Since being stationed in the town of Mindo for my service portion of SST, I’ve noticed a big cultural difference between U.S. Mennonites and Ecuadorian “Mindo-nites” – pun intended 🙂 approaches to life. There’s a palpable sense of serenity and…
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Church and Going Home with Host Families
Jan 15 2023
Sunday Jan. 15th
The pictures say it all – today was a big day for students and their host families, as they met one another for the first time and began a 5-week chapter in their lives that will never be forgotten!
We attended Upanga Mennonite Church, hosted by Pastor John Wambura and Pastor Moses Ndege. We enjoyed 3 hours of singing, praying, storytelling – each student also had the opportunity to stand and introduce themselves in Swahili. They did so well.
After church we had a meeting with the host parents to clarify questions about the program and discuss our schedule for our time in Dar es Salaam. The meeting, of course, included sodas, samosas, and mandazis!
Tomorrow the students will make their first trek from their respective homes back to town for their first Swahili class. So many “firsts” – so many gifts of new things and fresh challenges. We rest gratefully tonight as all the students are settled in to their new homes.
– Ryan
What Mindo Taught Me to See
A Day in the Life: Working on a Flower Farm
For my service, I work in Cayambe with an organization called FACE. Under FACE there are other organizations; Casa Hogar, Sumak, Centro Medico Emmanuel, and Forever Flowers. They work together to help break the cycle of abuse and neglect in…