Living In The Wilderness 3-24-2010
ALICIA BORDER | STUDY ABROAD BLOGGER
This morning I got the chance to be able to go and volunteer with an organization called Jerusalem Outreach. They are Palestinian evangelists. I went with another JUC student and the wife and daughter of one of the JUC masters’ students. We were asked to do very mundane assembly line work.
They were assembling story books with Bible stories. The books that they had received were missing pages and had to have two sticker pages placed in them as well as stamped/stickered with their contact info in the front cover. There were quite a lot of books, but time definitely flew with the conversation being fantastic and company even better. About 10 o’clock we were joined by an Arab woman who spoke a tiny bit of English. She was very nice. We didn’t talk too much because there was a quite a language gap, but we did get to learn a few Arabic words.
I learned that good morning is, “Sebach il-cheir.” That is terribly transliterated…but that’s the best I have…it might actually be wrong too, but who knows! It was definitely a good time. At about 1:30 we finished all of the boxes of books having fully equipped them with pages and stickers and the two people in charge drove us back to JUC’s campus. On our short 7 minute drive we got into a conversation about how Muslims came to know Jesus as their savior. Most Muslims are secret believers because of the extreme persecution that would become if they were public with it. At one point it was said that 25% of Muslim Background Believers (those Christians who come from a muslim background) come to know Jesus because He had appeared to them in a dream and because of that they choose to forego their Muslim life and pursue Christianity. twenty-five percent.
It was also said that in North Africa it a frequent thing for missionaries to show up in villages where the people tell them stories about how they once Muslim until one day, there was a miracle healing amongst their villagers, and because of it the whole village left their Muslim ways and believed in the True God, they tore down their mosques and made them into churches. When this happened they had no idea who God was and had no Bible and had never met a missionary or ever heard anything of the Gospel, yet they still had such a faith through just one miracle to follow blindly a God they barely knew.
What serious faith it would take to forsake entirely the faith that you had always known and turn 180 degrees to follow faithfully a God who you knew almost nothing about. There is almost so much to say that I can barely begin to put words to how hearing these things makes me feel. Our God is a God who reveals Himself to people in dreams and healings SO VIVIDLY that these people, knowing nothing about Him at all completely chase after Him and let everything they’ve ever known go. This God is the God we seem to have read about in our Bibles from day one of our spiritual journey. Why then is it that as Americans we so easily accept the idea that “God just doesn’t work with those types of miracles anymore?”
That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. My God, your God, the True God still shows up and reveals Himself in such manifest ways. How amazing it will be for those Muslim Background Believers to reach heaven and hear, “Well done good and faithful servant” from God because they turned aside with almost no “proof” (by Western standards) and chose to follow God. We barely follow God and we have the WORLD to use to know Him, our Bibles, the Church, the miracles in our lives (that we don’t even see), everything. Yet they had nothing but a single vision and no knowledge of the Bible and they still whole heartedly pursued God.
It reminds me so much of Luke 16 in the parable about the rich man and Lazarus where after death the rich man begs Abraham to rise Lazarus from the dead to go tell his family so that they might not be condemned. Abraham says this to them in verse 31, “If they do not listen to Moses and te Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” That is our story as westerners. We have been given so much, the Bible and the Church and miracles (even the small ones) in everyday life, and yet we don’t see God. And it is true, if we cannot listen to that, we wouldn’t be persuaded even by the big miracles. There are so many things that are hugely miraculous that we write off as “science” or “nature” or whatever it might be, but really? God shows up. And even through “the rising of the dead” we don’t see it.
twenty-five percent. that is a huge number. 25% of all Muslim Background Believers come to know Jesus and the True God through His revealing Himself through a dream or vision. God shows up. God rescues. That is our God. Thank the LORD that is OUR GOD. I cannot help but worship Him hearing that. That we have a God who is still alive and active and pursuing. My heart cannot contain itself. I have no words to describe the joy that it brings to know that God shows up to rescue His people. To rescue us. Hallelujah.
