Kiros Teka Haddis (right), president of Ethiopia’s Meserete Kristos College (MKC), chats with Dr. Susan Carpenter, an associate professor of English at Bluffton University, during a visit to the university May 6.

Joining the president were Kelbessa Muleta Demena (left), assistant to the executive secretary of MKC and chair of its board of trustees, and Carl Hansen, the Harrisonburg, Va.-based director of college advancement for MKC.

The visitors spent time at The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center on campus and later at First Mennonite Church in Bluffton.

The Ethiopians’ stop in Bluffton was among a number they have made in the United States since April 17 to acquaint themselves with Mennonite Church USA, its organizations and constituencies, and to update and strengthen relations with individual congregations and supporters.

Their college was founded by the Anabaptist Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia. They will continue to travel in the U.S., and in Canada, through the end of May.