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One of the first things you learn when you come to Ecuador is their love of choclo, which is essentially their variety of sweet corn. On one of our trips to different parts of Ecuador, we even drove past a...
“What Does Peace Look Like?” Emma Gingerich One Friday afternoon, Zoughbi, the director of the Wi’am Conflict Transformation Center, invited our group to a dialogue with Palestinian “young people.” We had the privilege of sitting in small groups with these...
“Differences of Identity” Luisa Dutchersmith As we loaded onto a big tour bus and started our drive from Bethlehem north towards the Galilee, I could tell that this part of our trip was going to be different. We had spent...
Teaching two hours of English daily is no joke, especially when you have no teaching experience and are creating your own curriculum. Teachers and students alike get tired and worn out by the constant focus it takes to learn a...
“Reconciliation” Naomi Torres Being back in the U.S., I still have trouble processing everything I witnessed on our SST. I do not say this discontentedly, but with awe and bewilderment. It was a blessing to see all the religious sites...
“The Land is Not Empty” Ruby Meyer Moving methodically down rows of young grape vines, olive trees, and almond trees, our class worked together to water the plants in each row. We dug around each one, poured in a small...
“The Tent of Nations” Meredith Blossom During our trip to Israel/Palestine, we had the opportunity to volunteer at Tent of Nations, a hill farm that has been owned by the Nassar family for over 100 years. We were able to...
“Melkite Worship and Sighting a Patriarch” Phil Witmer-Rich On the evening of Saturday May 6, the sound of four-part harmony could be heard throughout the halls of Bethlehem Bible College. Our group had been asked to perform a song at...
“The Silent Street of Hebron” Ana Neufeld Weaver One unexpected reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine is that explicit violence is not a constant reality. Instead, it is sporadic and inconsistent. The daily realities of living under occupation are...
“Walking in Hebron” Rosita Lomas Everything about this SST experience was memorable from start to finish. One of the experiences that I keep replaying in my mind was walking through Hebron and meeting with volunteers from Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT)....
“The Kindness of Tea” Sophia Smucker We stayed at Bethlehem Bible College during our extended period in the city, located only 15 minutes away from Star Street with its many markets. The first time we got to walk down this...
“Daily Interactions in Bethlehem” Carlos Lichty Visiting Israel/Palestine for the first time was a surreal experience. It was my first time leaving the United States, and I didn’t quite know what to expect. I feel incredibly blessed to have been...
“Pressing Palms to Stone”: My Experience at the Western Wall Faith Fegley The Western Wall’s courtyard smelled of frying onions, sour red wine and yeastless bread. The sun blazed down on our heads, to the point that it made my...
“Resilience and Hospitality” Sadie Brenneman On the third day of our trip in Israel and Palestine, we made our way to Aida refugee camp, located just a few miles from our guest house. The Aida camp is one of three...
“Transformation through Discomfort: What Does it Mean to Be a Tourist?” Liam Minielly What does it mean to be a tourist in a setting such as Israel and Palestine? There is no easy answer to this question. I believe a...
In May 2023, Goshen College launched a new course titled Interreligious Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine. The blogs that follow reflect the joys, struggles, and transformations of our inaugural group: two faculty leaders and sixteen stunningly courageous and compassionate students, pictured below....
I thought the initial bus ride from my study to service placement a few weeks ago was simultaneously the longest and shortest bus ride of my life. After finally getting comfortable with a schedule, host family, and fellow SSTers in...
The first words I heard used to describe my service town were hot and buggy. Upon hearing this I was a little apprehensive about what service would have in store for me and how my body would respond to the...
Most of SST is not glamorous. There are times of incredible joy and sadness, comedic moments, and discomfort certainly, but the majority of the time is very normal. For example: doing laundry. My host family doesn’t have a washing machine,...
Hello again Summer 2023 Ecuador SST blog readers. It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in with you and my has it been busy. There is a myth that circulates about SST leadership regarding a time of relaxation...
Ana Yoder makes connections with a favorite childhood memory: A Diné College student named Travis Mammedaty shared some Kiowa songs with us. A song that stood out to me in particular was a children’s song called the “Prairie Dog Song”...
Fae Sommers reflects on an unforgettable road trip: You can learn a lot about someone in 300 miles. Lukas, Jonathan, Micah and I stayed with our host father, pastor Daniel Smiley of Black Mountain Mennonite Church. On our second day...
Micah reflects on our visit to Cliff Palace, an Ancestral Pueblo archaeological site in Mesa Verde National Park: The story I would like to reflect on today took place at Cliff Palace, a cliff dwelling of the Pueblo people who...
What happens when thirteen eager Goshen College students step off an Amtrak train in Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin experiencing Indigenous cultures in the Desert Southwest? We’ll let the students themselves tell you their stories… Reflections...
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