Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Mennonite Mission Network

Relationships percolate at Top of the World

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By Wil LaVeist of Mennonite Mission Network

Coffee Shop - front profile
Top of the World Coffee Shop’s primary mission is to be “God-honoring in every aspect.” Photo provided.

Entering the front door of Top of the World Coffee in Nepal, the aroma of fresh roasted brew draws you toward the corner of the café.

Across the brick-colored floor and beyond the black metal chairs and tables, a smiling Dale Nafziger works behind the coffee roasting machine, the source of the aroma.

It’s not Starbucks but even better, particularly for the soul. This coffee shop is the vision of Dale and Bethsaba Nafziger, long-term Mennonite Mission Network workers.

“It’s very different. It’s homey and cozy,” says Bethsaba of Top of the World, which they opened Dec. 11, 2011. “We thought a coffee shop would be a wonderful place to be with the people.”

The Nafzigers are fishers of men and women, only their bait is a blend of steaming cups, caring conversation and business integrity. They share God’s love through their business ventures. From selling frozen French fries, pizza and fruit juice to roasting coffee beans and pulling shots of espresso, they model Anabaptist principles and business ethics as a way of bearing witness to God’s love and power.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is in South Asia between India and Tibet. Hindus make up more than 75 percent of the country’s population, while Christians are less than 2 percent. Economic life among Nepal’s 30 million citizens has been improving. While about 25 percent of the population lives on less than the international poverty level of $1.25 per day, or $1,000 annually, a decade ago the rate was 41 percent.

Dale with the Roaster
Dale Nafziger, a long-term mission worker in Nepal, with Top of the World’s coffee roaster. The coffee shop staff roasts all of the coffee the store sells. Photo provided.

Still, conducting business is tough in Nepal, the Nafzigers say. For many business owners—even Christians, unfortunately—paying bribes and avoiding taxes is believed to be as necessary as having customers. Taxes can be as high as paying a worker’s salary, Dale says.

The Nafzigers opened Top of the World (because they are in the Himalaya Mountains) just before Christmas in a residential neighborhood. Patrons have been steadily increasing, they say, but as with any business, it hasn’t all been a piece of coffeecake.

“We had an excellent first day, but after that we quickly confronted the reality of what it means to run a restaurant on a daily basis,” the Nafzigers write in their monthly newsletter update.

Two mission workers, Melissa & Jim*, arrived last September from Texas and from a different agency to join in the venture and handle day-to-day operations. Bethsaba is also a registered nurse and midwife, and both Bethsaba and Dale are leaders in church. Dale preaches and advises church leaders regularly.

Through the coffee shop and other business ventures, the Nafzigers aim to show that integrity is important, even if it costs more. As the deadline approached for completing Jim’s business visa, a bit of “speed money” would have expedited the process, Dale says. Jim and the Nafzigers declined to pay the bribe, and Jim’s visa was completed just 10 minutes before the deadline.

Consulting the staff
The Top of the World Coffee Shop staff is intentionally interfaith—Hindus, Muslims and Christians work side-by-side. Photo provided.

The Nafzigers are intentional about hiring people of different faiths and backgrounds. Three Hindus and three Christians make up the coffee shop’s six-member staff. “We meet the staff every day and pray with them,” says Bethsaba. “We never force them to pray with us, but we see them as being happy to come and pray in the morning.”

Bethsaba recalled an experience that illustrates the type of godly relationships they hope the coffee shop will foster. Before they met and eventually married, Reena and Prakash Thapa were working at the Nafzigers’ home. Particularly Reena witnessed the type of love that Dale and Bethsaba bestowed on their daughters, Shova, 14, and Sushma, 12. Reena Thapa felt devalued by her family, which is the case for many women in the culture.

The love she witnessed and received from the Nafzigers led her to accept Christ. Reena and Prakash, a carpenter, fell in love while meeting at the Nafzigers’ and now have a daughter. They now attend “Tejwasi” (Radiant) Church with the Nafzigers.

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The Nafzigers are supported by Franconia Conference congregations including Vincent, Providence, Doylestown, Plains, and Towamencin. Vincent is Dale’s home congregation and he still has family that attend there.  He will be at the June Pastors and Leaders Breakfast talking about what he learned through his business at Top of the World.

*Names changed

Franconia Conference young adults serve with MMN

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Snyder serves with Service Adventure

ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) – Carl Snyder, of Danboro, Pa., began a one-year service term with the Service Adventure program in August 2011. Snyder is living in community with other young adults in a unit house in Anchorage, Alaska.

A 2010 graduate of Central Bucks East High School (Buckingham, Pa.), Snyder is the son of Karen and Phil Snyder and a member of Doylestown (Pa.) Mennonite Church.

