Andrews University Agenda

Andrews University Agenda http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/ News and Events at Andrews University en-us Copyright 2024, Andrews University Sat, 23 Nov 2024 19:32:00 +0000 Sat, 23 Nov 2024 19:32:00 +0000 webmaster@andrews.edu webmaster@andrews.edu Alayne Thorpe http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/52901 <p> My earliest memories are all connected to education—my father, a fifth/sixth grade teacher, teaching his students and working with those who needed extra instruction, my mother baking cookies for his classroom, my father taking his class on a picnic and playing games with them. I learned two important lessons from these early, chalk- and book-filled years—education is a sacred profession where a good and caring teacher can change a student’s life and, from my mother, all children can learn and are worth your respect.</p> <p> These lessons remained with me, even after my father and mother were both hospitalized and I had to help my grandmother raise my younger siblings (two brothers and a sister). It was because of my parents’ illnesses that we first came into contact with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. My father spent a number of months in what used to be called the Washington Adventist Sanitarium (now Hospital) in Takoma Park, Maryland, and our family was “adopted” by the small church attached to the hospital. Church members brought food to help my mother, provided child care for my siblings, and, most importantly, gave us Bible studies in our home. And through their loving efforts, I learned another important lesson—that a church filled with committed Christians can keep a family together.</p> <p> I was lucky enough to earn full scholarships for college and attended the University of Maryland so that I could continue to help my mother with my brothers and sisters. When I was 19, my mother, my sister and one of my brothers and I were baptized as Seventh-day Adventists. My father was baptized the following year, less than 11 months before he died.</p> <p> I began working for the Seventh-day Adventist Church first as a curriculum specialist and editor for Home Study Institute, eventually becoming a faculty member at Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) and, ultimately, vice president for Education for Griggs International Academy/Griggs University (GIA/GU). I feel that the Lord has blessed me in my professional life. By working at GIA/GU, I have been able to work with students at almost every level from preschool through graduate school and in many countries.</p> <p> Under the leadership of Joseph Gurubatham, GIA/GU became an educational equivalent of ADRA, working with educational institutions around the world to build local capacity, making it possible for students in Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, India, Venezuela, Eastern Europe, China and, yes, even in underserved communities in the U.S., to have access to Adventist education.</p> <p> Joseph Gurubatham was an exceptional mentor who helped me to realize that Adventist institutions could work together to find solutions for Black South African pastors who, because of Apartheid, were unable to benefit from the training available to their white colleagues. In South Africa, GIA/GU offered pastoral training programs in collaboration with Bethel College and the General Conference. For six years, I had the pleasure of traveling to South Africa and watching students who completed high school equivalency programs, then associate degrees and, ultimately, bachelor’s degrees. More than 200 pastors were helped through this collaboration. I have never experienced a more joyful graduation than that first graduation at Bethel College—the singing and crying and, yes, dancing in celebration of the accomplishments of the students.</p> <p> I worked together with Valley View College (now University) to offer government-approved degree programs for more than 100 students, many of whom now serve the church as pastors and administrators around the world.</p> <p> And with Newbold College to provide undergraduate education to pastors in the Balkan states after the fall of Communism. We had students who spent years in prison because of their beliefs but who were finally able to study theology.</p> <p> And with students in West Africa who were not able to take government exams because they were offered only on the Sabbath. For these students, we worked with the West-African Division to develop a high school equivalency exam that the colleges and universities could use for admission.</p> <p> Or students in mainland China, working in collaboration with Taiwan Adventist College and Hong Kong Adventist College.</p> <p> I have had the pleasure of working with people such as Marion Hartlein, Erma Lee, Larry Blackmer and Arne Nielsen to help K–12 schools throughout the North American Division to supplement programs and support students who need something the local school cannot offer.</p> <p> The Lord has blessed me in that I have seen the transformative power of Adventist education up close—in the lives of hundreds of students who were helped because institutions, organizations and church entities were able to look beyond their institutional barriers and toward the needs of the students.