Before I left on the trip I decided to make a map on Google to show where all we are going.聽 I’ve gradually updated bits and pieces while here, but as of the last two weeks, it will take me many hours to make any progress. We’ve been studying at Jerusalem University College.聽 We’re told....
Scripture comes alive in Israel
We are at the end of our time here at JUC (Jerusalem University College). Over the past two weeks we have found ourselves in a different sort of adventure each day, whether looking out at the battlefield of David and Goliath, sitting on the side of Mount Carmel, or floating in the Dead Sea. Scripture....
Exploration in Guatemala
We left for Tikal, Peten, at five in the morning. Most of us were dead on our feet until we received our brown bag breakfasts consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt. As of lately, peanut butter has become a hot commodity in our group. You could bribe someone with just a jar....
Bringing peace, burying bones
One of our sessions included a field-trip to the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG).聽 Our entire time here everything we learn seems to connect in some way to the years of violence Guatemala has experienced.聽 Over 200,000 people have died or disappeared in the conflict and despite the signing of the peace accords in 1996,....
Discovering Beauty in Simplicity
This weekend鈥檚 trip to the Cob谩n area was, for me, a chance to discover beauty in simplicity.聽 On Friday night we ate supper with missionaries Galen and Phyllis Groff.聽 They had simply ordered pizza, but it was delicious and we had a wonderful time learning from them about the culture of the indigenous Kekchi people.聽....
Life in Guatemala – bridal shower and bartering
My time so far in Guatemala has been enjoyable and I am experiencing a lot. My host family is really wonderful! My host brother is actually getting married next weekend and I was invited to his fiancee’s bridal shower. This was a new experience for me because I have never been to a bridal shower....
Reports from Palestine
Marhaba, everyone! Hello from Beit Sahour, Palestine, where the group will be staying for the next two and a half weeks.聽 Our time in Beit Sahour will be spent touring Palestine, studying Arabic, listening to lectures from professors at Bethlehem University College, and interacting with our host families.聽 Lucas and I are staying with Adeeb,....
Trusting God in Guatemala
During my time in Guatemala, I certainly have felt the presence of God. I feel so vulnerable living in a large city where I don’t know the language, 聽and living in a country that has more violence and danger than I knew before coming. Yet God has given me a sense of peace and protection,....
Tourism – Consumerism
Chichicastenango: a tourist trap, but a necessary trap.聽 On Friday night a group of us, Brent, Allison, Stacy, and me, just to name a few were walking down the streets of Chichi when an indigenous woman, Manuela, and her daughter, Elena, invited us to her house.聽 So being the ignorant people we were we went....
First reports from Egypt and Jordan
It鈥檚 not too often that in the span of 12 hours one is blessed with the opportunity to watch the sunrise and sunset on top of the roofs at Anafora Retreat Center in Egypt! Meals lit by candle light, learning sessions lead by a Bishop of the Coptic Church, evening prayer illuminated by candle light,....