Swartz serves in Radical Journey assignment

Kate Swartz, of Spring City, Pa., began a one-year service term with the Radical Journey program in August 2011. Swartz is serving with a team in China.

A 2011 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School (Lansdale, Pa.), Swartz is the daughter of Rachel and Timothy Swartz and is a member of Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pa.

Clemmer serves in MVS assignment

Aaron Clemmer of Harleysville, Pa., began a one-year term of Mennonite Voluntary Service August 2011 in San Francisco, Calif., as a volunteer and support coordinator with Mission Graduates.

A 2011 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.), Clemmer is the son of April and Michael Clemmer and is a member of Towamencin Mennonite Church in Kulpsville, Pa.

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Through Service Adventure, young adults, ages 17-20, live in a household community, with a leader, for 10 months in cities and towns across the United States. Since 1989, Service Adventure participants have served in medical clinics, tutored children, worked with senior citizens, repaired old housing, and helped meet additional needs across North America. They’ve visited new cities; experienced different people, foods and cultures; climbed mountains and camped in deserts; attended concerts, lectures and college events.

Rooted in the Spirit of Jesus, MVS invites adults, age 20 and older, to join together in Christian ministry for one- or two-year terms in various locations in the United States. MVS gives young adults the opportunity to live out their faith and discern God’s call for them by assisting congregations in service ministry to their communities.

In the same Spirit, Radical Journey invites adults, ages 18 through 30, to join together in Christian ministry for one-year terms in various locations around the world. Through Radical Journey, young adults engage in an experience of cross-cultural learning, service and formation as followers of Jesus Christ.

Mennonite Mission Network is the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA and exists to lead, mobilize, and equip the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Mission Network envisions every congregation and all parts of the world being fully engaged in mission.

More information about Service Adventure & MVS.

Newton offices to sell part of building, consolidate workspace

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Mennonite Church USA
Sept. 17, 2010

NEWTON, Kan.—This week, Mennonite Church USA signed an agreement to sell three of the four connected storefront buildings of the Newton offices of Mennonite Church USA to RiverPoint Church, a local congregation. Plans are to reconfigure the space in the remaining building to accommodate the 34 staff members who work there.

The 722 Main Street location is one of two national offices of Mennonite Church USA and previously served as the binational headquarters for the former General Conference Mennonite Church. One of the buildings in the process of being sold used to house the Faith & Life Bookstore.

“This is an answer to prayer,” said Shelley Buller, executive assistant for Mennonite Church USA, noting the cost of maintaining the properties. She anticipates that the consolidation of space “will spark renewed energy among staff at the office.”

Currently, Newton staff members are employees of Mennonite Church USA (denominational staff), Mennonite Education Agency, Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Publishing Network, Church Extension Services, Mennonite Men, Mennonite Women USA and The Mennonite.

While an inspection of the building is pending, and the sale will not be final until the Nov. 10 closing date, members of the Mennonite Office Executive Group (MOEG)—which oversees the Newton buildings’ maintenance and staff needs—also expressed excitement about the projected move.

“This felt right from the beginning,” said Chris Graber, building manager.

Terry Graber, production director for Mennonite Publishing Network and a member of MOEG, said that when the group learned of Faith & Life Bookstore’s plans to move to a different address last year, they thought the church should sell the property rather than try to rent it.

The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board agreed, and Graber, who served as the contact person in negotiations regarding the property, sought a buyer, but none came forward.

Then in late July, members of RiverPoint Church, an Evangelical Free Church congregation, expressed interest. The growing congregation of about 450 participants is renting space elsewhere in Newton.

As the two sides talked, the RiverPoint representatives surprised MOEG members when they offered to purchase the two adjoining buildings as well as the former bookstore location. The MOEG members realized that one building would have enough space for the current staff and more, and agreed that it would be good stewardship to sell the two additional buildings and move the staff. Negotiations went smoothly, Graber said, and the two parties signed the contract Sept. 17 following approval by the Executive Board.

“I’ve never been in a business deal where both buyer and seller worked so well together,” Graber said, adding that both groups were looking forward to having each other as neighbors. He said that he had invited RiverPoint’s staff to join Newton office staff members in their weekly chapel service.

Brad Martin, RiverPoint’s pastor, said that he has been encouraged by Mennonite Church USA’s willingness to work with the congregation on the transaction.

“Throughout, there has been a kingdom-minded focus above everything else,” he said. “We’re excited to be doing ministry in this building that has had such a long history of service to God.”

Once the transaction is closed, Graber said, the plan is to have a staggered withdrawal from the buildings over a period of 30 to 90 days.

