WLS immersion trip prepares students for ministry
Ten students from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Mequon, Wis., returned from Torreón, Mexico, on Jan. 18 after spending two weeks in the Spanish Immersion Cultural Experience—a program designed to better equip future pastors to minister to growing Spanish-speaking populations both at home and abroad.
The highlight of the trip was the 7th annual Mequon-Mexico workshop—a two-day conference attended by the seminary students, WELS missionaries, and pastors and seminary students of WELS' sister synod, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mexico.
"The workshop is an opportunity for fellowship between the Mexican church and WELS, and provides some interaction between the two groups," says Rev. John Schuetze, WLS professor and coordinator of the trip. "It also strengthens our students and their ability to understand Spanish and the culture of Mexico."
"We got to work with the pastors and seminary students on real issues," says Ryan Cortright, second-year student at WLS. "Just by being there, we were learning ourselves and they were helping us. It's really a great thing that both seminaries can have that compañerismo, that fellowship every year." Paul Fritz, also a second-year student, says he enjoyed the cultural experience. "You're able to see that these students are the same as you are, and you see they have the same enthusiasm about the Word of God that you have."
As part of the program, seminary students studied the Spanish language intensively, visited cultural sites, and stayed with host families. "We want to strengthen our students and give them an opportunity to grow in their understanding of the culture and the language," says Schuetze. "Even if these students never serve overseas, odds are they'll be serving some people from Mexico in one way or another in their ministry."
