Aisha's Journey

  Casi después de 2 meses, llego el día esperado para ver “El Señor de los Anillos: las dos torres ”. Estuvo el clan original compuesto de Owen y Tanya con una integrante nueva, nuestra querida Dani. Aprovechamos el día libre para los asesores después del JONACAP (Jornada Nacional de Capacitación) para descansar con una buena película buenas conversaciones. A diferencia de la primera película, encontré que esta tenia muchos temas bien interesantes y estaba llena de esperanza. Voy a estar dando varios spoilers así que, si aún no la has visto, ¡te animo a que dejes el blog y veas la película lo más pronto posible! (Aunque son como unas 3 horas, pero bueno, ¡salen volando con tan buen contenido!) Hay demasiado de lo que se puede hablar de esta película, por ejemplo, la escena de exorcismo por un Gandalf Blanco, pero solo tocare algunos puntos.   Los Ents Parecido a las historias de Narnia, los ents de Tierra Media hablan. Aunque los ents tienen aspecto de árbol, son los p...

One of the downsides of living in a tropical climate is missing the change of seasons. It’s been a gift this past week to take a family road trip up north and enjoy cooler weather and colorful leaves. There have been warm days and then some cold ones. The trees are still in that strange transition from green to yellow and red. And although the changing of colors is a beautiful sight, they’re a reminder of the death that it brings. Slowly these trees will soon be out of leaves and bracing themselves from the winter cold. Currently it’s springtime in Chile. After a cold and humid winter, the sight of blooming flowers and bright colors are painting the landscape. Life has begun. How beautiful to be in this in-between, between death and life, the end and the start. I guess that’s the beauty of the seasons, there’s a transition and a hope of the future that makes the present worthwhile enjoying. The last time my family and I were able to enjoy fall up north was when I was just starting ...

There’s something about the “wilderness” that sounds daunting. It’s uncomfortable, vulnerable, negative. But time and time again, we see Scripture inviting us to reconsider, to read again. This last month, the theme of wilderness has been on my mind and has shown itself repeatedly in various readings. As part of the core passage we read in Florida’s Staff Conference, we read Exodus 15:22-27, immediately after the Israelites cross the Red Sea and start their journey to the Promise Land. For 3 days, the nation walked in the wilderness with no signs of water and when they finally make it, the water is too bitter for drinking. Interesting how God chooses this wilderness experience as the first taste of “freedom” for a nation held in captivity for over 400 years. I can only imagine the stress of walking 3 days without water just to find a source of bitter water to drink from. Complaining seems like a natural response. Yet in this passage, we also see an invitation of dependency on God, of...

Si me conoces sabes que me encanta encontrar nueva música y ver películas. Así que cuando salió la idea de poder ver “El Señor de los Anillos: la Comunidad del Anillo” con Tanya y Owen (amigos asesores en GBU), dije que sí. Cuando chica mis papas habían traído en VHS la primera película de “El Señor de los Anillos” creada en 1978. Lo único que me acuerdo es que tenía muchas criaturas raras y mucha confusión en la trama alrededor del anillo, así que nunca más lo vi. Entendiendo que es una historia altamente referida dentro del mundo cristiano, sabía que tarde o temprano tendría que ver por lo menos la película más actual. Pero como muchas cosas en la vida, se postergo. ¡Qué bueno es tener amistades! ¡La película fue fantástica! Tan fantástica que lo compartí con mi familia y lo vimos el próximo día todos juntos (¡les gusto!). Si aun no la has visto, recomiendo que uses este tiempo de encierro y disfruta una película que te dejara pensando por días. Aun nos falta ver las películas que ...

I’ve really enjoyed this practice of looking back at the previous month in perspective. Especially in times of quarantine with the days and weeks all losing their distinction, it reminds me of God’s faithfulness even in my confusion. June was a hectic month full of videocalls and virtual trips to Chile and back. Florida Was excited to co-teach the final section of the Nicene Creed for our summer cohort of Ancient Voices. We had tons of fun putting together the material for eschatology, the study of last things. I truly enjoy making the connection of faith and work, knowing that our work here on earth has eternal weight. Together we read Revelation 21 and analyzed this “New Jerusalem”, a city in which God will dwell with his people. How interesting it was to see human inventions and structures, such as streets and gates, in this city. However, many creation elements like the sun and moon won’t be found there. It certainly challenges our concepts of “heavenly” and “earthly” things as...

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.   One of the benefits of teaching is all the learning that is gained. It’s been exciting to go on this journey of reading about the Nicene Creed and learning of 1 st century Christians and their many contributions to the faith. Part of the class objective is to tell the stories of early Christian figures in order to connect them to our current reality and to encourage students to live their faith in public spaces. As I looked for an interesting story, I stumbled upon the story of St. Frumentius. If you have yet to hear of him, I encourage you to read this article from Christianity Today that does a great job in retelling the story and sharing the impacts we see today. One of the things that most interested me was the lasting impact that Frumentius and his brother had on what we now know as Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Chur...