Karla María Vásquez, who has served with SEMILLA Latin American Anabaptist Seminary since 2013, shares the heart of their work and partnership in this video.
SEMILLA — Spanish for “seed” — is based in Guatemala City. Its mission is clear:
To prepare men and women to follow and serve Jesus Christ faithfully, and thus to live out the reign of God with justice and peace today.
Founded in the early 1980s by Central American Anabaptist leaders amid regional conflict, today it provides biblical, theological and leadership training — in-person and remote — to hundreds of adult learners across Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond each year, serving multiple Anabaptist/Mennonite conferences.
SEMILLA’s core seminary work equips church leaders in context, yet it also operates several additional programs including:
- CASAS (Central American Study and Service) offers Spanish-language study, cultural immersion, intercultural education, lectures, trips, and homestays.
- Casa Emaús provides hospitality that supports both the seminary and visiting groups. These elements create a soft landing for newcomers while generating resources that sustain theological education.
How the CASAS program prepares Mission Network workers for service in Guatemala and the broader region
A current example is Seth and Stephany Rudeen. After intensive language study, cultural orientation, history lessons, and a short immersion with a host family in a Q’eqchi’ area through CASAS, they moved into service at the Q’eqchi’ Bezaleel Mennonite Educational Center (near San Pedro Carchá in Alta Verapaz). There they supported English learning, practical activities and relationships within the school and the wider Q’eqchi’ Mennonite Church community.
Prioritizing mutuality over one-sided “fixing”
As Vásquez explains, North American (and other international) workers are not arriving to repair a broken country or community. They come to serve and to learn — adapting to local needs, building reciprocal relationships, and allowing the community to shape how they contribute. CASAS softens the cultural and linguistic immersion so that service can be more effective and respectful from the start.
This approach reflects SEMILLA’s broader vision of seeds of hope: theological formation rooted in Anabaptist values of peace, justice, and community, combined with practical intercultural exchange that benefits both Latin American churches and international participants. Funds and connections generated through CASAS and hospitality help sustain the seminary’s work with local leaders. For visitors, students, and mission workers alike, the experience often deepens understanding of Guatemalan (and wider Central American) history, Indigenous cultures, faith expressions, and daily realities.
Through formal seminary studies for regional pastors and leaders, and all their programs, the result is relationships marked by shared learning, service shaped by local priorities and a lived witness to justice and peace in the present.
