Across the country, MVS (Mennonite Voluntary Service) 2025-26 service terms are now in full swing, with new and returning participants starting placements, exploring neighborhoods, and forging community together. Here is a glimpse into the first week at the Tucson, Arizona, MVS unit – as told by participants Hannah Lehman (returning for a second year), Lleyton Stutzman, and Juan Witmer, edited for length. Registration is now open for the 2026-27 service year! Click here for more information and to apply.
Hannah Lehman (2024-26 Tucson MVSer)
I was SO ready to get back to Tucson. I enjoyed being back home but after just three weeks of “not doing anything,” I started to feel like my life didn’t have any purpose. Our capitalistic society is partially to blame for this, conditioning me to attribute my self-worth to my output. I also no longer feel “at home” in my home and now interact with it more as a unit to store items and memories. All that to say, I’m grateful to be in Tucson and confident that I made the right choice to return!
I anticipated correctly that the transition to different housemates would take some getting used to. Although the program is the same, I can already tell that this year will be different. Not better or worse, just different. We’ve had some good times together so far and I’m excited to see what this year holds!
This first week has been a week of orientation to Tucson, the program, and each other. We went to many dinners, swam in some pools, visited some museums, and did a scavenger hunt.
Labor Day is our last day of orientation, and we are spending it on Mt. Lemmon. Although it has been a fun week, I am itching to get back to work at CHRPA (Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona) and have a regular schedule.
Lleyton Stutzman (2025-26 Tucson MVSer)
As someone who didn’t know anything about Tucson before this year, here are a few facts that I have found to explain some parts of the city.
The greater Tucson area has a population of around one million, however, it feels much smaller, as it is spread out. The U.S.-Mexico border is about an hour drive away. The University of Arizona is located in downtown Tucson, adding some familiar college town elements. The Davis Monthan Air Force base is located in the southern part of Tucson and is very near to the MVS house. Military planes are a common sound.
The Tucson MVS program originated in 1973 by snowbird Mennonites who also built the house in which we live. Shalom Mennonite Fellowship is the only Mennonite congregation in Tucson and is located on the same property. I have attended two services, thus far, and am still adjusting to it, but I have enjoyed meeting some of the members. One cool aspect is that while the service is primarily in English, live translations are available in Spanish and Swahili.
CHRPA, the organization where all three of us will be volunteering, is also located right next to the house. CHRPA provides essential home repairs for low-income homeowners in the Tucson region.
Our time so far in Tucson has involved an orientation week consisting of learning about and visiting various parts of the city, trying new foods, meeting new people and getting to know the support committee. Alongside Lisa Showalter, our wonderful program coordinator, there is a support committee made up of different individuals who all have a connection to Tucson MVS or Shalom Mennonite. I have already seen how they are dedicated to ensuring that our time in Tucson is as good as it can be. As a bonus, Lisa’s family and all the families of the support committee members have been present at the different introductory events, making the support committee even bigger! Some of the other events have included a scavenger hunt around the city, going to the Tucson Museum of Art, learning about the enneagram (I am a three), swimming in support committee members’ pools, and orientation zoom calls with the other MVS units.
The other activity that I have spent a lot of time doing has been cycling. I was fortunately able to bring my own bike on the plane, allowing me to get right into riding. As of writing this, I have ridden eight of my nine mornings in Tucson. Due to the heat of the summer, it is pretty much essential to wake up early and ride. This has meant that I wake up before the sun rises and go to bed around when the sun sets, which has been a bit of an adjustment, however I will also need to do this for work at CHRPA. I already have two big cycling plans, riding up Mt. Lemmon, a 7,000-foot climb right outside of Tucson, and El Tour de Tucson, a 100-mile race that will happen later in November.
While biking I have been lucky to spot a lot of different animals: a rattlesnake, many roadrunners, a javelina (looks sort of like a pig), a coyote and I believe a bobcat. As a group we happened upon a friendly desert tortoise who didn’t want to get out of the road.
Juan Witmer (2025-26 Tucson MVSer)
My journey to Tucson started on August 23rd. The flight was rougher than I expected because of the turbulence, but I made it in one piece. I waited for Hannah and Lleyton to pick me up from the airport and drop me off at the MVS Tucson house.
After choosing my room, I unpacked my clothes and settled in. That night, as a group, we went to Lisa Showalter’s house to swim and have dinner. It was a wild first entrance to Tucson — full of new people and new names.
On Sunday, we went to church and met lots of new people who were curious about my story and who I am. It made me reflect on the question: Who am I, and what is my story?
It was a long week of orientation, full of important information — and lots of cheeseburgers too! My favorite part of orientation week was visiting the Tucson Museum of Art. I especially appreciated the two pieces dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Try a Sonoran hot dog if you get the chance!
