May Term

May 23 2025

By Aysia Adkins As we come back and re-enter our lives which we left on May 1st, I’m filled with many impactful memories that have accumulated in just 20 days. It sort of doesn’t feel right to jump back into…

May 23 2025

By Lexie Coburn On May 20 we got home from our closing retreat at Camp Nacome in Tennessee where we reflected and processed our shared experiences and individual experiences we had in Selma, Alabama. Who would have thought 13 people…

May 20 2025

By Jazmin Ibarra Today is May 19th, I am sitting in a community lodge in Camp NaCoMe in Tennessee for our SST closing retreat, reflecting on my experiences and my encounters in Selma. Where can I even start? Before this…

May 19 2025

By Jacob Dixon My experience working with a crew of people that exert their best effort to make sure that other people are being cared for, has been one of the most fulfilling things that I have done all year.…

May 16 2025

By Lily Herrera The one word I want to use to describe today and for the past few days is fulfilling. This morning, May 15, I gave a devotion in front of the Mennonite Disaster Service year long volunteers and…

May 14 2025

By Judith Rangel Visit to the Legacy Museum On Saturday, May 10th, we visited The Legacy Museum in Montgomery. It was a meaningful and unforgettable day that will stay with me forever. While Mexicans/Latino stories were not discussed often, I…

May 13 2025

By Summer Cuatepotzo Perez Impactful. Speechless. Astounded. Disgust. Anger. Confusion. Sadness. None of these can describe how emotionally overwhelmed I personally felt, my physical response- tears. You ask… where in the world did you experience this? Or what happened that…

May 11 2025

By Parker Sullivan   Today, May 9, was another productive work day and the end of our first work week with MDS. Each of our three groups were working at the same separate sites as the rest of the week....

May 06 2025

By Jaden Harris Today marked our first day of service during our trip. My group – which consisted of Hillary, Lily, Jazmin, 2 other MDS leaders, and myself – were tasked with helping the Tolbert family with repairs to their…

May 05 2025

We’ve spent almost two days in this area where the Ganges River comes out of the mountains and journeys across the plains. The Ganges’ role in bringing life to the whole of north India (through depositing mineral-rich silt in its annual…

May 05 2025

We impressed ourselves and each other by gathering promptly at 5:30 a.m. to drive to the train station for the six-hour trip to Haridwar. Once there, we loaded the buses and drove to Rishikesh, a town considered the world capital…

May 05 2025

We started off the morning by walking into Viejo San Juan to Catedral Basílica Menor de San Juan Bautista for an 11:00 mass. It has been pretty warm in the mornings but this morning was especially sunny and it was…

May 04 2025

Day 3 in San Juan consisted of a tour of El Museo de las Americas.  We had the option to eat breakfast wherever we desired, as long as we met at El Museo De Las Americas by 1:00 pm. Our…

May 04 2025

By Carlie Lavon Webber Travel to Selma After loading the bus and traveling for a little over 2 days our Goshen College group reached Selma, Alabama. On our travels, we stopped in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky! Our group enjoyed a delicious...

May 02 2025

Blog by Isaac & Richard May 2, 2025 Day two in San Juan began around 10:00 am with a walk to Castillo San Cristóbal. Named after the patron saint of land travelers, Saint Christopher Castillo, San Cristóbal is a fortress…

Apr 30 2025

Welcome to our 2025 blog for the May term SST course “Environmental Disaster and Response with MDS”! Each year this course partners with Mennonite Disaster Service to explore first-hand the direct impact of environmental disaster on a local community, with...

May 20 2024

Our day began as any good Amish morning, at the Rise‘n Roll Bakery which is – disappointingly – not owned by the Amish founders anymore. Curious folks entered the store and scoured through the endless aisles of Amish goods in...

May 17 2024

We spent the rest of last week working hard on the two homes we’re helping rebuild for members of the Red Lake Nation. The students are learning quickly. They have all gained a wide variety of new skills, and everyone...

May 15 2024

Our first full day in Chicago was a whirlwind! Not only did we learn how to use the public transportation there, but also about various different neighborhoods through a workshop on CHicago’s maps and growth. During the afternoon, we focused...

May 13 2024

Today we began our day by visiting the National Museum of Mexican Art in Harrison Park. Art from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and current Mexican artists living in Chicago was displayed. The history, personal stories, and finding identity in...

May 07 2024

On the first of May we loaded up and headed north, bound for Red Lake, Minnesota, home of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. We went to volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), and to learn and build relationships...

May 03 2024

This year's Chicago to Amish Country course has 21 students, and they are gearing up for their trip to Chicago, May 5 to 9. Destinations include: Chicago's Little India, Pilsen and the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Swedish American…

Jul 07 2023

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”...

Jul 06 2023

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...