The Barnabas Bursary is intended to support individuals pursuing ministry training at Steinbach Bible College who have been identified by their churches as emerging or future pastoral leaders. It is not designed as professional development funding for individuals currently serving as pastors. Recipients are typically mature students who demonstrate pastoral gifting and have received a clear affirmation of their calling from their congregation. Steinbach Bible College has invi

We are excited to share with you that I, Nancy Friesen, and Matthew Braun are engaged and will be getting married on December 11, 2026, in Lethbridge, Alberta. Following the wedding, I will continue my role as school director/teacher in Amanecer, and Matthew will relocate to Bolivia as we begin our life together. This article is available in the July/August/September 2026 issue of the Recorder.

Please pray for Amanecer, in Bolivia, where they celebrated their first baptisms Sunday, August 9, 2026. There were two candidates: Kevin Kauenhofen and Jacob Knelsen. Jacob has no family support. Pray that God will use this event to draw the parents to faith in Christ, as well as others in the community. Membership acceptance took place on August 23, 2026. Amanecer Bolivia Church's first baptism outside. Ben Kauenhofen (left) embraces son Kevin Kauenhofen. Ben (L) and Bertha

Imagine a pianist who could say “I love you” to his lover by playing a song at the piano. The better the pianist and the better he knew his lover, the more compelling this love song would be. In some ways it might be even better than talking or writing a letter. It would have its limits. For example, it would be hard for a piano piece to say, “I love the way the sun shines on your hair when you’re making coffee in the morning”. But music might express how he feels when he see

Leaving, on a jet plane… That song rings in our ears as we finish our final packing today. Just before midnight tonight, April 1, our family will be boarding a jet towards Zambia. We will be returning home to Alberta on April 18, Lord willing. Guillermo and I (Mary-Ann) have been asked to be the speakers at the Flying Mission Zambia (FMZ) annual Spiritual Life Conference, April 12-15 and our 3 teens will be helping with the program for the missionary kids (MKs) together. Sher

Thank you for being part of the team that prays, encourages, and financially supports the work of Inner City Youth Alive at Gem Lake Wilderness Camp. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 17 years. God has truly been faithful, and I could not continue in this ministry without you. Our winter camp season ended much better than it began. We had a great time enjoying outdoor activities together in God’s creation, but more importantly, we had many opportunities for meaningf

A few days before we were to start our latest GriefShare cycle, we were expecting 7 participants. In the last two days, we had 4 people sign up, and another showed up unexpectedly, so we ended up with 12, our largest group so far. This meant dividing into two discussion groups after the video to give the participants more time to share. Due to various circumstances, the group settled down to 8 regulars. We continue to be so blessed seeing the Lord’s work in the lives of parti

Early in 2026, Elaine and I had the privilege of living in Bolivia for three months from mid-January to mid-April, while serving in an interim leadership role with the Low German ministry of MEM. Although most of our assignment focused on the MEM team and ministries, one of the rich side benefits of our experience was reconnecting monthly with pastors and churches from LIEAB (La Iglesia Evangélica Anabautista en Bolivia). For many EMMCers connected to Bolivia ministry over th

When I think back on my first trip to Bolivia, there isn’t just one moment that stands out. Instead, it’s a collection of moments, conversations, and realizations that I continue to ponder in my heart. One of the clearest takeaways for me was the importance of simply being present. Before the trip, I wondered what I could really offer in such a short amount of time. I knew I would be impacted personally, but I questioned whether my presence would actually make a difference to

The third year Missions Exposure trip (MX3), is one of the last steps towards preparing SBC students to step out of SBC to follow Jesus, serve the Church, and engage the world. This year, a team of 13 of us went to Spain and Morocco to do that preparation. During our time there, we served in various ways, sometimes in ways that hardly felt like serving at all. We grew as a team, often a team including the locals and other missionaries we were working with. There was so much l