</p> <p> There is one story I will never forget—we worked for many years with a number of Job Corps Centers throughout the U.S. (career training programs and Griggs International Academy provided the opportunity for their students to complete high school). We were packing boxes to move GIA/GU to Andrews University when I was called to the front desk where a young woman waited for me. She wanted to shake my hand and to say thank you. She’d had a baby at 13 and dropped out of school, but she was determined to change her life. Because of the partnership between Griggs and Job Corps, she had finished high school, gone to community college and was working for the Postal Service. She pulled a picture of her daughter out of her wallet and told me, “This is what you have done. You have changed my life. You have changed her life, and I just wanted to say thank you.”</p> <p> I know that for every success story, there may be many failures, but without educational opportunities, there are no success stories. So, what have I learned in my life? The power of Christian education to transform, the power of collaboration to make transformation possible, and, most of all, that what is best for the student is more important than what is best for me.</p> <p> Everywhere I look at Andrews University, I see the power of Christian education in the faces of students on our campus and off, graduate and undergraduate, face-to-face and online. What a blessing it is to play a small role in helping the transformation to take place.</p> Mon, 29 Apr 2019 13:55:54 +0000 Newton Hoilette http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/51301 <p> My life really started in high school in Jamaica. I was in an Anglican school at the time and determined to be a doctor; I would have been like Albert Schweitzer if my mother had her wishes. But being one of only four Adventists in the school, I soon found myself a witness and that, along with being very active in my local church, made me passionate about making a difference in the community and the lives of individuals.</p> <p> It was natural, then, when I went to West Indies College to become engaged in evangelism and ministry in addition to studying for my bachelor’s degree in theology. I found leadership instinctive and with outstanding mentors in my mother and church elders my path developed towards being a pastor, a youth minister with particular interest in Pathfinders.</p> <p> That is where my career officially started: inclusive of being a pastor in Jamaica, conducting a large tent crusade, directing the conference youth camp, visioning and building up a new campground—working 24/7 literally, driven by passion for young people. But God had even bigger plans for me, and so I was called to West Indies College as a dean of men. God’s ways are not always understood, and I didn’t understand them then, neither did many of my colleagues. But I followed God’s leading and soon realized why. I am still friends today with the young men whom I worked with and for at that time.</p> <p> I continued to follow God’s leading through an MA at Andrews University, a supporting area of church administration with a concentration in counseling, as well as an EdD in educational psychology and counseling with a minor in religious education. After graduation in 1979, I returned to West Indies College with wider responsibilities of dean of students and academic dean but still passionate about students. There I led the first formidable self-study of West Indies College, with the view of attaining college-wide accreditation, which was presented to the Ministry of Education.</p> <p> It was in 1982 that, due to the medical needs of my wife, I finally moved to the United States permanently, making my home in the Detroit/Southfield area. There I became director of clinical services for a neuropsychiatric clinic and subsequently program manager for chronic pain management in a local hospital. I loved working in that environment because again I saw myself as helping people.</p> <p> In 1988, when I was called to be vice president for Student Services at Andrews University, it was a hard decision on the one hand to move from my comfortable life, but on the other hand it was passion for the youth of the church that moved me to accept. The salary drop was over 50 percent, but I believe it was God-ordained. My first year I traveled from Southfield, leaving at 4:30 in the morning and sometimes returning home after midnight after leaving my office on campus after 9 p.m. I didn’t mind, not only because of passion but also because I believed that God had prepared me for this job at this time. I had experience in all nine departmental areas which fell under my responsibilities: from student activities to the counseling center to residence halls to the medical center to discipline to campus ministries to career planning and placement to international student services and intramurals.