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Guatemala: An introduction

La Primera Semana (The First Week)

We arrived on Jan. 9, and now it’s Jan. 19.  10 days feel more like 30 days.  Highlights and low-lights have included me coming down with tonsillitis for the 3rd time in 2 months, quickly getting antibiotics thanks to Peyton’s “host” cousin who is a doctor, hiking Pacaya Volcano (about an hour south of Guatemala City), students going to host families (they were mostly terrified, but the family-student matches were very well-made, which helped a lot), my kids and EMU students beginning Spanish classes last Monday, a guest speaker, Israel Ortiz, who gave a fantastic introductory overview of Guatemalan Culture and Context, field trip to Zone 1 (City Central Plaza, Palacio National – el Guacemelon, National Cathedral, Central Market, 6th Avenue pedestrian zone) on Wednesday, to El Mercado La Terminal in Zone 4 on Thursday, and to Cayala on Friday.

The contrasts between La Terminal and Cayala were overwhelming.  In La Terminal, people live in one-room “apartments” with 7-10 people.  They pay to use the restroom and more to shower.  We all felt extremely conspicuous walking through there, but our guides (from Puerta de Esperanza) wanted us to meet the families they work with, and the families smiled and welcomed us.  They were proud to have us visit.  I was moved to tears while walking down a dark hallway to reach one of their “homes.”  The stench of urine and trash was overwhelming.  The walls felt too close together.  How can people live in a place like this?  How can they thrive?  The answer is, they have no other choice, but they are not really thriving — they are only surviving.  Their smiles melted my heart.  I felt honored to be able to get a tiny glimpse into their lives — but I also felt anger, shame, horror, at their living conditions.  Empathy and sympathy combined.  We need both to make this world a better place.  Empathy to understand the other and sympathy to motivate us to take action where we can.

Many students and I felt overwhelmed.  How can anyone or anything make a difference here?  How can anyone or anything help? — The Good News was apparent through the work of volunteers and staff of Puerta de Esperanza, an organization that provides education for kids growing up at La Terminal as well as training on prevention of drug use/abuse, prostitution, domestic/relationship violence, and human trafficking.

What a week. I’m grateful for every moment.

-Laura Glick Yoder


 

Europe: A final thought

I haven’t really been able to process everything I’ve just seen and experienced and done over the past three and a half months, and I think it is going to take me some time to do so. I’ve learned so many things. But one thing that sticks out to me as of this moment that I feel is important to mention, is that if anything, I’ve learned how much I don’t know. This cross-cultural experience has taught me that I have so much to learn and so much more growing to do. I think

before coming on this trip I knew there were other cultures, religions, opinions, and ideas than my own but it wasn’t until now that I recognized and understood that.

I’ve been learning about other cultures and religions to understand. Why do practicing Muslims perform ritualistic prayers five times a day? What does it mean to them? Why do those living in the Czech Republic cling to the theatre to help them communicate about politics and their government? What does that say about their history? Why are there so many extravagant churches in Central Europe built to glorify God? What does that say about Catholicism and religious influence? My mind has expanded to understand how truly big our world is. I’ve gained more skills in collaborating with others, and I’m more ready than ever to continue traveling and learning about other cultures to understand. To listen. It pushes me to evaluate my own values and beliefs and why I think the way that I do. And I think a step forward would be for us to continue learning to understand, so that we can better work together. We need to do that now more than ever.

-Anna Smith

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: Immigration in Austria

24 October 2019*

On September 27th, I had the privilege of playing soccer alongside refugees in a tournament that was part of “Langer Tag der Flucht” (long day of the escape), a full day event devoted to the stories of refugees in Vienna, Austria.  As I was enjoying the sport I love and practicing my amateur German, I had to face a difficult truth:  all but one of my teammates are going to be sent back to the country they fled from in one week. Their applications for asylum were rejected.

For the past seven weeks I have been living in Vienna as part of the Europe and Morocco Cross-Cultural.  While I am here I am volunteering with Caritas, a Non-Government Organization (NGO) with roots in the Catholic Church.  Part of Caritas’ mission is refugee aid, and I was fortunate to spend every Monday working alongside staff at Haus Erdberg, a refugee complex housing around 250 refugees.

