For two Winnipeg friends, serving with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Puerto Rico was a good way to spend time together for a week in March—and bring joy to a disaster survivor. “It was a great way to learn about another part of the world,...
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Gord and Marianne Siemens of Saskatoon have caught a “bug”—the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) bug. The “bug” has taken them across Canada, from B.C. to Nova Scotia, and to places like Texas and Florida, since 2018. “The first time was...
During reading week in Canada, university students are given time to study and catch up on assignments. But this year, nine students from Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg, Man. used that time not for books, but to serve others through...
Ten years ago, when Ross Penner began with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), he was appointed the Director of Canadian Operations. Penner, who had formerly served as a pastor in Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church Canada congregations, had...
People in Denare Beach, Sask. are looking forward to the arrival of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers this year. “When MDS offered to help, it was a no brainer,” said councillor Karen Thomson of the village, which was hit by a wildfire...
“When bad things happen, good people show up and get you back on your feet.” That’s what Sylvia Starr, 70, said on behalf of herself, her husband Jeff, 67, and their two adult sons on January 13 at the dedication of their new house in Libau,...
“It hasn’t been good,” said Dwayne Stewart as he described his long rebuilding journey after losing his home to the Barrington Lake wildfire of May 2023. As the fire, which burned over 23,000 hectares and was one of the largest in Nova Scotia...
2025 was a good year for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada, although it was a bit different from years past. That was the message delivered in Calgary on Nov. 14-15 at the annual Leadership Consultation. “We didn’t have a large national...
When Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteer Jim Reimer tells a disaster survivor he knows how they feel, he’s telling the truth. Reimer, who lives in Steinbach, Man. with his wife, Marlene, lost his house to a fire in 2022. Most of their...
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