Our students finished their service assignments last week and traveled back to Lima to reunite for a final retreat. After spending a night in the city, we boarded a bus for Cieneguilla, a small town nestled in a valley 1 1/2 hours from the capital. We spent two days and two nights at Mahanaim Retreat Center -- Mahanaim is a Hebrew word meaning "two camps".

Students worked on final projects while on service and had an opportunity to share their findings with each other. Titles included "Legends and Traditions of Peru," "Lost in Translation," "Women in Peru", "Community Development," "Deforestation and Reforestation," "Peruvian Desserts," "Peruvian Cooking" and "Adobe". Between presentations we enjoyed a bit of sunshine and played volleyball, including a competitive set of games against a group of Peruvians who visited the retreat center Sunday afternoon.

After the project presentations we hiked to the Lurin River to spend some quiet time reflecting on the last three months. On their first day in Lima each student was asked to write a letter to him- or herself that answered the question, "What do you expect to happen during your time in Peru?". These letters were sealed in envelopes and stored until Sunday when we handed each student the letter they had written and instructed them to find a quiet place next to the river to read what they had written. After reflecting on how their expectation matched their experience, we asked them to write a second letter, which we collected, sealed in envelopes and will return to them via campus mail in the fall.

On our last day of the retreat we returned to Lima for our final meal together, a buffet of homemade Peruvian dishes prepared by Goshen Tambo chefs Mervi and Esperanza and served at the Mennonite Brethren Church in the District of Magdalena. We were joined by President Jim Brenneman, his wife, Terri, and son, Quinn, who are returning from Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay. We savored a time of fellowship, laughter and tears as we sampled Peruvian delicacies, listened to remarks from President Brenneman and Pastor Jose Manuel Prada and participated in an awards ceremony to celebrate the experiences of each of our students.