From Poland to Pennsylvania:
An annual Christmas treat connects families around the world
When I called Jay and Lois Garber one afternoon in December, I was interrupting their game of Scrabble® at their farmhouse near Millersville, Pennsylvania. I was on a mission to relieve my curiosity about a situation that involved an international friendship, sustainable agriculture and a unique Christmas treat from afar.
The Garbers are warm and outgoing people, and they were happy to pause their word tile game to talk with me about a very special Christmas tradition that they share with their old friend Remigiusz “Remi” Slusarski from Poland. In 1976-1977, they hosted Remi on their farm through a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) program commonly referred to as the “International Farm Youth Exchange Program” (IFYE) or “Polish Agriculturalist Visitor Exchange” (PAVE) program. Remi was 34 years old at the time and was one of 13 young agriculturists from Poland who were placed in Ohio and Pennsylvania for their service assignments through MCC that year.
IFYE began in 1971 and ended in 1983, with 246 participants during its time. It operated as a separate program from a broader “trainee exchange program.” Unlike the trainee exchange program, IFYE had a different funding stream and it targeted a homogenous group both in respect to country and vocational background. MCC staff member Doreen Harms coordinated all of these programs that eventually joined what is now called the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP). Today, IVEP is a yearlong volunteer work and cultural exchange opportunity for young, unmarried Christian adults from outside the U.S. and Canada.
Jay, Lois and their five children hosted Remi at their Holstein dairy farm, which milked 110-120 cows. Remi’s assignment, according to an October 26, 1976 document in MCC’s archives, was to “be considered part of the family of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Garber… Your work will be with the dairy operation.”
Remi only stayed with the Garbers from October 1976 to March 1977 before moving to another U.S. assignment, but his visit made a lifelong impact on their family. Over the years, the Garbers have done extensive international travel and hosting of international guests through MCC and other Mennonite organizations. But this international exchange has stood out to them because of a beloved Christmas tradition.
You see, nearly each year since Remi stayed at the Garbers’ Millersville farm, he sends them a special Christmas wafer from Poland that is blessed by his Catholic priest. The white wafer, or oplatek, which reminds Lois of Styrofoam, comes in the mail and miraculously stays intact despite the long trip from Poland to Pennsylvania. Each wafer is carefully embossed with nativity scenes. Remi also includes a nice letter with updates about his family, enclosed in a Christmas card.
Remi and the Garbers have stayed in touch over the years through several international visits, both in Poland and in the U.S., from 1979 to 2013. Remi started his own agriculture business, helping friends and neighbors in rural Poland start their own bed and breakfasts for tourists. Remi wanted to help people by using his experiences and knowledge in sustainable agriculture.
During one particular visit to Remi’s village in 2000, the Garbers were delighted to stay in one such bed and breakfast. Jay shared with a chuckle, “As they say these days, it was a very cool thing.”
The Garbers even met the very same priest who blesses the Christmas wafers they receive each year.
When asked how hosting an international guest has changed their faith and worldview, Jay says that it led them on an eye-opening path to meet Christians around the world and realize that God is everywhere present. Jay says, “We were simply following the Spirit in our lives. That’s how you venture into things and opportunities that ordinarily wouldn’t happen.”
To other U.S. families who are considering opening their home to an international guest in the future, Lois says, “You’ll never forget it. You’ll remember it the rest of [your] lives!”
And, as in the Garbers’ case, the memory might be accompanied by a special Christmas treat each year, sent from Poland to Pennsylvania.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging factors, 2020 is the first year since 1950 where MCC has not had IVEP participants. As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available, we are hopeful that a new group will be able to start in August 2021.
If you would like to learn more about hosting an IVEPer, having them join your workplace or the program in general, visit mcc.org/IVEP.
