Weekend in Antigua

We spent the weekend in nearby Antigua, a colonial town with buildings/ruins that date back into the 16th and 17th centuries. For about 200 years, beginning in 1543, the town — now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site — served as the center of the Spanish colony that is now Guatemala. Three large volcanoes surround the site, one of which last erupted in 1972 and another of which erupted in 2012.

We had been planning to spend only part of Saturday in Antigua, but the group opted to stay overnight in Antigua rather than go to the beach Sunday. We stayed at a youth hostel in rooms similar to our spaces at SEMILLA, only a short walking distance from a variety of sites, markets and restaurants. Students were able to relax and enjoy HOT showers, some for only the first or second time since they arrived in Guatemala.

We started off Saturday visiting the Cerro de la Cruz, a huge stone cross on a hill overlooking Antigua. We took loads of photos there, including a full-group photo, individual photos, and also a photo of some members of the group looking suave, modeling their poses after Nicolas’s usual pose (Nicolas, of course, opted to smile for that photo).

After that we visited the ruins of the Church and Convent of las Capuchinas. It was consecrated in 1736 but after major earthquakes in 1751 and 1773 it was abandoned by the Captain General at the time. Daily routine for the nuns was ruled by strict regulations, which included for some the maximum discipline on poverty, penance and fasting; also, they were compelled to survive on tithing only.

The rest of the day we were free to explore Antigua in different groupings, so we frequently crossed paths were other combinations of students. By 6 p.m. we regrouped at the hostel, reconfigured, and then fanned out again for dinners around the town.

This morning the entire group went to La Merced Catholic Church for the 9 a.m. mass, which was rich with pomp and rituals, including the Eucharist. Some of the Catholic members of the group partook in the Eucharist while Protestant members observed. It was wonderful to be able to witness Latin American Catholic worship, and to compare this experience with last week’s worship at a Guatemalan Mennonite church.

Students are now working on their final journal entry summarizing their learnings, and identifying what has been most informative and transformative during the Study-Service Theology Term. They are also writing about what impact the experience has had on how they think about God’s presence/role in the world, and God’s presence in their lives. In addition, they’ll reflect on what they sense God calling them to do and be, and thinking about how their faith informs the role they hope to play in society in the future.

This evening we are planning on a group processing time, taking in the overall experience as well as the weekend’s adventures. In the morning we will leave SEMILLA’s beautiful campus around 10:45 a.m., and then we’ll spend the day flying to Panama and then to Chicago. We’ll be picked up in Chicago around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, which means we should be back in Goshen by about 5 a.m., given that we will lose an hour in transit. We’ll have breakfast at 10 a.m. and then have a workshop with Jo-Ann helping us do college-level writing, beginning the process of revising a handful of our journal entries as part of the three credits we will receive for this experience.

It’s been an extraordinary, marvelous journey with these 20 young people. We are so grateful to our Guatemalan hosts and we look forward to our final 48 hours together, here and on Goshen’s campus. Thanks for following us on this pilgrimage of faith, culture and learning.