</p> <p> There are some very specific memories of Andrews University which I cherish. They include the contributions I made and that which I tried to bring to the table. I had been taught by my mother to be myself and to present well, so I always wore a suit and a tie, together with a matching pocket piece! It was critical to me to be intentional as a role model, particularly for minority students, hopefully showing them the value of pride in personal appearance. I also introduced the worship service known as New Life Fellowship so that students could experience a familiar worship style and be actively engaged in that worship and initiated a mentoring program for minority students through the formation of the Black Faculty Fellowship in 1989. I also initiated and inspired the genesis of the development of the Socrates Project in Benton Harbor.</p> <p> During those years at Andrews I originated, developed and presented to the Board my vision for and the concept of a “gymnatorium” (a combination of a new gymnasium and auditorium space, complete with facilities for wellness activities inclusive of a new swimming pool, a walking track, basketball, racquetball, etc.). I could see huge student need for these spaces and, as I stated then, this new facility would enhance the recruiting efforts of the University. The Board voted the building of this facility in support of my vision. Other projects such as Buller Hall, already on stream, were in the planning stages. The Howard Performing Arts Center emerged as a donor gift (which met part of the need I had envisioned). Then three years ago, two of my former colleagues, the vice president for University Advancement and vice president for Student Life met with me to give me the good news that my dream was finally in the process of realization. I was able to see for myself the evolution of the plans I had originally sketched with content, now in an architectural form. The former president then affirmed the reality of my building the next day in church. I am finally pleased that my vision and dream will be realized with the new Andreasen Center for Wellness.</p> <p> I was also involved in other campus-wide initiatives and made connections in organizations beyond the campus. In 1989, faculty and staff service awards banquet recognition was improved and enhanced through my direct involvement and effort by creating certificates, plaques and monetary gifts for recipients at determined five-year levels.</p> <p> In 1991 I was invited to become a member of the Consultant Evaluator Corps of the North Central Accrediting Association of Schools and Colleges/Universities, now known as the Higher Learning Commission. Upon leaving Andrews, I received due recognition for my 12 years of valuable service from the Corps.</p> <p> However, all the projects and interests I engaged in were all important only because of my passion for students. That is why on Sabbaths my wife, Elaine, and I would host an average of 25 students (along with faculty and staff) for lunch, as just one indication of our love and nurture for students. We wanted to give them a respite, to invest in them, because we wanted them to understand their value and potential. Lives were changed and commitments to service and the gospel were made. I believe that is why the former president presented me with the J.N. Andrews replica, “Legacy of Leadership,” endorsed to me and my beautiful wife who served along with me for the 15 years of my vice presidency.</p> <p> I left Andrews 15 years ago, but I want you to know that my passion for students at Andrews is still alive and well. I am proud of my daughter, Dr. Leesha Hoilette, who celebrates 25 years as an alumnus of Andrews Academy and am also proud that my adopted granddaughter Maya Nelson is in her junior year at Andrews. The legacy continues.</p> Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:11:00 +0000 Dominique Gummelt http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/49735 <p> My parents had unanimously decided on my name before I was even an idea: Dominique. It means “belonging to God.” Then they were told they could not have children. Eleven years later, I found my way into this world anyway. My parents thought I was a miracle. A miracle, they realized quickly, was going to be a handful of work!</p> <p> I was never tired, had massive amounts of energy, was always excited about everything and decided to never waste time. I started walking when I was nine months old and climbed on everything. I was always happy, loved to laugh, enjoyed mischief and would turn everything into a loud song accompanied by a choreographed dance (including spontaneously at church). It became clear: I was hyperactive. I did not want to sleep at night or take naps—I wanted to play, enjoy life and experience adventures!</p> <p> And truly, this is what my life journey has been: an exciting adventure including built-in obstacle courses! I have moved at least 26 times; I survived an avalanche and a big earthquake; my family fell apart when I was 10, and I left home at age 16; I have had jobs cutting onions, cleaning toilets, sorting books, serving French fries and teaching ballet to 3-year-olds; I have crossed the Atlantic at least 50 times; I am a chocoholic; I lost 0-6 0-6 to the number one player in Poland; I love tennis and soccer; I almost died in a horseback-riding accident; I gained over 50 pounds at one point (and lost it again); I love music and singing; I miraculously learned how to walk again after a back injury; I have two citizenships; I am a survivor of long-term abuse in my childhood and adulthood; I have the best mother and people in the world in my life. But most importantly, I decided that belonging to God required action and not just a name.