Some of the funds from the sale will be used to remodel the remaining building—including upgrading the entrance—and to reconfigure the existing space, which Graber said will require minimal structural changes. Buller said she sees this facelift as an opportunity “to use the space efficiently and wisely and increase the camaraderie among staff.”

A portion of the proceeds will likely go to Mennonite Church Canada because of an agreement made when the General Conference Mennonite Church (GC) merged with the Mennonite Church (MC) in 2002 to form Mennonite Church USA. A Joint Executive Council agreed on a distribution formula of “60/40 for GC assets and 90/10 for MC assets,” which reflected the proportion of U.S. to Canadian members in the two denominations at the time. Proceeds from the sale will not be used for construction of Mennonite Church USA’s new building in Elkhart, Ind.

Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, said, “I’m grateful for the initiative the staff in Newton took to work this out. The sale and the move will save considerable maintenance costs, make more efficient use of the space and solidify the offices’ place on Main Street.” There are no plans to close the Newton office, he added.


—Mennonite Church USA staff

Redefining success at the ‘Top of the World’

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Bethsaba & Dale Nafziger
www.topoftheworldcoffee.com

I grew up in Vincent Mennonite Church, Spring City, Pa. I first went to Nepal, the land of Mt. Everest, under Mennonite Central Committee in 1979. Bethsaba, a native of Darjeeling, and I were married there in 1994 – where we currently continue to serve under Mennonite Mission Network. Until 2003 we happily served in various capacities under the United Mission to Nepal. Around that time, however, UMN had a number of entrepreneurial projects that they were looking to “spin off” into small private enterprises. Bethsaba “latched onto” one of those as an opportunity for providing jobs and employment to women living in our village. The opportunity was that of making frozen french fries. Our new company’s name was, appropriately, “Top of the World.”

Reena was one of our first Top of the World employees. She entered this life with “three strikes” against her: first she was a girl, second she was low caste, and third she had a hearing defect. While she worked Reena simply observed us. Then she began to ask questions…questions not at all of the nature one would expect to hear from an “uneducated” village girl. To make a long story short: Reena is now one of the key members of our local congregation.

In 2007 we added frozen pizzas to our product line. During that same year we added on coffee and re-registered our small company under the name “Top of the World Coffee.” A busy year and a half passed between company restructuring and the time we first began selling coffee. This time was occupied learning the coffee business, acquiring the necessary equipment, sourcing coffee, etc. Nepal is a landlocked country so everything either needs to be imported via airfreight, at considerable cost, or via India, at considerable risk. On November 16, 2008 we finally roasted and sold our first bags of coffee. It was a joyous occasion!

Frank A. Clark once said, “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” That statement nicely summarizes our experiences in practicing “business as mission” here over the past seven years. Nepal is a stunningly beautiful country – given that it contains the highest mountains on earth how could it possibly be otherwise? The people are friendly, the culture is exotic…and the church here is growing at an amazing pace. Economically, however, it is also one of the most rigorous business environments possibly found on the face of planet earth. In addition to the issues that arise from Nepal being land locked, we currently struggle making and selling frozen foods with 12 hours “loadshedding” (daily lack-of-electricity), political instability, and perpetual shortages of essential supplies.

If economic problems alone are not sufficient, however, possibly our greatest area of challenge is that of business ethics. Fortunately, we are not alone in confronting these issues. We are part of a supportive network of national and expatriate Christian business women and men who call ourselves “Great Commission Companies – Nepal.” We meet weekly for prayer and also have regular monthly meetings. Luci Swindoll stated, “In God’s economy you will be hard-pressed to find many examples of successful ‘Lone Rangers.’” Based upon our situation here in Nepal, I couldn’t agree more! One of the issues that we regularly deliberate here is, “How do we define ‘business success?’” If one narrowly defines it on the basis of the teaching found in a traditional MBA…one may as well pack up and go home…or never even come to Nepal in the first place. Looking at success from a Kingdom perspective, however, makes the whole effort worthwhile. Just look at Reena!

Friends and well-wishers occasionally ask how they can access our products – as a way of supporting our efforts. Regrettably, they are not available in the USA…nor will they realistically be available there in the foreseeable future. Something that everyone can do, however, is pray. Beyond that people are most welcome to contribute to our continuing lives and service here under Mennonite Mission Network. Giving fills a very real need. Finally, our Top of the World Coffee does have business goals that I be happy to communicate via personal e-mail correspondence.

We are grateful to you, the churches of the Franconia Mennonite Conference, for your faithfulness in helping us to redefine business success here at the top of the world!

Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership welcomes news service coordinator

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On April 21, Annette Brill Bergstresser will join the Executive Leadership Communications team in the position of News Service Coordinator.

