October 3 to 6, Santa Juana de Lestonnac Educational Institution in Medellín opened its doors to 80 people who gathered to experience the Explorer Challenge 2026 together. The experience began on Saturday with the participants’ arrival, the distribution of symbolic items and wristbands, and team-building activities. That same evening, gathered around the campfire, we celebrated the opening Eucharist. Sunday was filled with community challenges guided by different pathways, each leading participants to moments of reflection and teamwork. The day culminated in a Legacy Night, during which the delegations joyfully shared their cultures and talents.
On Monday, after a sending prayer, we set out to explore the city with attentive eyes and open hearts, seeking to recognize and listen to God’s presence along the way. Divided into three groups, participants visited different locations. One group went to the Nueva Jerusalén neighborhood, in the upper part of the municipality of Bello, while another visited the Don Bosco City Foundation in Robledo Aures. In both places, they met with children and young people, sharing a joyful time of recreation, games, fun, and fellowship. The third group visited the Landiras community, home to our older sisters. This was a time of listening, conversation, and storytelling that filled hearts with new faces and lasting memories. Later, when everyone came back together, participants shared what they had experienced.
In the afternoon, the Planetarium welcomed us for the “New Dawn Parable” experience, along with two additional workshops that helped participants appreciate the richness of art and astronomy as companions on a journey of discovery, inviting them to look toward the horizon of a “New Dawn” with hope and fresh perspectives. Finally, we returned to the school to conclude the day with one last experience along the Treasure pathway. On Tuesday, we said goodbye with the sending celebration, the closing ceremony, the presentation of commemorative wristbands, and the closing Eucharist.
This experience was made possible thanks to the support and generosity of many people and institutions. We are deeply grateful to all the schools of the Pacific Province, the alumni who took part, Father Romel Pastrana, SJ, the Jesuit priest, the Planetarium team, the communities of Medellín, the Company of Mary Lay Network of Antioquia, the Don Bosco City Foundation, the Nueva Jerusalén Parish, the friends of the Company of Mary, and the families of all the participants, whose trust made this gathering possible.
Eighty people arrived to take on a challenge and returned home with the mission of being a light wherever they go, because the New Dawn no longer remains in Medellín; it now lives in each one of them.