</p> <p> Tennis has taught me important life lessons. My favorite one is “always get balls back”—meaning that no matter what ball comes at you, no matter how fast, no matter with what spin, no matter how short or how long or how high…you hustle, focus, listen to your coach, make every moment count; you position yourself and hit that ball back with aim, with precision, with purpose and get yourself back into an offensive advantageous position. You cannot control what types of balls come flying at you, but you can choose how you react and return them.</p> <p> I have learned that living life to the fullest potential is a daily choice to get balls back with passion, joy, enthusiasm, discipline, determination, love, compassion, teamwork and a fighting spirit. Some days it will be hard, some days it will be easy, some days you want to give up and some days you will dominate the ball; but no matter what, you will always play on the winning team if you choose to belong to God’s team.</p> Mon, 18 Jun 2018 14:00:26 +0000 Jordan Smart http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/49206 <p> I was born in Rochester, New York, the child of Jamaican parents. I didn’t realize it until later, but my parents sacrificed so much in coming to the United States to give my brother and me the life they wanted for us. And they were amazing, too, at watching what I had an interest in and then encouraging that interest. For example, in my early childhood my mother saw how much I loved to draw, so she got me all I needed to create pictures. But soon those weren’t pictures on their own. I started to develop piles of pictures—rather like cartoons—and made them into stories. That is where I think my love of stories and my belief in the power of storytelling started. I was sure I wanted to be a cartoonist or photojournalist.</p> <p> The structure of school life and the social pressure to qualify for a job that made money really drove my life in later childhood and into college, and I recently graduated with a degree in psychology. However, while studying psychology I only recognized more and more the power of storytelling and the unique value of everyone’s story. I also became convicted that storytelling is a gift God has given me and that whatever I do, that will be a medium I use.</p> <p> There are many great storytellers I have known, and a lot are on this campus: Donnie Keele and Jonathan Leonardo, for example, really influenced me by their stories. Movies and books, such as “Tuesdays with Morrie” and “Catcher in the Rye,” have helped me understand how good storytelling reaches into our hearts and our souls and often helps us understand a world we didn’t know before or shows us a different perspective on a difficult issue. With that in mind, my hobby is to do podcasts that try to tell stories that will help people understand issues and maybe solve problems. I have also recently gotten back into art. I bought a sketchbook and am creating three-panel comic strip stories with the same idea in mind—telling a story to talk about important issues.</p> <p> Of course, I have a paid job, too, and that is being a recruiter for Andrews University. It is a great way of telling stories—helping inspire students to be interested in Andrews through the power of the stories of Andrews. Much as I enjoy my job, however, I likely won’t be a recruiter forever. What do I dream for the future? Working for NPR—telling stories in that forum to help people, to make them aware and to, in a real way, give them a path to maybe change their worlds. And if not NPR, then maybe Hope Channel.</p> <p> I should end by telling you how my passion for storytelling fits in with my journey of faith. The Bible is full of amazing stories. If I was to choose my favorite, it would be the story of doubting Thomas. This story says a lot about God, but for me it raises that predicament of faith. For Thomas, faith was difficult, and sometimes faith is difficult for me, too. But just as Christ questioned Thomas because of his doubt, I am challenged by also being questioned about my doubts. Why shouldn’t I have faith? The greatest storyteller in the world makes it clear through story after story that there is every reason for it!</p> Mon, 02 Apr 2018 14:07:18 +0000 Øystein (Sten) LaBianca http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/48429 <p> “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I would like to share my story with you as to why that text in Micah is so profound to me.</p> <p> I am a native of Norway, and my early experiences involved a lot of changing homes and schools as my father was a colporteur leader. The greatest stability for me was the summers helping on my grandparents’ farm, particularly taking the cows to pasture and helping with haying. When I was 13, our family emigrated to the United States, with the first stop in Battle Creek soon followed by Berrien Springs and then Ohio—all in a four-year period. In my senior year in academy I became even more independent, and I went to Bogenhofen, Austria, traveling extensively around Europe while I was there. It seems that for the first 18 years of my life I was constantly on the move, but all that moving helped form my way of thinking about the world.