Ten states, two countries and 27 hours later the group of students arrived in Manitoba, Canada for the Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship Conference. The EMU Peace Fellowship organized the trip to Winnipeg.

Hosted by Canadian Mennonite University and Menno Simons College, the conference addressed the idea of "Tools for Peace in Times of Fear." The two-day conference consisted of a series of lectures, workshops and worship sessions. The conference placed emphasis on the realities and practicalities of pacifism.

"I was glad to attend a conference where the practical issues of peace and justice were addressed," said senior Jay Monger, one of the 10 EMU students who attended the event. Roughly 40 university students participated in the conference.

The workshops covered an array of subjects. Topics included "Creative Nonviolent Resistance," “Multi-Faith Perspectives on Nonviolence and Peacemaking," and "Understanding the Nature of Fear."

One workshop highlighted "Open Door," a MCC prison visitation program. The session consisted of a conversation between and ex-inmate and the woman who visited him while in jail. "Life is building blocks," said the ex-inmate. "Different things in life happen and leave marks."

Monger attended a workshop on issues about peace and justice in business and specifically addressed collective ownership. "Business is an area of concern for me and it was good to hear a different perspective rather than a typical capitalistic set-up," said Monger.

"They had a good variety of workshops," said junior Heather Menzies. "It was really neat to hear about a different kind of community or a different way of living," she said about one of the workshops she participated in.

The keynote speaker for the event was Doug Hostetter, a Mennonite peace activist. He recently traveled to Tajikistan and Afghanistan as part of a delegation that purchased and delivered 239 tons of food and blankets to Afghani families in refugee camps.

"I was trying to figure out how does a pacifist, how does a Mennonite, respond to this incredible suffering in the midst of genocide," said Hostetter. He realized "we should embrace the very people who have been demonized."

"The powers of war and the powers of hatred are always driven by stereotypes," said Hostetter. He gave an extended list of tools to use for peace. "To be a worker for peace in times of fear is always a superhuman task and the most important and essential element is faith."

Hostetter, who will be on the EMU campus in March for a series of lectures arranged by Peace Fellowship, spent three years in a war zone. He stressed the importance of community and listening. "It is important to hear these stories, to know what happened to the people, to expose ourselves to the pain," he said. "We as Christians are called to look evil in its face, and it’s a hard thing to do."