Missionary VIPs plan France/Benin cross-cultural
Jeanette and James Krabill (L) will lead the France/Benin trip in Fall 2005 with their son Matthew (R).
Three EMU alumni who called West Africa "home" for 14 years will journey with next fall's cross-cultural group to France and Benin, offering their abundant experience as a guide to students experiencing these two parts of the world for the first time.
James Krabill ('69-'71), of Elkhart, Indiana, and his wife Jeanette (class of '73), a Pennsylvania native, have spent over half their adult lives in overseas mission work. Though they have also lived in Paris, France, and in Birmingham, England, the Krabills spent most of their years of service in Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa. They worked there with an African-initiated church, teaching Bible and doing leadership training under Mennonite Board of Missions.
In 1996, they returned to the U.S. with their three children; Matthew, the eldest (EMU class of '03), will serve as their assistant on next fall's trip.
While in Cote d'Ivoire, James and Jeanette organized and led five college-student groups: four between 1992 and 1996 for Goshen College, where James has served in recent years as adjunct Bible and religion professor; and one in 1994 for EMU. When EMU presented them with another opportunity to lead a cross-cultural, Jeanette said "we jumped on it."
In order to pursue this adventure of reconnection and leadership, James is taking a sabbatical from his position at Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) as senior executive for global ministries. His work involves overseeing MMN's international ministries and short-term mission and service programs. Jeanette, a third-grade teacher in a multi-cultural public school in Elkhart, will take a leave of absence for the semester. Matthew will be taking time off from his current job at Lutheran Refugee Resettlement in Philadelphia, Pa., where he works mostly with West African refugees.
James looks forward to "introducing a group of adventuresome students to a few of the exciting things God is up to in [Europe and Africa]." Jeanette expects that the exposure to European culture combined with exploration of a third-world country will shape a "really rich" experience for students.
The trip will feature French-language acquisition, exploration of Anabaptist and French colonial history, a week of free travel in Europe, home stays in both France and West Africa, "8-10 gorgeous autumn days in Paris," and a diverse exposure to religions of the southern hemisphere, including Islam and African traditional religions.
As with any cross-cultural, students can expect to be stretched "in a really good way," said Jeanette. "You learn so much about yourself when you move from place to place." She looks forward to watching participants change and grow over the course of the semester.
Matthew, as assistant, will be paving the way for the group by coordinating lodging and other logistical details. But despite the Krabills' extensive experience, traveling with a large group always provides challenges. However, "the 'unknowns' and 'unpredictables' usually end up being the most memorable times of the trip," James said. His main concern is keeping everyone physically and emotionally healthy to enable maximum impact of the learning experience.
For students, Jeanette says the greatest adjustment is not being able to communicate. In her own experience, fostering an attitude of "openness and willingness to learn what makes people tick" has helped her adapt to every culture she has encountered, including the U.S.
In the final chapter of his book manuscript about "Hard Questions Facing Mission Today," James reflects on how his international travels and personal encounters have shaped his worldview. He writes, "I am sometimes asked by people my age and younger how in this world I can be committed to something as messy as mission. I believe it is time we ask how in a place as messy as this world we can legitimately be committed to anything but mission!" Good Books will publish the manuscript later this year.
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