Canadian Mennonite
Volume 9, No. 01
January 10, 2005

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Directory central to life of prayer

Winnipeg, Man.


Prayer is central to the life of Clara K. Dyck, but she would like a prayer book that lies flat when opened.

At age 86, and suffering from familial tremors, she cannot hold
Clara Dyck regularly prays for mission workers listed in the MC Canada Prayer Directory.
open the pages of her Mennonite Church Canada Prayer Directory. She demonstrates how she used to hold the book open with her elbows while praying.

She likes to connect with her prayer subjects by pondering their pictures in the directory. To ease the task, she cut open the spine of the book, and with help from her church’s secretary, punched holes in the pages for insertion in a three-ring binder.

When the secretary gave her a black binder she said, “No, black doesn’t suit prayer. I’m fond of colours.” She points to the vibrant front cover.

Dyck likes to live life to the fullest, and is descended from a long line of adventurers. Her great-grandfather reportedly spent 10 years as a gold miner in California, only to see his travelling companion murdered and his fortune stolen on the return trip.

Growing up in Tiefengrund, Saskatchewan, Dyck brought her own sense of adventure to farm life by starting a tennis club. “At first they laughed at me. I had seen it in the city and thought, ‘That’s something I want to do!’” The tennis club thrived under her direction.

In 1950, she joined three other young women for a term of service in Colombia with Mennonite Central Committee. She remembers the crestfallen faces of her hosts, who had asked for four men to help build a school. “We did plenty of things, but we didn’t build a school!”

Her journey from mid-life on has been largely defined by her disability. Unable to continue her nursing career because of the tremors, she went back to school and earned a masters degree in English and German.

She taught for a time, and then worked as a hospital chaplain.

Without the benefit of disability insurance, Dyck managed to earn a living with her love of words. In addition to teaching, she has translated books, and written articles.

In 2001, she published a collection of her poetry, personal reflections and prayers.

Prayer has had a significant impact on this independent, thoughtful woman. She credits her mother: “My mother was a wonderful praying lady. I learned it from childhood.”

Prayer is the most important part of her spiritual life, she says. “Without prayer I wouldn’t know how to be. I don’t know how people get along without prayer.”—From MC Canada release by Dan Dyck






Big house embraces needy children

Allada, Benin


Although Annette Castillo holds the unenviable position of managing an orphanage during a chickenpox epidemic, she continues to smile broadly. Clearly, she loves the place to which God has called her.
Annette Castillo smiles even during a chickenpox epidemic at La Casa Grande. The white kaolin powder is a traditional remedy to help dry the pustules and reduce itching.

That place is La Casa Grande (Big House), located just north of Cotonou, the largest city in the West African country of Benin. Castillo and her husband, Francisco (Paco), created a home for abandoned children in 2000. Today, more than 20 children thrive in La Casa Grande’s care.

Multiple ties link La Casa Grande to Mennonites. Workers with Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor of Mennonite Church Canada Witness and Mennonite Mission Network, helped to lay the groundwork for the orphanage. The vision for La Casa Grande grew out of the Burgos Mennonite Church in Spain, a congregation begun by Mennonite Board of Missions workers about 20 years ago.

Moday, MC Canada congregations help support ministry in Benin through Nancy Frey (St. Jacobs Mennonite Church, Ontario) and Bruce Yoder (Martinsburg, Pennsylvania), and in Spain through Connie and Dennis Byler (Fellowship of Hope, Indiana).

In addition, Heather Shantz (St. Jacobs) is an MC Canada Witness intern at the orphanage, and Canadian Mennonite University student Mariam Entz (Zion Mennonite Church, Kansas) also serves there. Entz’s parents are Witness workers in Burkina Faso.

The Castillos have long desired to serve needy children. “After living in the hell of the drug-world, I absorbed the love of God through the ministry of Christians,” said Paco. “Having been pardoned, delivered and healed by God, I received a vivid summons to work among marginalized people.”

Annette grew up in a Christian family in Ivory Coast. As she taught Sunday school, she longed to reach out to street kids. However, neither her church nor her family had the financial means to help her accomplish her dream.

“I kept begging the Lord to allow me to gather abandoned children together in a centre,” said Annette. “I bless the Lord because now I’m able to do what I’ve yearned to do for years.”

Because the Castillos’ ministry shows love to rejected and vulnerable members of African society, their preaching has credibility in the surrounding communities. Many of the children’s parents have died of AIDS-related diseases. The Castillos want to prepare the children to thrive in the world and to become healers of their own broken communities.

Each child is sponsored by a family or a member of the Burgos Mennonite Church. The Castillos have acquired five acres of land and dream of building a Christian community that would include a school. According to United Nations’ statistics, only half of Benin’s children have the privilege of attending school.

La Casa Grande organizes an annual Bible camp for community children. Last July, 110 children attended, an event that attracted the attention of the national media. Many campers had to be turned away. Volunteers from local congregations helped with teaching, meals and recreation.—MC Canada release by Lynda Hollinger-Janzen

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