Global Engagement

Mar 24 2024

Today’s blog is written by Jonathan Weaver, who is doing his service on the island of Sumba. I have been living with my host family in Sumba for close to four weeks now. During this time I have continued to...

Mar 24 2024

Today’s post is written by Johanna Morford-Oberst, who is doing her service at UNDANA university in Kupang, Timor. On Tuesday, March 5th, Pak Dr. Niko, my supervisor, took Brenton, my service partner, and I to Susteran Alma Orphanage. This is...

Mar 19 2024

This blog post was written by Johanna Morford-Oberst, who is serving at Undana University in the city of Kupang on the island of Timor in eastern Indonesia. On Tuesday, March 5th, Pak Dr. Niko, my supervisor, took Brenton, my service...

Mar 19 2024

Today’s blog is written by Evan King, a junior who is doing his service in Yogyakarta in an Islamic boarding school. During service, I have not been given much opportunity to interact with my host family because, during the week,...

Mar 14 2024

Each Study Service Term culminates in six weeks of service engagement with local organizations throughout the host country (casually referred to as “Service”). After the initial six weeks of cultural and academic study, the shift in location and purpose opens...

Mar 12 2024

Today’s post was written by Brenton Pham.  He is currently doing his service portion in Kupang on the island of Timor. It just so happened that, in the first week of service, the University Nusa Cendana in Kupang would be...

Feb 26 2024

Friends, I have never led SST before, so I do not know how unusual our experience in Yogyakarta was, but I have been astounded at every turn with the kindness and generosity of our host families, our teachers, the international...

Feb 26 2024

To the east of Yogya is the Hindu temple of Prambanan and to the northwest of Yogya is the Buddhist temple of Borobudur.  Borobudur is slightly older (build in 8th Century, while Prambanan was built in the 9th Century; both...

Feb 25 2024

Friends, I will first confess that I am behind on blogging, but I fully intend to catch up in the next 24 hours.  Watch for blogs on our visits to Prambanan and Borobudur Temples, as well as our final farewell...

Feb 24 2024

Our sixth week came fast and, with it, time to wrap up our academic, cultural, and artistic activities, and to say goodbye to Quito. The time flew by, and while we had great times as a group exploring the city,...

Feb 15 2024

While our theme for the 2024 Indonesia SST unity is “unity in diversity,” with a particular focus on inter-religious work, we have participated in a number of arts in Indonesia as well.  Having these creative outlets over the last 5...

Feb 12 2024

We journeyed forth on our environmental field trip this past week.  Our destination was a traditional village that is working to address environmental and economic issues by reforestation with productive trees (mango and avocado) and development of environmental tourism to...

Feb 11 2024

This week, we visited a property on the outskirts of Quito where two families that sadly and abruptly fled their home countries have found a place to live. The location was generously lent by a member of the Mennonite Church...

Feb 11 2024

SST students and faculty visited Dream Farm, a flower producing facility in Guayllabamba, a small town 45 minutes north from Quito. We learned that the business of flowers is a huge source of revenue for the area, specially before Valentine’s...

Feb 11 2024

This week we were privileged to see several new sides of Indonesian culture.  Last Monday was opening day of the new semester of classes at the university in which we study (UKDW, here in Yogyakarta).  We were invited to the...

Feb 11 2024

Otavalo, a small town, two hours north from Quito, is world known for its artisanal crafts such as textiles, musical instruments, jewelry, hats, and hammocks. The community is proud of its indigenous heritage, practices, language, and customs. María Virginia Farinango...

Feb 06 2024

Our first day with Ibu Kitsie and Pak Wakidi was so amazing, and there was more in store for us.  They had arranged for our Goshen group to play the song that we had just learned in an actual wayang...

Feb 04 2024

Last Thursday, we left our beloved Quito for some adventurous adventures in Imbabura Province, named after a great inactive volcano. Our agenda included hiking around a lagoon in a volcanic crater, meeting new SST partners, and visiting Parque Condor, a...

Feb 04 2024

On Wednesday after class, students traveled by commuter train up to Solo: Quite the trip–standing room only!  Luckily the train ride was just an hour, and everyone emerged (relatively) unscathed.  The Setiawan family actually was on our way to Semarang...

Feb 04 2024

While in Mindo, we visited Quetzal Mindo, a chocolate shop, garden, and tasting tour. Sergio, our Portuguese guide —whose Spanish is better than my Portuguese— explained that cocoa harvesting originated in what now is Ecuador, but it was mostly used...

Feb 01 2024

Mindo, a small town located about 2 hours from Quito, is tucked in the middle of green luscious mountains and singing rivers. Because of its biodiversity, beautiful views, and environmental projects, Mindo has become a great ecotourist attraction. The locals...

Jan 31 2024

It’s been a little too long since we updated the blog.  We’ve been busy with language classes and becoming acquainted with the city of Yogyakarta.  Students continue to amaze us with their willingness to be brave and try new things...

Jan 28 2024

Museo Intiñan features a tile covered line that marks the equatorial divide—to make it visible to the naked eye—, plus, life size representations of native people’s houses, ancient tombs, and regional flora and fauna. This provides interactive experiences at a...

Jan 24 2024

During study, Thursdays are our day set aside for a full-day field trip.  For this first day, we planned on visiting the Kraton here in Yogyakarta.  Yogya is a “special district” and continues to have a living Sultan who rules...