ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) — Goshen (Ind.) College will honor Lynda Hollinger-Janzen, a Mennonite Mission Network staff writer and former mission worker, with the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award this weekend.
The award, given to alumni athletes, recognizes how Hollinger-Janzen, a 1978 graduate, lives out the college’s core values through her life of service and mission work in Benin with Mennonite Board of Missions and in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Mennonite Central Committee.
Her study and participation in sports—volleyball and track and field—in the Goshen College Athletic Department planted the seed for work in health education.
“[The department] had a holistic view of people and what God created us to be,” she said. “God created our physical bodies, and caring for the body is as important as developing the spiritual self.”
Hollinger-Janzen started her international service work right after graduating from Goshen College. When a Mennonite Central Committee representative came to the college, Hollinger-Janzen was determined to go to Haiti, a place she loved after living there for a semester of Study-Service Term through the college.
The recruiter said there were no openings for Haiti, but asked more about Hollinger-Janzen and her interests. Hollinger-Janzen sheepishly told the recruiter that she majored in French—she had spent a year as an exchange student in France—and physical education, embarrassed at how disparate her two majors were.
“I’ve got the perfect placement for you,” said the recruiter.
Although Hollinger-Janzen had never thought of traveling to Africa, the idea of something new intrigued her and she headed to Zaïre, which is now Democratic Republic of Congo, to serve for three years. She taught English and physical education in a city the first year. The second year, she taught English in a village and helped to organize a health education program for 200 schools. The third year, she traveled with a team of Congolese nurses to schools in the northwestern region of Congo.
Hollinger-Janzen said that she was a product of her era, believing all mission to be imperialistic and paternalistic.
“At Goshen College, I learned to ask questions,” said Hollinger-Janzen. “It is more important to ask questions than to have answers. [This mindset] allowed me to move away from my rigid stance against mission work,” she said.
“During those three years, I came to realize that Jesus was the most treasured part of my life,” said Hollinger-Janzen. “In Congo, the people shared everything with me—their finest meals, their prized chickens—but I hadn’t shared the most important thing in my life.”
As Hollinger-Janzen began her journey back to the United States, walking out of the village to a road where she could catch a truck going toward the city, she asked God for a second chance to share the good news of Jesus’ love.
Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor agency for Mennonite Mission Network, interested her because it focused on a collaborative way of doing mission that took into account the whole person, physical and social well-being, as well as a concern for the spiritual aspects of life. After a few years of discernment and training in both the United States and England, Hollinger-Janzen went to Benin in 1987 to serve for 13 years with her husband, Rod.
Download full-resolution image.In Benin, Hollinger-Janzen worked as a community health trainer in churches and, later, a health center established by the churches.
“I began to see healthcare as a ministry in Benin,” said Hollinger-Janzen. “I realized that healing is part of the salvation that Jesus offers us. I saw health as a way to empower people to be who God wants them to be.”
In 2000, Hollinger-Janzen returned to the United States with her husband and three children—Mimi, Rachel and Femi.
She now works at Mennonite Mission Network as a staff writer. In the past 12 years, she’s written stories from almost every continent and aims to write in ways that respect and honor those that she writes about.
Athletics continue to be a part of her life, as she regularly bikes to work—about 30 miles per day—and enthusiastically cheers for her kids at their sporting events.
Goshen College will present Hollinger-Janzen with the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award on Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. in the College Mennonite Church-Chapel during convocation. There is a reception in the Church Fellowship Hall at 10:45 a.m. These events are free and open to the public.
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