The residents here are either single men or families, and they come from all different walks of life.  I helped with organizing the line for their weekly allowance, and shadowed staff as they replaced residents’ light bulbs, furniture and bedding etc..

Immigration is one of Austria’s most pressing and controversial issues.  In 2015, there was a surge of migrants from the Middle East, flowing into many European countries, including Austria. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel’s main slogan regarding migration at the time was “wir schaffen das”, or “we can do it”, and as a result, between 2015 and 2016, one million migrants entered Europe through the gateway of Austria, an eighth of the nation’s population.  Only around 100,000 immigrants stayed in Austria; the remainder migrated to other European countries or went overseas.  The influx of immigration has since decreased since 2015, but migration statistics show that it could be on the rise again.

For the average refugee coming to Vienna, the journey to safety and freedom is a long and grueling one.  People coming to Vienna must apply for asylum upon entry.  Those seeking asylum must live in a refugee center, where they cannot work or travel, until they are notified about that status of their application.  This waiting period can be as short as six months, although it is on average around 16 months, according to the Austrian Ministry of Domestic Affairs.  Those seeking asylum at Haus Erdberg wait three years on average.

Through volunteering at Caritas, I saw Vienna through a different lens.  The building is not an old beautiful Catholic cathedral, nor is it a world-class performance venue. There are around 250 residents in the center, all of whom are waiting to see if they will be invited in, or if they will be sent back to their home country from whence they fled.  While they are at the center, these asylum seekers must learn German, so that if they are granted asylum and are allowed to work, they are able to find a job.  Most jobs in Austria require at least a B2 German level, which is attainable through an exam, which tests reading, writing, speaking, and listening in German.  Even after asylum is granted, there are still a lot of obstacles.  For example, a refugee’s education is not always recognized by the authorities, thus making their resume unattractive to employers.

Despite these challenges, there are ways for refugees to integrate into Austrian society.  As a group, we got the opportunity to visit and tour the Magdas Hotel, a social organization specifically employing refugees to work as receptionists, chefs, and other positions.  As a whole, the Magdas (meaning “like that” in German) employees represent 14 different nations and 23 languages.  As a refugee, this job is an excellent way to get a foot in the working world and gain experiences that can lead to a steady job in Austria.

My father was a refugee.  He fled Vietnam in 1981 and came to the US speaking little to no English with virtually no money on him.  He was fortunate to have missionaries sponsor him in Florida.  Without them he could not have found a home in this country, and he would not have met my mom (an EMU alum), and my brothers and I would not exist.  I acknowledge that immigration is a complex issue, however, Austria is endearing to me not in spite of its refugees, but because of them, and the gifts they bring to the nation. I want refugees to be seen as human, just as my dad was, and I want others to experience the Vienna I have loved during my time here.

My time in this country has been extremely positive.  Vienna city life is exciting and addicting. It has a beautiful café culture, an incredibly efficient public transportation system, one of the world’s best theater scenes, and is visually stunning at every corner.  Learning about the politics and issues here does not make me like this place less, it makes me care about it more.

After reading EMU’s Common Read Exit West [Mohsin Hamid] this summer, I have resonated with it immensely while learning about European history during my time abroad.  One line continues to stick out for me: “We are all migrants of time.”

-Avery Trinh

*This article originally published by The WeatherVane  Nov. 7, 2019

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: insights to the Holocaust

4 November 2019

When we started learning about the Holocaust in Europe, specifically in Vienna, I felt like being American, being so far removed from these tragedies, had made it difficult to understand them until I was there in the countries where they took place.  It impacted me greatly to be standing in the plaza where Adolf Hitler gave speeches to cheering crowds or at the hotel he stayed in.  On Thursday, we visited Terezin, a former military fortress that following Nazi occupation of [Czechoslovakia] during World War II was turned into a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp.  After that experience, I think that being from across an ocean was not the only thing stopping me from really understanding the Holocaust.  You could be from the Czech Republic, or Austria, or even Germany, but it’s not until you stand in the dark empty cells that held so many people they were forced to sleep standing up, that the gravity and the terrifying reality of the Holocaust really sinks in.

While Terezin was operating as a concentration camp and ghetto, it took on more than 150,000 Jewish prisoners.  Of these 150,000 people, over 33,000 died because of the conditions such as hypothermia, starvation, untreated health problems, and physical abuse.  Eighty-eight thousand were sent on to Auschwitz or other death camps to be killed.  Even though it wasn’t labeled an extermination camp, there were only 17,247 survivors of Terezin by the end of WW II.