Finding Grace in Science
SAMMI SHEPPARD | STAFF WRITER
The Science, Faith and Culture Lecture series continued last Wednesday, March 10 and the connection between Christianity and science was challenged by Dr. Tim Morris professor of biology at Covenant College in Georgia.
Morris explained how God’s grace can free people from certain things, as well as free people to other things this sentence does not make sense.
Most science and faith lectures typically are about science and religion or science and the Bible, but they imply that there is a contrast between the two components according to.... Morris showed that they can and are in fact meant to work together by exploring the grace of God.
“I think people have associated grace entirely with religious things and with redemption and have not usually thought about grace more widely in all human endeavors,” said Morris. “I think talking about science and grace opens up some new areas to think about God’s work and God’s favor.”
God’s grace can free people from vain attempts to establish a foundation for science within science itself according to Morris. Throughscripture, Morris concludedthat science needs to have a “Christocentric”focus—God made creation good, therefore, studying creation is good.
God’s grace also frees people from the view of science as being completely human and value-free-all of these statements need to be attributed to him or else this seems like an opinion article with him supporting her opinion Morris explained self-involvement from scientific activities is neither completely avoidable, nor is it regrettable. Human involvement will happen since science is done by humans.
“It was pretty interesting when he was talking about human involvement and how you couldn’t be able to eliminate that,” freshman biology major Marissa Ulrich said. “Typical scientists, on the other hand, think we have to remove human error and any type of biases.”
Throughout the lecture, Morris emphasized the opportunity Christians have to show God’s grace to others and bring everything people know as Christians to doing science.
“The lecture was very informative,” Ulrich said. “I thought it was really cool how Dr. Morris integrated his personal Christian ideologies onto a broad scope of sciences.”
As stewards of God’s grace and favor in science, Christians must love their enemies, find joy in the favor God shows to scientists in their work and participate in scientific culture by being a good neighbor in it. attribution God’s grace allows people to fully engage in the cultural endeavors of science, according to Morris.
“This shows people who are going into the field of science that you can hold your faith in a field that typically is portrayed as mechanical,” said Ulrich.
Morris also challenged the audience to think about knowledge. Who or what are we trying to please in out scientific knowing? Morris said our only real need is to trust God because he constructs knowledge. As Christians, scientists need to take the gift God has given them and the task they haveseriously and give it back to the one who gave them the gift. attribution.
“I liked that Dr. Morris said all things that we truly know are by revelation of God so it kind of erases that selfish nature; we really have to put that back to God,” senior cinematic arts major Natasha Koziol said. “I really liked how he said that the purpose of science and discovery is that it eventually all points to the creator.”
Morris explained that one’s calling to science is not just to find out stuff about God’s creation. By studying science, people can reveal more about God. Scientists need to be bold in creative ideas or new ways of thinking in ways that are pleasing to God. Attribution If scientists have Christ at the focus of their work, it will be pleasing to God.
Morris showed how God’s grace frees people to bear witness as redeemed human beings to God’s redeeming work in and through the science they do. God made four relationships to be in perfect order: human to God, human to self, human to others and human to creation.
“Reconciliation of relationship to God spreads throughout all our relationships and it’s a matter of scientification and the work of the Spirit,” said Morris.
Already stated
“I love science so I really think Christians should be open to science 100 percent because it’s exciting,” Koziol said. “When I was younger, I remember you didn’t really talk about science in church so I’ve really enjoyed coming to APU and having that open up and be acceptable. I think it’s opening up in the churches as well. I think the more that we look to science it just reveals more about God.”
APU sending Bibles overseas
ANDREW RUIZ | STAFF WRITER
Azusa Pacific was given 10,000 Bibles to be signed and shipped off to soldiers at war by Operations Worship, a group dedicated to spreading encouragement and God’s word.
