The owners of Yoder’s Country Market in Madison County have a new venture: Africa.
Michael and Heather Yoder and their three children will embark on a two-year mission trip to Kenya later this month.
The Yoders say they have no plans to close the Madison mainstay that has been a go-to destination for residents and visitors alike since 1984, offering homemade baked goods, bulk foods and a petting zoo replete with goats rambling across a “skywalk” built especially for them.
“Over the last number of years, we have been very careful to hire employees that really match our values and carry our culture. With the size of Yoder’s, it’s important to have the right people on the team, whether we’re here or not. Having the right people was critical when Kenya was never a consideration for our family. Now that we’re leaving, we see where having the right people on the team has been so important,” Michael Yoder told The Daily Progress.
The Yoders have been studying Swahili in anticipation of their move to the East African nation.
“We’re looking forward to learning a new culture and more about the world,” Heather Yoder told The Daily Progress. “Kenya has a lot to offer, and I want to learn all I can while we’re over there.”
Her husband said the family has already learned much from Kenyan-born neighbors.
“We’ve been fortunate to have made a connection with people from Kenya who live near us now and can help with learning the Kenyan culture before we leave,” Michael Yoder said.
Michael Yoder’s 40 years of experience working at the market his parents opened when he was a child will help him transition into his new role as director at Lamp and Light Publishers in Kenya.
Lamp and Light Publishers provides correspondence Bible study courses to more than 8,000 Kenyans. Michael Yoder will supervise work in prisons and schools as well as oversee employees at three outposts servicing Kenyans. He also will take on the role of assistant pastor in one of the local churches, where he will preach and lead Bible studies.
“In retail business, when you open your doors to 1,000 people a day, you learn to adapt to all types of people. Working with many employees and with church work and leadership will definitely have crossover as we start working in Kenya,” he said.
His wife said she is not worried about bridging cultural divides; it’s something that she and the rest of the family do every day at the market. Every person has something to offer the world regardless of their background, she said.
“We’ve learned to value people and also work through differences at Yoder’s,” she said.
The Yoders’ will be living in the city of Nakuru, about two hours southwest of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Their three-bedroom house is in a compound in the city where other missionary families reside alongside locals. While the Yoders will not have a dishwasher or clothes dryer, they will have indoor plumbing, a modern convenience only 59% of Kenyans can claim, according to UNICEF.
Yoder’s Country Market at 2105 S. Seminole Trail will host Michael and Heather Yoder and their children for a send-off from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. The business encourages friends, neighbors and customers to visit and wish the Yoders a “bon voyage.”
And while they’re away, the Yoders emphasized the store is in good hands.
“People who’ve been here for a long time will be in charge. There are no people coming in from outside to take over Yoder’s Market,” said Heather Yoder. “We highly trust our team as we leave.”
“We focused on finding the right people to continue the right culture that our customers are accustomed to,” her husband agreed. “The staff at Yoder’s and our family in Kenya, we’re all serving the same God.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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