I could talk about the awful stories of torture and abuse from inside the concentration camp, but what affected me the most was the children’s memorial in the accompanying museum.  15,000 children spent time in Terezin, living life as best they could amid the most unimaginable conditions.  For children, this means drawing.  In the museum were displayed hundreds of drawings found after WW II made by the children.  They ranged from idyllic family pictures and drawings of home, to conditions in the ghetto, even to depictions of the abuses they and their parents were suffering at the hands of the guards.  And under each one, there was a name and either the word survived or a death date with the camp they were killed at.  On the walls of the display were printed the names of every child killed from Terezin, most under the age of 13.

Only 130 children out of 13,000 made it out of Terezin alive, a 1% survival rate.  It is hard for me to process the dehumanization that must happen for a grown adult to look a child in the eyes and throw away their life.  I can’t help but think about how this process starts, what the seed of distaste looks like that eventually grows into hatred so strong it blinds you to humanity.

The root cause of travesties like the Holocaust is elusive.  Maybe it is complacency, people doing what they’re told to avoid rocking the boat.  Maybe it is fear of the unknown and deciding it is safer to eliminate differences rather than try to get to know them.  Maybe all it takes is a charismatic leader whose promises of a greater tomorrow are just promising enough to give desperate people enough hope they’ll do anything to get there. Whatever it is, it is worth acknowledging that the potential for hatred is inside all of us.  While I desperately hope this hatred will never again take on a form like Holocaust, the instinct to exclude, isolate, and dehumanize people different from us is volatile if gone unchecked.  And, maybe you don’t have to go to a concentration camp to realize that, but it makes it a lot more obvious.

-Kate Stutzman

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: Budapest

14 October 2019

One huge difference between Europe and North America is that you can take a three-hour train ride to get to another country and never have your passport checked! Thursday morning, our group met at Hauptbahnhof and took a train to Budapest, Hungary. During our three full days in a new city, we had various tours, a theater performance, and free time. We stayed as a group at the Maverick hostel in the city center. The hostel used to be a Hapsburg mansion and had many royal aspects to the building. This was my first hostel experience, and it reminded me of a combination of a camp set up mixed with a hotel room.

For those that don’t know, Budapest is split into two sides by the Danube River. You have the “Buda” side, which is quieter and has less tourist attractions. The “Pest” side is lively and could keep you busy for days. We had a tour of each side, which included Castle Hill, the Parliament building, old bath houses, Hero’s Square, and Central Market Hall.

There were a few differences between what we were used to in Vienna and what we had to quickly adjust to in Budapest. Hungarian currency is called Forints and has very little value. The average price of a meal was 3000 Forints. If I’m being honest, I had no idea how much I was paying for anything for most of our stay in the city. Another huge difference is language. In Vienna, we take German classes so we are becoming pretty familiar with the language. Hungarian is completely different. I had no idea how to even begin to sound out Hungarian words, so it was a relief that most people spoke English.

On Saturday, we were given the day to explore. I’m more of a solo traveler so I went off on my own adventure on the “Pest” side of the city. I went back to Central Market Hall to get delicious Hungarian food, flavorful and savory. They are most known for goulash and Lángos. Goulash is a savory stew and Lángos is deep fried dough in which they dump toppings on top.  Both dishes were unlike anything I’d eaten before, both tasty.

The main part of my day was spent at a museum called House of Terror, or Terror Háza in Hungarian. On their website, it includes this introduction: “Having survived two terror regimes, it was felt that the time had come for Hungary to erect a fitting memorial to the victims, and at the same time to present a picture of what life was like for Hungarians in those times.” In 1956, there was an uprising against the Cold War and the Soviet presence in Hungary. The Soviet Union responded with a military invasion, resulting in thousands of Hungarians fleeing their homeland. There was a Soviet presence in Hungary until 1991, when the last Soviet troops withdrew from the country. Hungary only joined NATO in May of 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Hungary has had a difficult history, one that has reached freedom much more recently than the United States.

