In a recent video reflection, Mennonite Mission Network worker Laura Sharp shared a simple yet profound insight from her family’s service in La Mesa, Colombia:
“It feels to me like God created all the different colored flowers, all the different kinds of people, all these different cultures. And the more we are in relationship with people from other cultures, I feel the more we can know what God is like. And I think that’s so valuable.”
Laura and her husband Nick, along with their children Jesse and Brielle, recently completed a two-year service term with the local Mennonite church and Colegio Americano Menno in La Mesa, Cundinamarca — a town nestled west of Bogotá. Their work included English enrichment and academic support at the school, music ministry, relating with children and youth, and outreach in the local congregation and neighboring communities. The family was immersed in Spanish-language life and culture, with the children attending the Mennonite school full-time.
According to Laura, one of the most powerful events was a Christmas Eve service she helped plan. With the help of a close friend from Chad who was serving with Mennonite Central Committee, the congregation sang French songs alongside Spanish and English ones. The trilingual celebration became one of the most joyful moments of their time there.
“That was probably one of the most fun experiences I’ve had,” Laura said. “And again, I feel like the more you can relate with people from other cultures, the more closely you can understand who God is.”
This conviction lies at the heart of Mission Network’s approach to global partnership. Whether in Colombia, South Africa, or communities across North America, the call is not simply to serve or teach, but to enter into genuine relationship — listening, learning, and allowing the diversity of God’s people to expand our vision of the Creator.
In a world that often emphasizes division, Laura’s words offer an invitation: draw near to neighbors whose languages, histories, and cultures differ from our own. In those relationships we do not lose ourselves; we discover more of the God who delights in every color of flower and every kind of people.
Through stories like theirs, Mission Network invites the wider church to see cross-cultural friendship not as an optional add-on to faith, but as a vital way of knowing more fully who God is.
