Menu
Cart

European Heritage Tours

                                          switzerland tour mast masthof lois ann

 

We invite you to travel with us to where your ancestors lived! Spend two weeks traveling on a tour that is tailored to your roots. Heritage Tours are led by J. Lemar and Lois Ann Mast of Masthof, editors and publishers of the quarterly Mennonite Family History, who have led dozens of previous trips to Europe and Israel.

Click on the tour below to download the complete tour itinerary which describes each day of the tour!

Download: 2022 Heritage Tour

Download: 2024 Smucker Heritage Tour

Download: 2024 Brubaker Heritage Tour

Download: 2025 Hostetler Heritage Tour

Please contact Lois Ann Mast for more information on tours:
     Mennonite Family History
     219 Mill Road
     Morgantown, PA 19543
     Email: mast@masthof.com
     Phone: 484-798-8556
swiss switzerland alps mennonite tour cow bells
 

Tour Participant Reviews:

This tour deepened by faith in ways I never anticipated. I have now reconnected with my home church where politics left me feeling distant. What are U.S. politics compared to what our ancestors experienced? I am also finally sharing my learning with Swartz cousins and genealogy friends. And looking forward to returning to Switzerland to visit archives. -Ann, Pa.

Yesterday the current issue of MFH arrived and it made my day!  The articles and photos were excellent. Masthof has been an invaluable ministry in keeping our heritage alive.  It is hard to believe you are still planning and conducting the tours. I can't fathom the significance of the hundreds, if not more, whose lives have been changed by participating in these tours.  -Duane Kauffman, Pa.

Yippeeee..we received our Mast Family Heritage Tour photo journal in the mail! We LOVE it!!  We love the in-depth personalized journaling and the clear photos. What a great addition to the journal the last pages were where each traveler noted some of their “my favorite things” (I would add musical notes here but, alas, my computer does not have emojis!). A huge grateful thanks to Lois and Lemar for two weeks we will never forget! -Love, Andy and Judy Kaufmann, Bryan, Ohio

Yesterday our much awaited tour journal of our unforgetable journey to Switzerland arrived. Myron and I thoroughly enjoy studying and treasuring all the memories each page provides. The detailed descriptions of the cities, towns, churches and homes helped me appreciate even more the rich history of this beautiful country. Also a great big thanks to our tour guides Lois and Lemar for the very knowledgeable and detailed information they gave us each day as we visited each location. -Myron (half of 4) and Mary Ann Slabaugh, New Holland, Pa.

We received these beautiful tour journals yesterday and I am going over it again and again to relive all the wonderful memories. You did a great job, Lois and Lemar, in printing this wonderful journal and so soon after you arrived home. Loved meeting tour members and have so many wonderful memories.  This trip was worth every dollar we spent. These are memories that will last a lifetime. So very thankful we had some "young whippersnappers" on the trip with their mothers, aunt, etc. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having you.  -Sue  and Sanford Slabaugh, Rockford, Ill.

Lois Ann, thank you again for the way you folks planned that very memorable Europe trip!!  And thank you for making the journal! I told my husband that I thank him for letting me take the trip and that it was worth every dollar that I spent for it!! I often look at the pictures and treasure the many memories!! Thanks again. -Mim Achenbach, Mt. Joy, Pa.


The TOUR JOURNAL arrived today and I was so eager to look through it. You did an amazing job!!! This Tour was such a difference from a regular commercial tour company!!!  -Diana White, Spring, Texas

So much gratitude goes to Lois Ann and Lemar for an amazing and wonderful tour. There were so many fun things to learn and do, and lovely company with our group. The Masts made it seem easy! It’s been delightful to share the many blessings of our European tour with others. The depth of experience that Lemar and Lois Ann have leading tour groups for 30+ years is such a benefit for all of us! We are enjoying so many fond memories of the trip. I took my cowbell collection in to share with the children, also my small wooden brown cow. Our preschoolers got to see videos of the cow parade in Sumiswald and hear a group of farmers sing.  Everyone was amazed at the size of the cowbells!  Vielen Dank!  -Martha Glaze Zook, Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Again, thank you for such a well organized and lovely experience! Your extra attention to make my birthday over the top special is appreciated beyond words! -Bev Whited, Russell, Pa.
 
So grateful to the Masts and Petersheims for all you did to make this trip possible and enjoyable!  Going home with great memories of each of you as well as all the amazing experiences we shared together.   -June Thompson, West Lafayette, Ind.
 
THANK YOU LOIS AND LEMAR FOR THE BEST HERITAGE TOUR!  You are both loaded with so much information that somehow you need to be cloned!  Besides that you had such a  kind, cheerful and patient way of delivering the information to the diverse team of Schmuckers, Smuckers and Smokers.  Thank  you doesn’t seem adequate!  May God bless you with good health, memory, and financial security as you continue to serve Him through tours!!
 
In all seriousness you said to give you feedback after the tour.  Please do not discontinue leading tours.  Your wealth of knowledge and friendships you have made CAN NOT be lost in Europe.  However, I am your age and know that age has a way of slowing us down a bit.  My suggestion would be for you to have an administrator to travel with you that would do nothing but manage the hotel check-in and check-out, luggage loading, restaurant management, etc. All the behind the scene responsibilities.  The two of you would connect us with the European friends and share your historical knowledge and have the daily interaction on the bus.  -Pauline Yoder, Goshen, Ind.

Still replaying the tour over and over in our minds! I asked Ken his favorite part and I was delighted that he said it was following the moves of the family and other Anabaptists to understand the upheaval and treatment they received during the years of persecution. We also loved the sightseeing things as well, but the other Anabaptist parts were so moving to us. Thank you again for everything!  -Beth Mark, Mechnanicsburg, Pa.
 
I enjoyed the trip so much and all the new friends I met. Thank you for the planning the trip and providing us with such interesting information, as well as the gift during the game night.  -Kay Mestad, Garner, Iowa
 
Another big thank you for including so m any personal ancestral spots for Ruth and me, as well as for others on the tour.  It was another great tour!  -Joanna Miller, Grantsville, Md.
 
Nate and I spent the week with Kendall, Heather and boys in Orlando, FL,  returning yesterday.  It was a dual celebration, Mattias's 12th birthday and Rio's baptism.  Rio's testimony: "I went with my grandpa and grandma on a family heritage tour to Germany and Switzerland. The stories I heard and the things I saw made me realize I wanted to be baptized too."  -Melba King

Wow what a really nice trip journal! Thanks for all of your work in putting it together and printing it. It is a treasured memory of a wonderful trip!  -Donald Smucker, Stanton, Mich.

Just home from work and found our copy of the Smucker Heritage Tour journal and pictures …what a great gift !   A huge thank you to all and especially to Lois and Lemar for putting it  together.  One more reason this vacation is one to be treasured !!   -Judy Kaufmann, Bryan, Ohio
 
What a fabulous trip!  Basking in the afterglow of rich memories, yet homesick for our tour family as you predicted.  Thank you so much for shepherding each one of us, every step of the way! We appreciated the many interesting facts and historical information you shared on the bus as we traveled along in preparation for visiting the next site, or of the area we were passing by.  I tried to write it down, but of course, wasn’t able to catch it all.   -Janet Smoker (and Ron), New Holland, Pa.
    swiss chalet cow bells tour switzerland

tauferhole mennonite anabaptist persecution