Exploring Mexico City: A Journey Through Flavor, Faith, and Culture

During JTerm 2025, two of our MDiv students Nathan Jansen and Evie Dykhouse traveled to Mexico for an experiential learning trip. Read their reflections below!

Nate Jansen:

“THE FOOD!”.  No phrase was more used before, during, and after our trip to Mexico City this past January.  The local cuisine unapologetically expands both you and your belt’s horizon.  It was so influential, I left Mexico wondering how long until “culinary spirituality” emerges as a new theological discipline with the sole mission of reminding people that God’s Creation still can in fact be good.  Here I give the disclaimer that you as the reader have to really sharpen your wisdom and discernment as your current author’s narrating style is the equivalent of bungee jumping. Don’t worry, we are heading back up.

Fellowship over food occurs in much more favorable conditions when the food is in fact good.  Our two hosts for the week were Moises and Elisa. They took us to some of the most heart wrenching shelters, where individuals have traversed over a thousands miles in hopes of paving a way to bring their families to safety and provision.  The meals after these visits were somber yet good.  Our wonderful hosts also took us to breathtaking and culturally important sites.  Whether massive pyramids unfathomable in size for their time period, or palaces and museums that strained our eyes as we sought to take in their beauty.  The meals after these visits were awe-filled and good.  Finally, the many memorials keeping alive the many tragedies that have scattered the country’s history were gut punches to our trust in humanity.  The meals after these visits filled our hungry stomachs while our hearts were still nauseous, but Moises and Elisa gave us hope as they remained buoyed in God’s love for his people, and that was so very good.      

Traveling becomes a bit more complex when your intentions are more than just constant dopamine.  Our trip to Mexico City was a flashpan of culture, learning, experiences, witnessing God at work in a foreign place, and yes, lots of dopamine.  Moises and Elisa opened up their world to us, not to entertain us, but because they share in the mission and vision of the Kingdom of God.  Our daily itinerary pulled back the lid on the scope at which God is at work in and through the people of Mexico City.  We weren’t just traveling in the present presence of God, we were witnessing every square inch in the endless presence of God.  Our beloved hosts, Moises and Elisa, shared vulnerably their own hopes and hurts amidst their current heavy investment in immigration ministry and parish life.  They acknowledged God has them in the fight today, but at some point they will have to step back to tend to their hearts, at which point they fully trust God will raise up people in their stead.  Their daily work and experiences bear witness on how to live simultaneously in grief and hope, a balancing act they do because they embody living Coram Deo – In the presence of God.  

Our trip was never about the food.  We appreciated that the food did help create a space for us to reflect and share; however, we know our trip was more than tortillas and carne al pastor.   Going to an unfamiliar place is about experiencing the Spirit working in our hearts in new and foreign ways.  It’s about seeing the Kingdom of God from across the street, across the border, and across the globe.  We get to meet other Kingdom citizens with whom we one day will share eternity.  While we travel, God goes before us, and we live before him.  Ultimately, our journeys, whether short trips or long stays, when lived Coram Deo, all give a taste of eternity in the presence of the Bread of Life.  I wonder how full the feast tables in the Kingdom of Heaven would be if we all exclaimed Jesus like we did “THE FOOD!”

Evie Dykhouse:

Our trip to Mexico City was wonderful! It was wonderfully fun, wonderfully beautiful, and wonderfully delicious, but it also challenged me with growth in wonderful and important, although often heart-wrenching, ways. 

When thinking about Nathan and my experience of Mexico City, the first word that comes to mind is vibrant. The pictures on my camera roll are delightfully bright with vibrant colors. The food was delicious, vibrant, and fresh. The dancing and music in the city was super vibrant with energy and enthusiasm. The markets were bustling with activity and so many vibrant things to look at and buy. Mexico City was beautiful! 

This beauty was also seen in a lot of the incredibly ornate basilicas and museums that we visited as well as all of the festive decorations that were set up everywhere for Christmas and Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day.) The landscape was stunning and we took in a lot of meaningful artistic pieces in places such as the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Museums. One of my favorite moments on the trip was when we kayaked on the canals and watched the sun rise over the mountains and volcanoes. It was so serene and an amazing time of marveling in God’s creation. 

At the same time, there was a lot of pain that we witnessed in Mexico City. Alongside of the towering buildings, we saw monuments, urging people not to forget a tender past. With the beautiful artwork that we saw, there was just as much paint on the sides of buildings and streets, lamenting the existence of violence and injustice. Contrasting the peaceful serenity, there were active protests and people striving to preserve history and past narratives or ways of life. We saw tilting buildings, askew from the aftereffects of earthquakes. Next to these buildings were rows of tents, serving as (hopefully) temporary homes. 

We had two amazing hosts, Moisés and Elisa, who helped us navigate these emotionally complex contexts that we were in. The most tangible time that I felt the hurt in Mexico City was in the time that we spent in shelters. While sharing a meal together, we heard stories of great fear, and the many trials associated with migration. My heart broke for those who were separated from their families and who were a long way from home, trying to redefine what home looks like for them. Sitting in these spaces was uncomfortable at times. I also know that it was a very important experience for my own formation as a pastoral leader. 

Our devotional times together with Moisés and Elisa helped us to reflect on what it means to see all people as our neighbors. My experience of what the church looks like transformed over the course of this trip. The call to be a Christian in these spaces means shedding those tears and seeking to do what you can for the flourishing of your neighbor. Now continues the important work of taking what we saw and experienced in Mexico City, and learning how to apply it with humility, compassion, and empathy towards all our neighbors.