One amazing part to this cross-cultural is all the comparisons we get to experience. We travel to so many cities in different countries and learn the history of that area. We witness theater, paintings, music, sculptures, memorials, and more that illustrate what life used to be in some places, what life is in others, and what life could be if we do not learn from the past. Just three days in one city has opened my eyes to how recent bad history is and the reality that things c an change in the world rather quickly.

-Mary Harnish

#EMUeuropetogether #EMUview

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: we are the same, can we see?

11 October 2019

Anna and Alexa with their host mom, Doris

I had no idea how living with a complete stranger for two months was going to go. I knew she was a retired teacher, had a daughter, and didn’t have any pets. That was it. The night we arrived in Vienna we all went to a restaurant for dinner and then waited for our hosts to pick us up and take us home. I was so nervous. Now, almost two months later, I look back at this memory and smile. I never could have dreamed of a better host mom to spend my time here in Vienna with. She is very adventurous and so kind. She goes out of her way to provide us, always giving 110%. It is inspiring to me how welcoming she has been and taken us in like we were her own family. When I return home, I will feel so grateful knowing I have this special connection across the world forever. Like she said at the breakfast table this morning, “You and I, we are from different places and yet we have no problems. We know that actually we are the same (just human).”

-Anna Smith


12 October 2019

Friday was a lot. We did a tour of District One’s Jewish History. We learned about a man who survived a concentration camp and dedicated the rest of his life to aiding the government in hunting down Nazis, beginning with those who had been his personal torturers. We learned about a woman, Irene Harand, who was a human rights activist and fought against antisemitism. She wrote a book entitled “Sein Kampf” which translates to “His Fight” where she tears apart Hitler’s cruel and false ideals. An article I read about her labeled her as “a thorn in the side of the Austrian Nazi party.” Ms. Harand, after spending five years in Europe directly fighting against Hitler, immigrated to the United States and was able to rescue 100 Jews from Europe attempting to flee persecution .

I am trying my hardest not to push politics in this post, but I know it will come out. Despite that, I hope you can see that it is with love that I write this. Something I have been thinking about since we took this tour is if I could do what this woman did. This Christian woman, who stood up against Hitler and the Nazi regime; who put herself and most likely her own loved ones at risk by not staying quiet, but firmly saying no; who brought people across oceans and borders to protect them. Could I, do I, exhibit this kind of radical love?

In high school, I did a project on the Rohingya genocide in Burma/Myanmar. Much of today’s talk about genocide is in regards to the past, but there are genocides that have occurred within the last ten years, there are genocides that are happening right now. All around the world there are people being persecuted and murdered for their skin color, for their beliefs, for the way they choose to live their lives, for simply existing, and we’re still talking about genocide like it isn’t right in front of us. I’M still talking about genocide like it isn’t happening right in front of ME. We can give different reasons for why we aren’t talking about it: that it’s a myth, that it isn’t our responsibility, that they did something wrong and so they deserve it, that it doesn’t affect you and me so it doesn’t matter. But those are excuses.

I watched a documentary last year about Michael J. Sharp, an EMU alumnus working as a Peacemaker in Congo with the UN. In 2017 he and his colleague were murdered during a mission in Congo. One of the lines his father spoke in the documentary has stuck with me ever since. Michael Sharp never cared about the dangers he had to face because “maybe if a white person died the rest of the world would finally see.” The reality of current genocides is that no one is killing white people, but if they were, the rest of the world would see. The rest of the world would hear MY cries. The rest of the world would step in. Why are we, after all these years, still not seeing them?

-Haley Williams

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: Taking the opportunity

9 October 2019

I spent the fall semester of 2018 in DC with the Washington Community Scholars’ Program. I have the privilege of spending this semester in Europe studying art and theater. Theater is one thing that my two cross-culturals have in common. While I was in DC I worked as the production intern at Mosaic Theater Company. In Europe we are seeing theater and opera performances regularly, often multiple times a week. Now that we have settled a bit in Vienna, I have been thinking about how my experiences in Europe compare with my experience in DC last fall. 

One difference between my semester in DC and my experience in Europe so far is the number of places we visit. We will visit and live in at least ten different cities across Europe and northern Africa this semester. In DC, on the other hand, I was in the same house with the same people for the whole semester. Because I wasn’t traveling around so much in DC, you really get the experience of living there. Having an internship in the city and going in to “work” every day contributed to the feeling of living in DC and not just visiting. Because we don’t get the chance to truly settle anywhere in Europe, we are going to be tourists in every city we visit despite how much we try not to be. Even in Vienna, where we are staying the longest, we aren’t going to experience truly living here the way I did in DC. 

