Since early January, Sister Teresa Geiser has generously shared her time and wisdom at SEMILLA, guiding quilting workshops that became far more than technical training. What began as a craft practice unfolded into a spiritual and communal experience: each stitch binds stories, each scrap holds memory, and each design reveals the beauty of reconciled diversity.…

Yanett Palacios, pastor of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Roca del Salvación in Guatemala City, was born in Nebaj, a region plagued by the worst violence of the 1980’s. As a child, Yanett witnessed the assassination of her grandfather as he played marimba. She also lost many other family members, neighbors, and friends. Yanett reflects, “Fear and…

I was just a 13-year-old girl when the so-called internal armed conflict began in Guatemala. I wondered why there was so much hatred and resentment, why there was such discrimination against indigenous populations. Later, as a young woman studying for a psychology degree, I experienced the disappearance and assassination of many professors and fellow students…

I was raised in a rural village in the Department of Chiquimula in Guatemala. My father raised coffee and my mother taught school. It was a wonderful time for me. But one day, when I was ten, a group of soldiers came to my house. They beat and tortured my father in front of my…

Update from a SEMILLA Graduate and Former Board Member Ricardo Membache has a unique ministry among the Wounaan people of Panama and Colombia. Richard currently serves with the Panama Mission Foundation, an organization that reaches out to this indigenous group in remote areas to share the gospel. Pastoral Training at SEMILLA Ricardo began his involvement…

José Miguel López Clemente Joins Seminary Leadership in New Vice Rector Role José Miguel López Clemente is not a new face on the SEMILLA campus. He first learned about SEMILLA 15 years ago from his pastor, Samuel Martínez, who shared with him about the seminary’s contribution to the life of the churches through its training…

One Young Man Finds Hope and Opportunity through SEMILLA Seminary Vidal Altamirano left Nicaragua for the United States a couple of years ago, where the military had threatened him because of his participation in student protests with his university. After spending nearly two years in a detention center in Arizona, he was deported home. While…

On March 12, 2021, SEMILLA seminary students in Costa Rica celebrated their graduation with José Miguel presiding. While not all pictured here, 25 students graduated from Bible Institute studies, and 11 graduated with a Bachillerato in Bible and Pastoral Theology.  

SEMILLA and CASAS Offer Online Classes A year ago, SEMILLA would not have imagined going almost completely online with its programming. But pushed by necessity through the pandemic, the Seminary now offers online theological education to groups in seven Central American countries and Colombia. Panamanian Seminary Students A group of students from Panama participates in…