Barbara K. & Donald D. Reber Mission Scholarship

Barbara and Donald Reber first travelled to Japan under the auspices of the then Mennonite Board of Missions (now known as Mennonite Mission Network) after college studies at both Hesston and Goshen Colleges and Goshen Biblical Seminary for Don.  Their first assignment took them to Hokkaido and they arrived ten years (to the day) after one of the nuclear bombs had been dropped on Japan.  The rebuilding of the country so devastated by World War II was still very much in evidence.  This Japan experience for the Reber family extended over 30 years.  They loved being involved in missions, sharing The Good News of Jesus and they loved Japan and the Japanese people.

While in Hokkaido, Barbara and Don were involved in church planting and they developed an island-wide radio program contracted with the Hokkaido Broadcasting Co.  Barbara held Bible classes in their home while raising their children and she, along with some other missionary women, taught many Japanese women home canning techniques.  During a subsequent service assignment in Japan, they were in Tokyo where they established the Anabaptist Center (still available to guests today) and Don pastored a church in Tokyo.

But their mission work would extend far beyond Japan.  Don was involved with Mennonite Media Ministries for four years and Barbara served as the director of WMSC (now called Mennonite Women) for over 10 years.  In addition, Barbara developed Mennonite Association of Retired Persons (MARP) from which grew SOOP (Service Opportunities for Older Persons), a continuing  program that taps in to the time and energy older volunteers can give to serving others while on vacation or living at their winter homes.

Don’s family had encouraged him to enter the ministry as he was growing up but it was while he served in the U.S. Navy that his passion for evangelism and sharing the Good News with others really developed.  Don and Barbara started dating in 1945 and early in their relationship, they agreed that they both wanted to pursue a life of ministry and mission work.  They never assumed they were anything special – rather they both carried a rather low-key, modest self-image.  As Barbara would often say, “Being a missionary was such a wonderful blessing” and also that their family felt “blessed beyond measure.”