Johnny and Amber on a boat ride across King’s Lake

Another difference between my two cross-culturals is the way I viewed and approached experiencing new things. In Europe, the general consensus among the group has been “we are in another country, so we should take every opportunity possible to do something new and fun!” People are constantly eating at new restaurants, exploring cool places in the city, and finding interesting theater shows to go to. In DC, however, we had a very different approach. Even though living in DC felt just as foreign at the beginning as living in another country, no one felt the pressure to do things and try new things the way we have in Europe. People occasionally went out in the evenings, but most nights we stayed home and played games. This semester, we all know that we may never have the opportunity to travel to Europe again so we want to take advantage of as many opportunities as we can. The same just wasn’t true about DC. The knowledge that DC was nearby and easily accessible from EMU probably influenced our attitude without us even realizing. 

Although in DC I did not take advantage of all the things the city had to offer, I wouldn’t trade my semester there for anything. There is one thing I especially miss about my semester in DC. I miss the closeness that comes from living together for a semester. In DC, we cooked and ate dinner together practically every night. We hung out and played games together regularly. And even when there wasn’t a group activity happening in the house, there were always people in the house I could talk to or hang out with. Here in Vienna, we are staying with host families in various locations throughout the city. Even though we spend the day together, we are missing out on the bond that is developed in a group when living and eating together regularly. In Europe we are missing out on that because we all live spread out across the city. The house in DC was a “homebase” for us, a common area where we could always find someone to talk to or play a game with or just relax with. I miss having that central “homebase” where you can always count on hanging out and doing something relaxing with your friends. 

It’s fascinating to me how different my two cross-culturals have been so far. I am excited to experience more things here in Europe I am interested in comparing the two semesters in full once I am back home and have had time to process everything I’ve experienced and have yet to experience. 

-Amber Hooper

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Europe: Salzburg and Vienna

Highlights of Salzburg:

  • Walking through old-town Salzburg
  • Visiting stunning baroque churches like the University Church and the Salzburg Cathedral
  • Hiking up Mönchsberg to visit Salzburg fortress
  • Taking a cable car up the Untersberg and hiking to the top
  • Day-trip to Bavaria, where we took a boat to King’s Lake and visited salt mines\
  • Visited Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria

#EMUeuropetogether #EMUview


 

On the Mönchsberg with the city of Salzburg behind us

Capetown: Week 3 in South Africa

After 3 long days in the bus, including a 2.5 hour-long delay due to engine issues, we rolled into Capetown. As an exhausted and grateful bunch, we unpacked the bus, dragging our suitcases up 3 flights of stairs to our new home for the next 10 days. Many of us feel refreshed with the beach view from the back deck – a nice place to escape when we get tired of being in the same room (all 11 young women are sleeping in one room, and the 4 young men are in another). We share a common space and kitchen with other travellers and surfers from around the world.

In Capetown and with day trips to surrounding areas, we are learning about the colonial history of South Africa. Capetown is home to the first settlement of Dutch settlers. We visited places like the Castle of Good Hope and Company Gardens to get a taste of the history of the first settlers. We also visited places like Robben Island to continue learning about the Apartheid era. While driving to and from these places, we continue to observe obvious racial and economic disparities between neighboring areas based on housing, employment, and population density. For release and recreation to take a break from the heavy stories of harm, many of us participated in hiking, surfing, swimming, and napping. Below, several of us have answered a question reflecting on a meaningful experiences we had in the past week. At the end, we also included some brief responses to the 4 questions that have been guiding our group reflections. We as the Communications Team for the week wanted many people to contribute to the conversation. We hope you enjoy and learn from our reflections. Please feel free to add comments and questions to the response box.

  1. What was your experience with surfing and the beach we are living next to? (Addison)

The beach that we are currently living next to is absolutely beautiful. We have gotten to experience what life is like when you live by the ocean, and one everyday activity that many locals partake in is surfing. In my own personal experience, surfing was an incredible opportunity. For a lot of us, it was our first time surfing, and while it was a very grueling task, we all were able to stand up at least once! Many of us are definitely planning to surf again while we are here or when we get to our next destination.