Azusa Pacific had booths on west and east campus, for the last two weeks, giving students an opportunity to get involved and write these letters to our soldiers. The letters allows students to communicate and share prayers with soldiers overseas.
“Writing letters gives me recognition of what they do,” Higgenbottom said. “Hopefully they benefit from each letter and Bible they receive.”
During the last seven years America has been at war, many soldiers have been in and out of Iraq. Senior political science major Andre Bordeaux was on deployment in Iraq for five years and was among many of the soldiers who received letters from students across the nation.
“We get care packages and they're important but the letters we receive may be more important,” Bordeaux said. “It brings a sense of normalcy and brings us back to reality. Each letter has its own meaning and definitely helps our faith and keeps up our morale.”
Senior business major Ashley Thomas has worked the booths and have seen many students take part in this opportunity.
“Regardless what your political views are we still need to give our support.We can’t neglect the sacrifice they make for us,” Thomas said.
Although booths are no longer set up on campus, students have plenty of time to still get involved. Note cards for students to sign that will be put into the Bibles are placed outside of the Cougar’s den and Felix Event center.
The last day for signings is March 19 and note cards can be dropped off at the collection boxes at these locations or to the Veteran’s Affairs office.
“II would like if every student wrote some but not because they feel forced but because they want to,” Bordeaux said. When people do them on their own terms it means so much more.”
Captain Cougar Vs. The B.I.O.L.A.
Also be sure to check out Captain Cougar's Facebook Page: Click Here
Living In The Wilderness: 3-17-2010
ALICIA BORDER | STUDY ABROAD BLOGGER
The calm Jerusalem desert
Being in Israel there are several things that I am do detached from that I barely even recognize their absence. In ways this is a nice luxury, in others I worry that I might struggle going back to the states. The two major examples that I can think of at the moment have to do with my phone and television.
I have a phone with an Israeli number while I am here, but I can count the number of times that I have used it on one hand, most of which were just to get a hold of people in the states when the internet wouldn?t suffice. Going from day to day not having the ability to call or text anyone is a strange thing coming from having an iphone and being completely attached to my phone. If I need to get a hold of anyone on campus I have no choice but to find them. I also don?t have constant access to facebook or twitter. It also forces me to have real conversations instead of resorting to texting. It makes quality time with people so much easier because we aren?t even tempted to look at our phones. To be so disconnected with the world of a cell phone is such a glorious place to be. I think that I have come to conclude that when I get back to the states I will be putting set schedules on my phone usage. I think that during the school day it will be off all the time. And it will only be on at night (thinking about this it might cause issues for work?but i?ll figure it out). And there will be one day where I will have it completely off all day. It will definitely limit my time and focus on something that is entirely unnecessary on a daily basis.
Being without a television is another thing. Being without daily news is pretty hard, though i suppose i could just go pick up a paper or check out online news. I haven?t seen a TV show since I?ve been here and I have only watched two movies. For those of you who know me that in itself is quite a feat. I think that I will cut back on the shows that I watch in the states. I might limit it to three shows that I keep up on and only watch the news when i?m at the gym (which was normal anyway). I think I also will only watch movies on the weekend as well. These things are tentative right now, but I feel like they are a good idea.I am not sure which shows I will cut, but I will have to cut somewhere.
There are been a lot of realizations while I am studying here and I feel that there will be a bit of change in the lifestyle I live when I return, hopefully for the better. The goal is to cut out the unnecessary things to make room for more Kingdom focused ideas. After all, to quote the phrase that I hated hearing so much for the past two year from our Jr high director Daniel Huskey, ?its not about you (me).? Life is so that God can be glorified and I am but a tool. I pray that that is evident and that it is not me that shines but Him.
Juggling two worlds. Student Perspective Blog
NEJI YILPET | STAFF WRITER
The phone kept ringing—no response. On the fifth try, I almost stopped.
In my head over and over, I said ‘Please, I need to hear his voice. Jesus, please”.
