Orientation SSTT 2018!

The Study-Service Theology Term (SSTT) is off to a roaring start, beginning with 48 hours of orientation in and around Goshen College’s campus. Our 20 students arrived throughout the afternoon and evening Wednesday, and then began structured orientation activities Thursday morning.

The group thought carefully about writing meaningful journal entries, entering another culture with respect and care, staying healthy in another context, “The Danger of a Single Story,” thinking theologically about how and where God is at work in the world and how we fit into that work, and other topics, through continuum exercises and discussions, experiential grape-eating, a Taize-style mini-worship, centering prayer each morning, and other activities.

We spent Thursday noon in Goshen’s historic and thriving downtown, eating at local restaurants, then returned to campus for more orientation and an evening of relatively unstructured activities.

After a campus tour of the Mennonite Historical Library, Music Center and College Mennonite Church, we finished the evening Friday with an Indian dinner at Keith and Ann Graber Miller’s home. Keith and Campus Pastor Gwen Gustafson-Zook will co-lead the Guatemala program, along with recent Goshen College graduates and program assistants Isaiah Friesen and Andrea Moya.

After a tragic volcanic eruption on Sunday, the villages around Volcan Fuego in central Guatemala are slowly recovering. We lament the loss of life in that region and pray for those who are displaced, struggling to survive, and grieving deeply.  Seismic activity around the volcano has diminished, and we are being welcomed with eagerness and open arms by our Guatemalan hosts.

The group will leave for Guatemala City in about 5 hours, first driving to Chicago, then flying to Panama City, and then on to Guatemala. We’ll be at the seminary campus where we’ll be staying by 9 or 10 p.m. Saturday evening. Please keep us, and the people of Guatemala, in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days.