John 5:1-8 “I am聽the true vine,聽and my Father is the gardener.聽2聽He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,聽while every branch that does bear fruit聽he prunes[a]聽so that it will be even more fruitful.聽3聽You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.4聽Remain in me, as I also remain in you.聽No....
Vayan con Dios
April 16th-April 22nd Monday was our last full day with our host families. This time, some of the goodbyes seemed to be a bit easier than they were in Guatemala City. We have had our share of practicing. As Abdu鈥檒-Baha said goodbye to a group of friends on this date 100 years ago he stated,....
Mexico
March 29 This week, our excursion was to the city of Tlaxcala. First, we tried the pulque we have been learning about. Pulque is an alcoholic drink made from the liquid honey-like substance in the maguey cactus. It is kind of thick and sour tasting. We decided that it tasted similar to sourdough bread. Many....
Hiking the Jesus Trail
Where has the time gone?聽 We have only two more days left in the Middle East!聽 Next is Athens, which I am excited about.聽 However, I will be very sad to leave Israel.聽 Middle Eastern culture is what I’ve known for almost three months now.聽 I’ll miss the calls to prayer from the mosques, the....
Open your heart
March 25 Wow, it is hard to believe that we are now in our final weeks of cross-cultural.聽 As the excitement of returning home starts settling in, I remind myself that I need to continue to be present in the here and now so that I can continue to learn and be blessed by the....
The God We Can’t Predict
March 3, 2012 Discovering the unexpectedness of God seems to be a theme these days. We talked in class this morning about God鈥檚 鈥渟ealing of the covenant鈥� with Abraham. Back in the day, there were little kings and big kings. The little kings would make pacts with the big kings to be loyal to them.....
From Guatemala to Mexico
March 4 Our time here in Guatemala is almost over. And I honestly am struggling to believe it. It seems as though just yesterday I was nervously anticipating meeting my family, struggling to understand anything anyone said to me, and marveling at the different new world I had found myself a part of. The past....
Beauty
Beauty. If I had one word to describe my time here so far, I would have to choose that one. The energy of the Egyptians, the hospitality of the Bedouins in Jordan, the honor and passion I saw in every Palestinian, and the diverse landscapes of Israel all fall into this one-word description. All of....
Becoming part of the family
As we approach the end of our time in Guatemala, I have been thinking about my many memories here. Many of these are memories are from the time I鈥檝e spent with my host family. From the first weekend, as they had to listen to me try to speak broken Spanish, to the time when I....
Listening
February 15, 2012 It鈥檚 easy to say 鈥渢ear down the walls!鈥� It鈥檚 easy to say 鈥渨e need peace!鈥� It鈥檚 easy to say these things, but do people actually believe them? Do people want them for the correct reasons? It鈥檚 really hard to listen to this man who doesn鈥檛 believe in the Palestinians. He isn鈥檛 the....