  1. How have you experienced the change in food? What has been your favorite meal so far? (Olyvia)

The food here is amazing. Almost everything we have tried, we have enjoyed. The food can be spicier than what we are used to, such as the chakalaka, which is a yummy side consisting of vegetables and beans. Another food that is a staple here are pap, a corn based starch that is eaten at almost every meal. Some of my favorite foods here have been the braai (meat cookout), cake with custard, actually anything with custard and amagwena (fat cakes).

  1. What were some of your thoughts and reflections as you hiked Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point? (Aaron Z)

Cape Point was an amazing experience. If you want to truly experience the beauty and awe inspiring creation of God, visit Cape Point. Every new ridge you could see over gave you a whole new view. It felt like such a huge space, but at the same time we were at a very small point in South Africa. This really was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I wish I was able to show everyone it’s true beauty.

  1. Reflect on your experience at Boulder’s Beach. (Lukas)

Walking on to Boulder Beach reminded me of the Oregon coast but with warmer weather and penguins around each boulder. It was a great place to sit, relax, swim or explore and it provided a much needed rest after hiking for a majority of the morning. After hanging out at the beach for an hour or so, we walked on the boardwalk leading to gift stores, ice cream shops and street artist performers.

  1. Reflect on your experience at Robben Island. (JD)

We visited the infamous Robben Island. Robben Island was and still is a pivotal part of South Africa’s history. The prison housed regular criminals but mainly housed political activists who spoke against the South African Government. One prisoner by the name of Robert Sobukwe was kept in his own personal cell away from all the other prisoners because his ideology was highly feared. Robben Island was supposed to be a symbol of justice and peace but became the total opposite. My experience at Robben Island was not great. The Island brought up feelings of hate and fear. I constantly thought if I was alive at that time, I would most likely be a prisoner of this island. To me the Island still carries the same energy of hate and violence but at the same time is still building toward peace and reconciliation by offering a truthful story of what happened on the Island.

  1. Reflect on the morning Eucharist service at St. George’s Cathedral. (Maddie)

This service stood out to me in many ways. First of all, I was touched that we were welcomed even though the Cathedral was hosting a movie crew and set. We were not as warmly welcomed as we were in some of the churches from the past two weeks in Johannesburg, but nonetheless, we were thrilled to see the church through another lens. Growing up Catholic, I see a lot of similarities in the Eucharistic or Anglican service and the Catholic mass. The one thing that I adored about this service was that the priest was a colored woman. We would never see that in the Catholic church in the United States. The service was easy to follow and timely, as the other services we had attended were spirit-driven (the time of church was determined by the strength of the spirit that day). Overall, I am moved by the progression of the Anglican church and gender roles. I feel that gaining various spiritual views and experiences aids to the lens in which we see this country. These experiences also allow us to come to the understanding that no matter where we are in the world, we can all worship the same God and share the notion that he is alive!

  1. Reflect on your experience with hiking Table Mountain. (Rachel)

Hiking Table Mountain has been one of my favorite experiences so far. These past two weeks have required an immense amount of mental energy, so it was a nice change to exercise the physical body. As someone who often processes best during physical activity, it was a nice opportunity to reflect on some of the other learning experiences we have had thus far.

  1. How has your view on community struggle changed since hiking Table Mountain? (Alyssa)   Since hiking Table Mountain, community struggle has taken on a new image in my eyes. As we hiked, we encouraged, uplifted, and struggled with one another. We went up in three different groups, but all came to the realization that the hike would not have been possible without our community and sense of a mutual goal. This image has been illuminated countless times not only through the struggle of the hike, but has also taken place throughout every community we have learned about and/or experienced. Community is more than just a place; community is a people in unity as one working towards Ubuntu (“I am because we are.”Another way to say it is “A person is a person only through other people”). This concept has brought to light the fact that we are all one and that no matter the circumstances or struggles, we need each other.

  2. Compare and contrast your experience at Stellenbosch Motherchurch (Dutch Reformed) and Grace Community Church. (Holly)

Grace Community Church located in Colesberg is a passionate and lively black township church. Stellenbosch on the other hand is a Dutch Reformed in a former whites only town with European undertones. The similarity between these two churches is that they worship the same God and despite the vast differences, the spirit was able to move in both places.

