Environmental Disaster & Response

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...

May 17 2021

One of the goals of this course is to understand social responsibility and analyze from the place of empathy. We volunteered for two weeks to build houses for families that need help to recover after Hurricane Michael. Meeting with leaders of...

May 16 2021

As a 5’10, 150 pound, 19 year old whose hips are as about as messed up as they can get outside of giving birth due to sports injuries, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything deemed “heroic.” That was until Thursday...

May 16 2021

At MDS in Marianna, Florida, volunteers can actually help out in more ways than just constructing houses. The kitchen is in need of hands just like the job site is, and is equally as labor intensive. Where those on the...

May 16 2021

After a full week of house building and volunteer work, the group took a weekend trip to unwind and relax. Many of the student’s favorite part of the weekend was getting the opportunity to sleep in. For lunch, we enjoyed...

May 15 2021

Self-care. It’s one of the first things you learn in nursing school, but what exactly is it? It’s the ability and power to take necessary time to tend to your physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing. What it all...

May 13 2021

Before you read, go ahead and take a seat. … Take a deep breath. … Clear your mind. …. Picture yourself where you are right now. I, for one, am sitting on the carpet floor reflecting on the past week...

May 12 2021

A piece of being human is entering a space or situation with prior conceived assumptions. Assumptions about who people are and what they believe as well as more general assumptions about where we will stay and what we will spend...

May 12 2021

The days fly by as we continue to volunteer at MDS in response to those who were affected by Hurricane Michael. Our full-time schedule of working on the houses keeps us busy from morning to evening. Since most of us...

May 10 2021

Today was the final day of our first week of service. Throughout the week, we have focused our efforts on a house outside of Marianna and today, we all worked together during the morning to finish the siding on two...

May 07 2021

May 07 2021

After a couple days of very little schedule, there was a shock factor on Monday as we all realized how tightly scheduled our days would be with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). The schedule each day with MDS is identical: wake...

May 07 2021

After our 17 hour drive we settled in for our first couple days of learning. On Friday, we took a trip to Marianna — the city we would be spending our two weeks with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). We spent...

Apr 28 2021

In this course, students work with Mennonite Disaster Service to help a community in Florida rebuild after Hurricane Michael and reflect on ways to respond that are ethical, sustainable and respectful. They also carry out a community based research project…