Reconnection and beyond

Editor’s note: Greg and Beth Suderman have opened their home to multiple IVEPers visiting the Goshen, Indiana area.

Although Beth and I didn’t sign up to be an official IVEP host family, we volunteered to be a respite home. Sometimes that resulted in two- to three-month stays. Other times we provided lodging when IVEPers came to Goshen, Indiana, for MCC Great Lakes group activities. Or we invited IVEPers because they were friends of participants already staying with us.

We don’t have our own biological children, so we enjoyed becoming Mom and Dad. We have always enjoyed international relationships, and hosting provided opportunities to listen to guests’ stories and develop significant relationships. It was always hard saying goodbye when they returned home, but I comforted myself with the hope that someday I would visit them and, in the meantime, we kept in contact through WhatsApp.

In May, I decided it was time to make this dream come true. Beth chose not to go but gave me her blessing and support.

With five of our IVEP “children” living in East Africa, I planned a trip to Tanzania to see Deus Okong’o (2018-19); arranged to visit Hilario Chivale (2018-19) and Luis Magopeia (2021-22) in Beira, Mozambique; and ended the trip in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) visiting Sethu Ndodana (2019-20). Rufaro Manyureni (2021-22) came from her home in Zimbabwe to join us in Beira and then traveled with me to see Sethu. 

The trip was everything I hoped it would be. Except for the flights, at least one of the former IVEPers was always with me. I stayed in their homes and experienced their daily lives. I met two sets of parents, two wives, two girlfriends, nine siblings and countless other family members and friends, and got to be “Vovo” to our two grandchildren.

Hilario arranged a visit to the MCC office in Beira, where I met the national staff, made connections with the MCC Mozambique representatives and received tokens of appreciation. We got to enjoy a safari and an ocean resort, which was a new experience for them, too. 

I went to church with each of them, four churches in three countries, where I was introduced and expected to give greetings and remarks. I especially enjoyed attending the Dodoma Mennonite Church in Tanzania’s capital. The church was so alive with people of all ages singing and dancing. I didn’t need to understand Swahili to feel God’s presence.

An added treat was worshipping with Esther Muhagachi, who is one of the first ordained women in the Tanzanian Mennonite Church. She was a pastoral intern at my church in Elkhart, Indiana, when she attended Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. After the three-hour service, Deus and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at her home.

While visiting Sethu’s church and enjoying two special meals (the women came to the church at 3 a.m. to begin cooking), I realized I was not just Greg Suderman, host dad, but I was representing MCC and Mennonites in the U.S. Their hospitality was in part thanks for MCC selecting Sethu as an IVEPer and for the hospitality he received while in the U.S.

By far the highlight of the trip was seeing and hugging these special young people who have added so much to our lives. I was humbled to receive such gracious hospitality. When we talk now, I understand their lives so much better. Even before the trip, I struggled with global economic and political inequities, but now it is even harder when I see how it affects the daily lives of people I love. At the same time, I am inspired by their faith and trust in God.

I thank God for the opportunity of this trip of a lifetime and for the memories that will last forever!

Banner image: IVEP alumni welcome Greg Suderman at the airport in Beira, Mozambique. From left, Hilario Chivale (2018-19), his wife Agelcia Chivale, Greg, Luis Magopeia (2021-22) and Timoteo Augusto (2014-15). Hilario, who is a tailor, designed and printed the T-shirts. Photo courtesy of Greg Suderman