</p> <p> By the time I entered Andrews University as a college freshman in 1967, all my experiences had left me fascinated with the different ways of being human. I was very excited to learn there was a discipline that was devoted to just that—cultural anthropology. Following a Cultural Anthropology course, taught by a wonderfully inspiring professor, Gottfried Oosterwaal, I directed everything I could toward the goal of being an anthropologist. My sophomore year was spent in Beirut, Lebanon, at Middle East College, and while there I traveled in Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Israel. All these different experiences cemented my emerging desire to be an academic and an anthropologist. I could name so many individuals, and particularly Andrews professors, who continued to encourage me by letting me be part of their research during my later undergraduate years. That is one reason I am so passionate still about engaging students in research, even while they are undergraduates.</p> <p> A major turning point in my career was being invited to join the Heshbon archaeological expedition in 1971. I was a recent graduate and my particular focus was on animal bones, particularly domesticated animals. As circumstances turned out I became the only animal bones person on the dig, with only the experience from a class project and connection with a professor at the University of Michigan. I learned so much from the Heshbon trip, and when I returned home my suitcase was full of bones that I had not been able to identify! These I took to Norway, then to Gothenburg, Sweden, where an expert from Estonia helped me as I continued to identify the bones I had brought—the beginning of my first article about bones from Heshbon, published in Andrews University Seminary Studies.</p> <p> So far, my focus had been bones but my passion expanded greatly in the next few years. I had been approved for a U.S. Selective Service Program as a conscientious objector and the first of those years I spent at Loma Linda University as a social work intern, while also continuing graduate work in anthropology. As I have mentioned, I had many experiences with different cultural situations, but I had never known the cultural world of addicts or the life struggles of parents with sick children or adults with aging parents. This engagement profoundly impacted where I would take my career and research later. I need to add that my time at Loma Linda was also very special because of my connection with an Estonian-Canadian musician and editor who later became my amazing wife—Asta!</p> <p> But back to how everything came together for me: zooarchaeology (the animal bone study) and social service. It happened as I worked on my ethnographic field research in Jordan for my PhD. What that means is that I was seeking to discover what the animal bones tell us about living—the social world behind the bone discoveries. As I did this research I realized that my calling was not just about the past and bones but about how what we learn from the past can help us create strong communities in the present.</p> <p> That is what has driven my contributions to Andrews University and the discipline of archaeology since I became faculty here in the fall of 1980 and while I was chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences from 1982–90. One program I introduced was the Community Service Assistantship Program (CSAP), as a means to strengthen Andrews involvement in the local community, especially in Benton Harbor, and at the same time provide students with hands-on experience working with underprivileged families and communities. The program eventually morphed into what became our campus-wide Service Learning Program. This program, in turn, led to the addition of two more focused community outreach programs. The first, the Genesis Single Parent Program, targeted single parents. The second, the Male Mentorship Program, targeted young men. The latter program was suggested to me by Harvey Burnett, who ended up leading it and is now the chair of our department.</p> <p> More recently I began championing development of a graduate program in our department focused on community and international development to help build capacity in international development around the world. This has gone through several changes since its inception, and we now have both off-campus and on-campus programs that seek in different ways to respond to structural needs in changing communities for the better.</p> <p> Of course, my engagement in archaeology and with others creating a more community responsive approach has also been a critical part of my career (please see <a href="https://labianca.wordpress.com/">labianca.wordpress.com</a>).