Environmental Disaster & Response

May 24 2022

For some of us (me included), this is our last few days being a Goshen College student. As I reflect on the last few weeks here in South Texas, what stands out the most is all the new friends I’ve...

May 24 2022

This morning I woke up at 5:45 am, a little later than usual, with breakfast at 6:00 am and ready to leave by 7:20 am for the worksite at La Posada.  After a few delays, we headed to the worksite...

May 24 2022

As I have been doing so far, I wake up at 5:30 A.M. to get myself and my lunch ready for a day of work. Today is the last day of a full workday at La Posada Providencia, an organization...

May 24 2022

After being here for almost two weeks, we are still continuing to do more fence building at La Posada. Every morning, MDS volunteers Larry and Roger give an overview of daily tasks and everyone gets to choose their role of...

May 18 2022

Our morning started in the early hours this morning. Needing to be in the cafeteria by 6:00 am to pack lunches and eat breakfast. After breakfast, we head off to La Posada to do more work on the fences. Today...

May 18 2022

We began this week by having a devotion on Acts 20:24 which reads, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me”....

May 18 2022

This morning I woke up at 7:00, although we were not leaving for church until 9:30. My body has already adjusted to the 5:30 early wake up times on the workdays and today felt like sleeping in. For breakfast, we...

May 18 2022

After being in the Rio Grande Valley for almost two weeks, my classmates and I have been exposed to the border crisis and the challenges that the people face in border cities concerning immigration and poverty. Much of the content...

May 16 2022

              We finished our first week of work at La Posada. With our group of 11 people, we were able to finish two sides of the fencing project that surrounds the perimeter of La...

May 14 2022

Hoy fue un día lleno de oportunidades y experiencias únicas para nuestro grupo que estudia en el valle del río Grande. Trabajamos en la Posada durante aproximadamente la mitad del día, dividiéndonos en dos grupos, la mitad de nosotros continuamos...

May 14 2022

Mi mañana comenzó antes de que saliera el sol. A las 5:00 a. m., dos de nosotros, los estudiantes, estábamos presentes en la cocina para ayudar a Connie, una voluntaria de MDS (Mennonite Disaster Service/el servicio menonita de desastres), a...

May 13 2022

Today was full of unique opportunities and experiences for our group studying in the Rio Grande Valley. We worked at La Posada for about half of the day today, splitting up into two groups one half of us continued to...

May 12 2022

My morning started off bright and early. By 5:00 a.m., two of us students were in the kitchen to help Connie, an MDS volunteer, prepare breakfast. During our time here, every student gets an opportunity to spend a day (or...

May 12 2022

Hoy fue nuestro primer día trabajando en la Posada en San Benito, Texas. Como dice en su sitio web, la Posada “es un refugio de emergencia para hombres, mujeres y familias que huyen a los Estados Unidos debido a la...

May 11 2022

Dos de las experiencias más memorables que he tenido hasta el momento en el valle del río Grande de Texas fueron tener la oportunidad de ayudar a la hermana Thérèse Cunningham con sus clases de ESL (Inglés como segunda lengua,...

May 11 2022

Two of the most memorable experiences I have had while living in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas were having the opportunity to assist Sister Thérèse Cunningham with ESL lessons at La Posada Providencia and learning from retired public defender...

May 10 2022

Today was our first day working at La Posada in San Benito, TX. As it states on their website, La Posada “is an emergency shelter for men, women, and families who flee to the United States due to political oppression,...

May 09 2022

¡Bienvenido a bordo! ¡Abróchense los cinturones y disfruten del viaje! Próxima parada: McAllen, Texas. Después de un ligero retraso en el aeropuerto de Dallas-Fort Worth, llegamos a McAllen, Texas. A nuestra llegada, el director del proyecto, Larry, junto con el...

May 09 2022

Welcome aboard! Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride! Next stop–McAllen, Texas. After a slight delay in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, we arrived in McAllen, Texas. At our arrival,Project Director Larry, along with Mennonite Disaster Service volunteer Roger, were waiting...

May 23 2021

Going to a place where you have never been before and doing things that are unfamiliar can be quite scary. But besides this feeling, there is also something else that you look forward to and that is excitement. This is...

May 23 2021

Upon arriving in Marianna, Florida we were greeted by the long term Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers. After being introduced to crew leaders, cooks, and an office manager we were given a rundown of what a typical work day looked like....

May 23 2021

Every experience on this trip has been extraordinary. Adapting to a new environment has been a challenge and I have never relied on my faith more than the test of this trip. Mennonite Disaster Service kindly offered us housing during...

May 17 2021

After two long weeks of doing service work with MDS we headed to Ellijay, Georgia. Over the past two weeks we worked hard every day getting up at 6 am and eating breakfast at 7 then heading to the work...

May 17 2021

The weeks leading up to our trip to Florida consisted of long routine days with piles of assignments and studying. The weather was also fairly gloomy and fluctuated between the low 40s to 60s. A break from Indiana was definitely...