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By Jessie Price Over the course of two days, our group visited Lago Atitlán to observe, learn, and interact with the local Mayan communities living around the lake. Here we were immersed in Tz’utujil culture, as the culture in each…
Our group spent three days at a retreat center in Quito getting to know each other and becoming acquainted with our new city.
By Brandon Lomas On the last day of our first week in Guatemala we visited the town of Santiago Atitlán, which is on the southwestern shore of Lake Atitlán. While in Santiago we had the opportunity to stay the night…
Each day in Puerto Rico brings new opportunities to see and experience newness. One particularly special element of today’s activities was the chance for the Goshen baseball guys to interview graduating seniors at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy & High…
By Ana Alves Machado Last week, we visited the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura or as Guatemalans nicknamed it “El Guacamolón” (The Big Avocado), because of its distinctive green color. It is located in Guatemala City’s historic center. Today it…
The Global Lit in London group has completed our mini-unit on the markets of London, where we examined space and place in relation to culture and the diaspora. Students read essays and engaged in rich discussions on colonialism, gentrification, capitalism,…
Experiences like these require an incredible amount of work for the leaders. My name is Andrew and I am the faculty leader for the group that just arrived Puerto Rico to experience the culture, history, and natural beauty of the…
by Mike McHugh Sunday evening our group arrived in Lahaina by caravan–we were grateful for the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) leadership team who picked up all 17 us of and our luggage in three vehicles! For the next two weeks,…
By Dahlia Thut and Josh Chupp On the first full day of the Guatemala May Term SST, our group visited a program called Puerta de Esperanza, which means Door of Hope. Puerta de Esperanza is located just outside of La…
by Mike McHugh We arrived at Camp Pi’iholo at about 10PM on Wednesday night exhausted from our bus ride, multiple plane rides (complete with a short layover where we literally exited our plane and shuffled into the boarding line for…
Ever wondered what SST leaders do during the month before students arrive? Here are a few glimpses of what life has looked like as we prepare.
by, Roy Jackson After one bus, two planes, one train, and more than 20 hours of door-to-door travel, the Global Literature in London class has arrived safely—albeit a bit disoriented and jet-lagged. After settling in at St. Athans Hotel in Bloomsbury,…
By Elizabeth Miller Morning: Good morning from Guatemala! Enjoy this view from the garden of the Semilla campus, which we be our home base for the duration of our course. We have a full day today, including an opening orientation and…
by Mike McHugh Here’s to hoping that we do not endure as many travel mishaps on our journey to Lahaina as Steve Martin and John Candy experienced in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles! As I write this we are settled into our large bus…
Puerto Rico, here we come! As we wrapped up the semester and baseball season this past week, we are now turning our attention to our time in Puerto Rico in May. It will be a unique experience centered on reflections…
by Mike McHugh Next week we depart for Lahaina to join the many hands that have spent the last few years helping build homes for families impacted by the 2023 wildfires. Today, I want to share with you another great…
Only a few days until we embark for London! Roy Jackson and his husband Richard Orr are excited to be leading the Global Literature in London SST.
Only 10 days until we embark for Guatemala! Elizabeth Miller and Neil Richer are excited to be leading the “Youth and Resilience” Guatemala SST this year, accompanied by their two daughters.
Hillary Harder and Micah Detweiler will lead the summer 2026 SST unit in Ecuador.
by Mike McHugh Welcome to this year’s SST blog for the Environmental Disaster and Response with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) May term course. This year we will be traveling to Lahaina, Hawai’i to work with MDS to build homes that…
On Wednesday, everyone returned to Quito, and we were reunited! It was a joy to spend four precious days together sharing stories from service, laughing and singing together, and processing who we want to be when we return home. The…
I’m stationed in the town of Latacunga for service, and am working with an organization called Pastoral Social Cáritas. One of the projects that the organization is working on is a farm in San Pablo, which is about a 25-minute…
One Friday while my host mom was traveling, my host relatives Bethany, Paulina, and Tito took care of me. We explored their town, Guano, including playing at a park and going to a bakery. We went out again at night…
This Indonesia 2026 Community Engaged Learning blog series was compiled and edited using excerpts from a photo essay assignment submitted by our students. We hope you enjoy these snapshots from the second half of SST. Kupang is home for three…
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