congregation better and deepen their fraternal ties.