On Sunday, May 19th we attended Grace Community Church. Immediately upon arrival we were greeted with smiles, hugs, and numerous welcomes. The building was one large room constructed with corrugated metal panels. The building was plain and simple but filled with loud, exuberant worship. During the service we were welcomed numerous times, danced, and were even invited to talk while Andrew was asked to give the sermon.

The next Sunday, the 26th, we attended The Dutch Reformed Church. Being a White, Stellenbosch was familiar even with the language barrier of Afrikaans. The building was conventional like what you would see in Europe. We sat in a pew, attentive to what the pastor had to say that day, sang songs with all of the same tunes that are found in the Mennonite Hymnal and yet there was still an eerie presence of discomfort. Apartheid history still looms over Stellenbosch as the theology and leaders of apartheid come out of the university and church there challenging my view of comfort.

A quote that has stuck with me throughout my time states, “We used to have the land and they had the Bibles. Now we have the Bibles and that have the land.” I find that this quote gets at the root of the differences between services.


Summary of responses from the whole group to 4 big questions that have guided our reflections:

What has been a high point?

Hiking Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, and at lighthouses

Boulder beach

Growing together as a group and being unified through experiences and desire for change and justice

Laughter and conversations around meals

Feeling alive and grateful to be in South Africa

What has been a low point/challenge?

Seeing differences in socioeconomic status in neighboring places

Experiences at Robben Island

Challenged to ask what do I do with this information when I go back to the States

Questioning comfortability

Overworking on food committee (shout out to Maddie, Lukas, and Kayla)

Being sick throughout the week

What have you learned?

Apartheid is still a reality

How we can learn about the history of our hometowns?

Realizing passions and what makes me feel angry

Hospitality is beautiful

Seeing similarities between South Africa and USA

The reality of relocation as breaking apart communities

Taking a risk to talk to people is rewarding

Do not sit comfortably in the status quo

We need to trust in God and encourage others to do the same

How have you seen God?

In the people hosting and feeding us

How we have come together as a group like a family

The Suderman kids – embodying love and joy through laughter, hugs, dancing, ukulele playing, surfing, and so much more

In the resistance groups we have learned about such as Fees Must Fall and Reclaim the City

Being challenged in our comfort

Hearing repeatedly the phrase, there is only one race, “the human race”

In the beauty of nature

-Lydia, Alyssa, and JD

Puerto Rico: Guanica

June 6, 2019

On Monday June 3 we went to Guanica, which is in the southwestern part of the island. We heard about the sugar factory that was actually located in a town called Ensenada. People who lived in Ensenada were able to work right there at the factory and when they got off work they could go to the store that was owned by the factory’s owners.   Our tour guide, Rudy, had a lot of information to offer. He told us that the land he inherited from his father, cost his father 50 cents at that time. He also told us that there were Puerto Ricans who migrated to Hawaii to show the Hawaiian people how to grow and process sugar. But the ship that was supposed to return never came back and so the Puerto Rican heritage was also in Hawaii. I found this interesting because he said that you can see and hear the difference between Native Hawaiians and Puerto Rican Hawaiians.

We finished with the tour early and decided to go on a spontaneous hike, which we were all excited to have some exercise with all the rice and beans we’ve been eating. When we got to the top we had a 360° view that had the ocean on one end and then the mountains and town on the other. It was breath taking and you could see God’s beautiful creation.

When we got to the bus, that’s when the group probably hit our lowest point in the trip. Most, if not all of us in the group were dealing with the feeling of homesickness and being in the null of the trip we were all feeling fairly down. When we got back we realized that over half the group’s backpacks had been stolen, mine included. I felt so many emotions and I didn’t know which one to let loose. There was this mixture of anger that someone would do this, and then sadness that a person would feel the need to do this, and also violation  because of personal things I had in my wallet. I think most of the group felt the same way.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the police station and got a small glimpse of how officials work in another context. Even though this was not an event we wanted to go through and feel this way, it definitely helped to bring us closer together as a group. Jenni and Adam were and still have been very strong leaders for us as we all had to learn this very difficult lesson. It’s been an amazing trip and even though it was only 3 weeks I think every person has grown in a new, positive way throughout the trip and we are not the same people as when we first came to this beautiful island!

~ Ryo Mazariegos

Group after our first salsa class