Mennonite Weekly Review

HARRISONBURG, Va. — China Educational Exchange’s 25th anniversary and its name change to Mennonite Partners in China mark the program’s broadening work. MPC commemorated the anniversary with a program in Chengdu in October.

Ren Mingchong, Jeanette Hanson and Zhang Sucheng visit during the 25th anniversary celebration for Mennonite Partners in China. — Photo by Todd Hanson/MMN

While no major program revisions are planned, the name change intends to more clearly identify MPC as a Mennonite program to the North American constituency.

“Since our work has moved beyond educational exchange to include church partnerships and social assistance, we felt that our name should not be as narrowly defined,” said MPC director Myrrl Byler.

MPC’s social services include a student sponsorship program, rehabilitation for deaf and handicapped children and a counseling center, as well as a church-based drug rehabilitation program. It serves mostly in Sichuan Province in south-central China.

“In the future, we want to focus more on students, schools and persons who have not been able to advance so quickly,” Byler said.

MPC will further its efforts in smaller and rural schools and its work with Chinese people who are concerned about social needs such as poverty, the environment and health care.

With headquarters in Harrisonburg, MPC is a program of Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Church Canada Witness, Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Missions.

Byler said the integrity of the program is found in the commitment and motivation of the more than 260 North Americans who have taught in China for at least one year.

“About 25 percent of our teachers have enjoyed China so much that they stayed for three or more years,” he said. “Some have lived here for more than 10 years.”

Kathi Suderman, who has served with MPC since 1998, said MPC continues to benefit from the dedication of its English teachers, who return to North America with a new understanding of China.

Suderman said MPC’s distinction lies in its transparency, not hiding the fact that it is a Chris­tian organization.

Lawrence Burkholder, then president of Goshen College, signed an agreement with the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Education for an undergraduate exchange in 1979. It was the first undergraduate exchange between a U.S. college and a Chinese educational institution since China’s reopening to the West.

MPC was created in 1981 to meet a request for an enlarged exchange and more teachers.