Virtual travels

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 well as the meaning given to work.

Overall, we had great feedback from students who attended weekly meetings. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside gifted staff and participate in creating teaching material from scratch.

We’re glad to have finished reading “Wait With Me” with the students from South Florida. This has been our first ever book club and it’s been a total success! The students agreed they were all interested in reading a second book together and we’ve had a few more join after hearing their friends were enjoying it. On a personal level, I’ve been thankful to read through this book and ponder on the theme of loneliness as it pertains to the season of life I’m currently in. No amount of videocalls in a day can take away that deep desire to be known and loved, how reassuring to know that Jesus meets us there and invites us into loneliness.

Chile

Alongside Barbara (my co-worker in GBU Temuco) we decided to have meetings with all 10 of the student leaders. It was a great time to be introduced to many students I had seen in previous calls but hadn’t gotten the chance to talk with. The aim of our calls was to see how they were doing with GBU, studies, and with their personal relationship with Jesus. It was greatly encouraging to see students open up about their personal lives and struggles through this time in quarantine. We’re glad that these spaces through videocalls created safe spaces to be vulnerable.

Each Tuesday GBU has been hosting Instagram Live sessions interviewing the staff members. Not only did it give me a reason to ditch the sweatpants and sweatshirts, it was tons of fun! The interview was in Spanish and gave a great space for students in GBU as well as many others to learn and ask questions about me and the work I do as a staff. 

I was also able to sign up for my first class through MOCLAM, a ministry dedicated to offering theological education to Latin America. I’ve never taken a theological course but have always been interested in it. For 10 weeks, we will be studying through the book of Ephesians. Our cohort is pretty diverse with students connecting from all Latin America including Mexico, Venezuela and Peru to name a few. It’s been a few years since I last took a class but I’m glad to have a study group where we meet weekly to complete homework and discuss the material further.

Lastly, I’m grateful for the invitation to lead 2 workshops for GBU. In Temuco, I was able to convince a few students to wake up a little earlier than is usual for a college student on a Saturday (10 am) and learn a few tools to make our virtual lives easier. We used various Google Drive tools and learned how these help with personal organization as well as working in teams. I also got to share a few sites such as Mentimeter and Kast that are great tools for online meetings and activities. I’ve had the chance to visit the group of Iquique and was also invited to share an evangelism workshop with them. Iquique is on the northern tip of Chile, a city that for years has had a difficult time finding a stable presence on campus. Had we been in another time, it would’ve been a journey to think of conducting a workshop, but thanks be to the internet! It was so exciting to show various tools that help us share the gospel with friends and strangers. At the same time, I was reminded that the fear of rejection and failure are the same felt by people of all places and time. Only by the grace of the Holy Spirit can those around us come to an encounter with God. I know God has great things in store for Iquique and am glad to be connected with them!