</p> <p> As I reflect back over my life, I am amazed at the way God has led me. My varied experiences, along with the support of passionate and committed mentors, have led me to a place of personal calling and conviction, where my profession, my faith and my passion for communities all meet together. To return to Micah 5:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The most important phrase to me is where it says “to walk humbly with your God.” What these words mean to me is that, despite my best efforts, there is no guarantee that any of what I have sought to accomplish throughout my career at Andrews is a guaranteed success. I have sought to bring positive change to the lives of individuals and communities. But eventually my duty is simply to walk humbly with my God and let Him take the lead in my life.</p> Tue, 16 Jan 2018 12:30:08 +0000 Ruben Perez-Schulz http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/47228 <p> Let me start my story with my father. He was the eldest son of a wealthy wine producer in Chile and his life ahead seemed clear. But then at age 19 he found out about the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was convicted that is what he wanted in his life and told his father. That was the end of his wealth and heritage, and the start of a life of faith and commitment! He went to the Adventist university in Chile and studied to be a pastor, traveling to Argentina for his last year of studies. It was a good match. While in Argentina he met my mother, whose Adventist roots go back to the beginning of Adventism in Argentina. She was young when my father wanted to marry her, only 18, but eventually her family gave permission and the two married and returned to my dad’s home country of Chile.</p> <p> Their lives were ones of service and mission—in Chile and later in Canada. As for me, I was the second of four sons and we all were given such wonderful modeling by our parents that each of us has committed to working for the Seventh-day Adventist Church also. My eldest brother is assistant to the president at the General Conference. Then there is me. My next brother is a teacher of history and social sciences. My youngest brother is currently the provost at the Adventist university in Argentina.</p> <p> As for me, I was the only son who was born in my mother’s home country of Argentina, although I lived most of my life in Chile. I attended the state university in Temuco, Chile, and seven days after graduating I married my lovely wife, Carolina (she too, by the way, was the daughter of a pastor). By this time my father was in Canada and so my wife and I traveled to Calgary, Alberta and I studied in the University of Lethbridge for my MEd. My two daughters were both born in Calgary.</p> <p> After eight years in Canada I was invited to return to Chile and teach and also become an administrator in the K–12 Adventist school system. Our schools there are large and I was asked to be the vice principal of the Los Angeles Adventist Academy, an institution with around 1,500 students. After five years I became the principal of that same school and then after another five years moved to be the principal of the premiere academic Adventist academy in Chile, with 1,100 students, Concepcion Adventist Academy. I was only there for one year when in 2006 Andrews University invited me to come here as assistant professor of Spanish. I have been here ever since, taking on the additional responsibilities of assistant dean of the College of Arts & Sciences in 2014.</p> <p> I have moved around a lot with my family. None of that was ever planned. Every day I ask myself, “What does the Lord want me to do today?” and then I try to listen and do what God wants of me. We can’t know when, where or how God wants us to serve, but if we leave the doors open to his leading, he will lead us to the right place at the right time. I have seen so much leading in the lives of my grandparents, parents and other family members. I believe God has led me too and that gives me confidence that he will continue to do so: me, Carolina, and my two daughters, Cristina and Daniela.</p> <p> When my dad told his father that he was not going to work in the wine business at age 19, he could never have known what was going to happen to him after that. Neither could my mother at age 18 know what the future would be when she married my father. But look where God led them, and how he has led me and my three brothers.</p> <p> I have had so many opportunities and each has provided a path to greater service! That is what excites me when I get up each day! That joy is what I want each of my students to discover also.</p> Tue, 12 Sep 2017 10:45:26 +0000 Michael Nixon http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/46303 <div> Law school was a big step up from my undergrad studies at Andrews, but it was also the first time I was studying in a non-Adventist educational environment. Needless to say, I did not adjust well and I was not measuring up. I was at a true crossroads in my scholastic journey and I had no idea if I would be able to make it through two more years of what at that point felt like torture.