A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

y to missionary activity in the post-war period. A. E. Janzen, the administrator of the Mennonite Brethren missions program at that time, described this new attitude in the brotherhood as follows: Thus from 1945 forward, the constituency was ready, and this was a refreshing movement by the Spirit of God, to launch out to new countries and peoples and fields, to respond favorably to the many applications by young people both in Canada and in the United States who felt the call to missionary service and to respond commensurately with financial support. In response to such an attitude of faith and commitment, the Board of Missions moved aggressively forward. Beginning in 1945 and continuing through the next fifteen years, the Mennonite Brethren reached out to new fields on the average of one every two years. The conference accepted a number of fields in rapid succession. In 1945 the Daniel Wirsches entered Colombia. A mission project (orphanage) was launched in Brazil at the same time, with the Jacob D. Unruhs as the first workers. The mission work among the Lengua Indians in Paraguay, begun by Gerhard B. Giesbrecht in 1935, was endorsed by the conference in 1945. In the same year also, the West China mission of H. C. Bartel was underwritten by the Board of Missions. Japan was accepted in 1948, and the work in Mexico became conference responsibility in 1950. Just a year later a church planting program was begun in Germany and Austria, and two years after that, in 1953, the German Department of HCJB (radio) became a new avenue for Mennonite Brethren to spread the good news to Latin America and to ORGANIZATION FOR UNITED ACTION 213 Europe. In retrospect one cannot help but exclaim: What hath God wrought! The supply was equal to the demand in terms of personnel and funds. With the backing of a missionary-minded constituency, the board accepted and dispatched sixty-four missionaries from 1945 to 1948. 61 During the fifteen-year period (1945-60) 206 new missionaries were commissioned for service. Contributions to support the expanding program kept abreast of financial needs, increasing from $197,786.00 in 1945 to $638,483.00 in I960. 92 A parallel expansion can also be observed in service and sacrifice in the ministries under the Board of General Welfare and Public Relations. Over the years, a large part of the budget for relief and services has been channeled through MCC to the hungry and needy around the world "in the Name of Christ." The Board of Welfare, in addition to administering relief, has given both spiritual and material assistance to the Mennonite Brethren churches in South America, whose struggle for survival during the pioneer period was extremely harsh and difficult, especially in Paraguay. Thus conference organization for an effective and sustained witness in word and deed remained strong, throughout this period in "missions and services," even though certain ministries had becom