In this role Bergstresser will be responsible for streamlined news gathering and reporting for Executive Leadership, Mennonite Education Agency, Mennonite Mission Network, MMA, Mennonite Publishing Network and constituency groups. She will collaborate with these groups through regular meetings and will serve as copyeditor for the news that is distributed.

Bergstresser said she was attracted to the position because “it involves communicating about what God is doing across Mennonite Church USA, building relationships with different parts of the church, and extending the church’s witness to the wider world.”

Bergstresser has a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For the last seven years, she has served as communications coordinator for Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference in Goshen, Ind. In this role she has developed a deeper understanding of the congregations in the conference—their diverse histories, unique cultures, strengths and challenges. And during that time her connection to the wider church has grown, as she and her co-workers have sought to link the various parts of Mennonite Church USA to their constituents.

Bergstresser is a relatively new Mennonite who did not grow up attending church. Soon after choosing to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ in 1997, she discovered Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, Kan., where she was baptized on May 31, 1998. As she became more involved in her congregation, one of the ways she sought to deepen her understanding of the Mennonite Church was by reading denominational publications; she remembers this as a faith-forming experience.

Before joining Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, she did service learning for half a year in the publishing division of the Latin American Anabaptist Seminary in Guatemala City, as well as a term of voluntary service in Chicago. Following those experiences she studied for a year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Ind., where her sense of call to church communications work was strengthened.

Currently Bergstresser and her family live in Goshen and are part of Faith Mennonite Church. She also works part time as communications assistant for AMBS, and plans to continue in that role.

Reflection from MVS in DC: Unexpected and life-giving opportunities

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Emily Derstine, Plains

Upon arriving in Washington, D.C. to begin a year of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS), I had little idea what to expect. Sure, I had been to D.C. in the past for school field trips, church day trips, service opportunities, and had even spent a semester in D.C. with EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center program during college. I knew a bit about the city. But my anticipation of living and working in D.C. for a year would be a whole new experience—especially delving into work at an immigration organization, dealing solely with detained immigrants and entering into the legal sphere.

I had to question myself in the weeks leading up to the move. I knew nothing about the law or the organization with which I would work, much less Spanish than I was comfortable with, and little about the people with whom I would live for an entire year. Why did I think this would be a good idea? Amid my uncertainty and doubt, my mind pulled out a poignant idea that I heard quoted this past summer: “The more certain you are, the less likely it’s God working.” So I figured God must be working overdrive in this endeavor.

And I certainly found that to be true. My experience in D.C. has proven to be more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined. This year is bringing great meaning to my life, and excitement for the future. The opportunities I have working as a Legal Assistant at the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition are invaluable. Through conducting intakes with immigration detainees in the detention facilities, evaluating cases with our legal team during intake review in the office conference room, following-up with the immigrants’ family members and friends, attending immigration court, and relating in both English and Spanish, I am learning the complexities of immigration law and the plight of so many people worldwide.

The work is stimulating and challenging, exciting and intimidating, disheartening and energizing. Despite the frustrations of a harsh, flawed system, I see hope amidst the heavy stories and unfortunate circumstances. From the people with whom I work, I have learned about the preciousness and beauty of freedom. In speaking with a recently-released detainee—a thrilling reality that we witness too-infrequently—I realize that many of us fail to see the joys of certain every-day aspects of life: feeling the warmth of the sun, breathing fresh air, hugging a friend, working and living where we choose. Although countless individuals experience captivity in one form or another, taking freedom for granted is highly common.

In addition to my job, I am learning the joys of city living, using public transportation as a main means of getting around and living on a small volunteer stipend. Networking and connection-building common to the urban environment is a welcomed opportunity as well. Through my experiences, work and daily life, I am increasingly finding both that injustice enrages me and singing refreshes me and revives my spirit.

Despite my initial apprehension, my Spanish skills are improving, I am slowly learning the legal jargon, am becoming relatively proficient in what forms of relief from deportation exist for detained immigrants and am benefitting from delving into the intricacies of immigration law. The clients with whom we work are diverse and each has had different life experiences. I especially appreciate hearing their unique stories, and am intrigued by their varied histories. Often, I find myself wanting to help these immigrants more than I am able to in this context, and become fascinated by researching country conditions and case law. Desiring justice, I am particularly drawn to asylum-seekers, women and those who have undergone persecution and discrimination in the past or have a possibility of experiencing harm in the future.

Through this work, I am increasingly passionate about human rights and empowering people. I am thoroughly enjoying my work and experiences in the liveliness and excitement of D.C. and the CAIR Coalition. Learning quite a great deal in the process—about the city, my work and myself—I feel both blessed and grateful to have this opportunity.