</div> <div>  </div> <div> After graduating from Andrews University in 2009, I knew I wanted to go to law school, but first I made a commitment to God that I would get out of my comfort zone. Having been in the “Adventist bubble” my whole life, I wanted to see the world through a different lens. With that in mind, I chose to work for a year on the campus of a Catholic University—Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana—as an AmeriCorps Volunteer, where I coordinated service projects for their campus community. That experience helped solidify my passion for serving and advocating for others and allowed me to enter law school with a clear understanding of my legal calling. </div> <div>  </div> <div> When the academic dean reached out to me to let me know that in order to continue studying, I would need to take two one-day summer courses, she informed me that if I did not do these things, I would not be able to continue my studies. One class would take place on Sunday; the other on Saturday. </div> <div>  </div> <div> “The courses are easy,” the dean said. You will do well in them. Pass both and you will be able to continue studying.” I got quiet and my mind started to race. There was no way I could sign up for a class that took place on Sabbath. </div> <div>  </div> <div> I explained my situation, but at that point there were no other class options. Then she said, “It sounds like you are going to have to choose between your religious convictions and your career.”</div> <div>  </div> <div> A fear that I had never experienced before began to cripple me. What was I going to tell my parents, my girlfriend, my friends? Maybe if I had spent Saturdays studying and sitting in on study groups I wouldn’t be in this position. I could just take the one-day course; it’s a one-time thing—I’ll double up on tithe or something. No big deal, right? </div> <div>  </div> <div> I began to get bitter, and felt as if God had let me down. To that point, my relationship with him was highly dependent on the religious rituals I had been keeping since I was a child. I assumed that those actions gave me special privileges and favor with God. Now I was about to lose my dream of becoming a lawyer all because of my commitment to another one of those empty rituals: Sabbath. </div> <div>  </div> <div> I called my girlfriend (who is now my wife) and told her how scared and confused I was. She helped me calm down and challenged me to trust in God and remember that he is in control. </div> <div>  </div> <div> At home in Michigan that weekend, my parents and my girlfriend all strongly encouraged me to go to New Life Fellowship for church. Though I decided to go with them, I made it clear I was committed to not getting a blessing and not enjoying myself. This whole religion thing no longer felt relevant to me. </div> <div>  </div> <div> As the service got underway, my plan of remaining unaffected was going smoothly. In the back of my head, I was kicking myself because I should have been in that one-day class instead of in this church service. Then song service began and one of the leaders shared thoughts from a conference he had recently attended.</div> <div>  </div> <div> According to a conference presenter, when we experience fear, the chemicals that are released in the brain cripple us and affect our ability to function and process things as we normally do. When we experience hope, chemicals are released starting at the front of the brain and it pushes against the chemicals released by fear. </div> <div>  </div> <div> “Fear and hope cannot co-exist in the brain,” the song leader said. “We have to choose one or the other. When we choose hope, fear is eradicated; but if we choose fear, we will never cease being crippled.”</div> <div>  </div> <div> Another song leader, seemingly speaking directly to me, said, “What is it that you fear this morning? Choose hope.”</div> <div>  </div> <div> In that moment, I made the decision to truly trust in God for the first time in my adult life. “God,” I prayed, “I have no clue how you are going to fix this, but I trust you. It’s in your hands.”</div> <div>  </div> <div> That week, when my academic advisor told me that my only hope at this point would be if a teacher decided to change my grade, my heart sank. In a post-exam conference the previous week, my professor asked me three different times if I was sure that the legal profession was for me (yes, I performed that badly in his class). In her 20 years in that role, my advisor had only heard of one person ever getting a grade changed before. She then said, “If you’re a praying person, I guess now would be the time to pray.”</div> <div>  </div> <div> I had a post-exam conference scheduled that afternoon that would take place by phone. I started praying like I never have before in my life! </div> <div>  </div> <div> My Criminal Law professor was a nice guy and very approachable, but before I could get into my rehearsed plea he said, “Michael, I was reviewing your test right before you called, and I was reminded that you are much smarter than the grade I gave you here.” </div> <div>  </div> <div> Following that phone call, I spent the next two weeks praying, but I also felt at peace. Whether I was going to continue with law school or if God was going to open another door, I knew that he was guiding my footsteps. He was no longer the God that owed me; he was now the God that had already given me everything.