Aisha's Journey

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 ...

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...

Truthfully, this reflection should’ve been written a while ago. Yes, maybe it’s a combination of procrastination and trying to get used to this new reality of living under quarantine. But as I sit in front of my laptop and try to find the words to describe EFO, I realize that beyond it being a training event, EFO was a time of testing, polishing, resting, and finding comfort of living in the tension.  As many of you know, for the month of February I was in Colombia for a month long training called EFO. Every 3 years, IFES gathers new staff from all over Latin America for an intensive training equipped with 1 week of missions locally. To learn a little more click here to read my previous posts about EFO. Although coming from Miami means I have friends that come from all over Latin America and the world, there is something entirely new in being immersed in a foreign country. To be honest my first thought about Colombia was coffee, music, and warmth. And although I wasn’t e...

With my roommate finally back from Spain, I have been able to ask her about her time there and learn of this pilgrimage. The first time I heard of the Camino de Santiago was when my roommate shared with the interns why she was going to Spain. The Camino de Santiago is known as a Christian pilgrimage. It's on the same list as the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome. Although it has increasingly become secularized, this hike was used since Medieval times to travel to the shrine of St. James as well as to pay penance to the Catholic church. Since then, it is used as a hike to find answers and grow spiritually. I've been fascinated by the idea of there being a hike like this for so long! The longest route is 500 miles, however, there are many routes to get to the end place. Because of the history of this hike, many Christian groups go with the purpose of meeting others on the trail who are trying to find answers. As I asked my roommate about her experience, I was ...

I named this post "thoughts" because I just want to share some of the things I have been processing and reflecting on lately. This past weekend was very interesting and a new experience for me. Both my roommates were gone, one left Wednesday and the other on Thursday. They had both shared with me previously and were caring in terms of finding different options of how I could spend the next 3 days well. I didn't know what to expect. I began to worry that I would lose track of time and daydream or resort to trivial activities to keep me from boredom. I thought I would become increasingly homesick and have a horrible weekend thinking of my family and the different things they would be doing instead. I am glad none of the above were the outcome! I not only had a very productive weekend, but a much needed time alone. I was not bored at all because there was so much I had to do, but I was also given time to reflect and think in times where I would regularl...

Last Sunday I was unable to post because so much was going on. To share a little bit, yesterday I was able to finish a group project for my accounting course. This was a project that took many hours of compiling information and communication with the members of the group. Now, all that's left is the final! WORK   This week has been full of new projects back at HOPE. I have been given assignments that will be longer term and require research. It's been interesting to see how the numbers correlate and tell the story of HOPE. I am currently working on an international Microfinance Institution (MFI) of HOPE and have been tasked to research and understand the local laws in concerns with banking ratios. Some new terms and vocabulary I have been looking into have been: Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR): This is a ratio requirement of the amount of capital a bank must have reserved for "rainy days". Each nation may have different % requirements, however, the average ...

Second Sunday!! So you might be wondering the meaning of my title. This week I have been blessed to have friends who have cared for me, and it's all been through food. I have been reminded of the beauty of friendship and it has taught me things of myself and of being a better friend. After a hectic Tuesday, we were able to start our first day in the office Wednesday. However, because of all the orientation we had, Thursday was our first day working. Up to this point, all our meals had been provided for us. I was excited that the moment would come where I would prepare my first lunch. I had the easiest cook-in-the-microwave meals to try-out. The day before, I made sure to have everything put into containers and then stuffed into my lunchbox. I was ready to start right! It was Thursday morning and as I was ready to go outside, I realized it was raining. I ran to get my coat and in all the hectic movement of things, left the lunchbox by the front door. I only realized wh...