Reorientation and Return to Home

Our 2018 Study-Service Theology Term group returned to Goshen at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, slept in a bit, and then started our reorientation activities for the day. The day included time for journaling, discussions about how to curate individual SSTT narratives, Juan-dancing, and singing, plus a Sunday evening pool party at Jonathon’s house.

Monday morning was full of tearful farewells, with lots of group and individual photos taken as people departed one by one throughout the day. Among the photos is one of Gwen and Keith with Miranda, Kelly and Izzy, who all graduated this year and will be at Goshen College this fall.

Before leaving Guatemala and SEMILLA’s campus, we took a group photo with a whiteboard thanking the Lilly Foundation, Religion Division, which provides funding for the Study-Service Theology Term program. We are grateful to Lilly and to Goshen College for providing such an extraordinary experience for this group of gifted young people.

And thanks to you all for following us on this pilgrimage to Guatemala. Please let others in your congregations and schools know about our program, and encourage next year’s high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to apply for the Summer 2019 program if they care about the church, like to think theologically, or might consider a vocation in pastoral ministry or other church-related work.