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Two weeks after that phone call with my professor, I received an email from the dean. My grade in Criminal Law had been changed to an A. I was cleared to continue studying.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Since that day not everything has been easy. There have still been days when life does not make sense. I still at times question what God is up to, but I no longer question whether or not he is God. He is sovereign, and he knows what he is doing.</div> Thu, 06 Jul 2017 10:48:40 +0000 Jessina Wangui Marenga http://www.andrews.edu/agenda/45524 <p> My name is Jessina Wangui Marenga, and I am an African. My mother is from Kenya and my father from Zimbabwe. That makes me African, and I hold that truth near and dear to my heart.</p> <p> I recently started calling myself a desert baby, because I was born and raised in a semi-arid region. My mum recalls the year of my birth as the hottest ever recorded. I love the heat. My birthday is in October, the peak of the summer season in the South. I grew up in Botswana which is where my parents migrated in the 90s, in search of work. All my memories of Botswana will, therefore, always be in the color of the hot sun.</p> <p> In 2006, we relocated to South Africa for my mum to complete her master's degree. It was a new land where the other kids looked at me differently because of my darker complexion and apparent accent. I still had a loving sister though and a caring mother. I had all I needed to be the happiest child anyone could ask. So it was that until the age of 11, my life was truly blissful, and I was content in my bubble of school, Mama, Dada, and Maria.</p> <p> My father was never really in the picture because his work meant he was constantly traveling—or so I thought. Thus, we built our relationship over the phone and occasional visits. I looked forward to those visits with such eagerness and vivid anticipation. I looked forward to seeing him again, and the usual trinket-gift he would bring me. So he became the distant relative who promised gifts in an attempt to win favor. And my mum became the sole provider of basic needs like food, shelter, clothing and education.</p> <p> In 2009, the year of my 11th birthday, the family dynamic changed in a rather drastic way for me. In my memories, the first event in this 'awakening' was the night I first saw my father abuse my mother. It was at dinnertime and so odd; I did not see it coming as I came face to face with domestic violence. My mother, just like countless other women, had kept all the past problems away from us kids to spare us. Now it was in the open and the abuse deepened and impacted all of us.</p> <p> In 2012, my father moved out of the house. We would see him only a few more times before September 13, 2014—the day after my sister’s birthday and the last day I saw him. Now, nearly three years later, I am still coming to terms with it. I forgave him, and now I am learning to forget. There are occasional tears when I think back to that time, but the pain becomes duller as time passes.</p> <p> Being the sole provider for two children is a demanding task, but the socioeconomic factors in South Africa at the time made it even more challenging for my mother. We experienced xenophobia in different ways, the most prevalent being the fact that the government refused to continue paying foreign public school teachers, meaning my mother’s salary was reduced substantially. Around the same time, the Home Affairs Department lost our immigration papers, making it almost impossible for my mum to find alternative employment. This loss of paperwork has to this day not been resolved.</p> <p> In 2016, I graduated from high school, and that marked the end of us living in South Africa. There was no future for me there because the government passed a regulation on all universities which did not allow international students to gain acceptance into medical schools. This fact dashed any hopes of continuing to study in South Africa but proved to be a blessing in disguise because I would end up studying abroad here at Andrews.</p> <p> This challenge, along with fear of my father returning and the environment in the country, made it difficult for us to continue living in South Africa. The only option was to relocate back to Kenya. Now we are learning to live there and be Kenyans in Kenya—natives for the first time. My mother has yet to find a suitable job, and with my sister in Form 2 and me in college, this is a huge financial burden. It was only by selling her property that my mother was able to send me to Andrews University.</p> <p> I am now finishing my first year at Andrews University. I can say that my life has been good and I know that I am a better person for facing all that I have experienced. I still believe that God has blessed me in the most beautiful ways. My love for learning is a gift that I cherish and I know that I am here at Andrews for a reason. Telling my story and hearing those of others is a privilege and delight. It shows me how God leads in our lives no matter what happens around us. It is only through constant miracles that I am where I am today and that is where my hope for the future lies.</p> Tue, 18 Apr 2017 14:32:40 +0000