I lost track of how many times I redialed the number. Finally, a groggily voice met me on the other end of the line.
“Hello? Hello?” my brother answered, partly asleep.
“It is me, Nenji. Can you hear me? Baby, I heard people were killed today. Are you okay?” I anxiously asked.
“Yeah, it was bad, but we are okay…” he responded. He was barely coherent, so our conversation was brief.
For that moment, I received what I needed—confirmation of my family’s safety. Still, I could not focus on studying for my mid-terms and completing my papers.
It was Sunday evening, March 7th. While I sat in Azusa, halfway across the world, in Jos, Nigeria, the wailing of my people shook the city.
Let me explain. I am a bi-cultural black woman who juggles two worlds. I am African American and Nigeria. I was raised in the Midwest for ten years and then in Nigeria for eight. For eight years, I called Jos, Nigeria home. I came back to the U.S. for college four years ago—while my parents and younger brother have remained overseas. Jos—the city I lived in—was always known for peace and tourism.
In 2001, that changed. I lived through violence and bloodshed. Refuges filled my house as a religious and ethnic crisis broke out. I still see the mosques and churches blazing, as soldiers in tankers roamed the streets. Thousands dead. Thousands displaced. Thousands traumatized. Jos has not recovered and in recent years the violence has returned.
But what happened Sunday was unimaginable—a massacre. Just south of where my family lives, 400 men, women and children were slaughtered and killed by a rival group. They had no way to defend themselves as they were woken to gunshots that signaled the ending of their lives. A four month old baby body was found in the road.
I write of about because this is my story. I live between two realities. Oh, Nigeria is not typically a violent place. In Nigeria, I found life in its fullest. Yet, I equally embrace being from here too—both places are mine.
In moments like this—when people wake up to bloodshed—the disparity between the two worlds seems so much larger than the Atlantic that divides them. I cannot reconcile sitting here dreaming and planning for post-graduation, while my brother tells me he maybe desensitized to the loss of human life.
How do I sit in a class and learn about grant writing, while knowing that my city is mass burying women and children? How do I stand in chapel and sing “My God is mighty to save”, when weeping is the present song of my people?
Rarely, do we truly realize that around the world—shoot, around the corner—people live lives with such contrasting realities to ours. Somewhere else, at this very moment, people are celebrating, mourning, dancing, sleeping—in different languages and cultures.
We see the world from our cultural framework. We prioritize our lives based on the shape, color and size of our lenses. In this moment, I am a student getting a higher education. I do the social life, the academics, the work life—and the busyness of it all makes it seem like this is all there is for this moment.
But then, I see the pictures and video of the massacre and I shake.Mid-terms are irrelevant. Papers pointless. All I think of now is sorrow and hope. Where is the hope? This question has rung through my head all week. I may be across the Atlantic, but my soul sits at the burial with the four month old baby’s body.
As I said, I juggle to worlds—but even more so, what I have been reminded of this week is that our lives are inextricably interlinked. Be it what happens in Haiti, Chile, Nigeria, India, Mexico, South Los Angeles, Azusa—as humans we are all directly or indirectly linked.
Cleric and activist, Desmond Tutu, said “my humanity is bound up in your humanity, for we can only be human together”—and this week I was reminded of that. I cannot sit here in the privilege of higher education and not also feel the anguish caused by a massacre.
Students Notified of Leadership Positions
MEREDITH ANDERSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF
This past weekend has been long-awaited for the 650 students who applied for various on-campus leadership positions. Students were notified via e-mail whether they were accepted, denied, or chosen as an alternate. Decisions were sent out to students applying for R.A., Alpha, SALT, and Communiversity.
Melissa Stava, assistant director for the Office of Student Success, confirms that out of the 300 applicants for the Alpha position, 130 were accepted. The Alpha program does not integrate replacements in case a student declines or fails to respond.
Instead, the number that responds to their acceptance is the final count for filled positions. Stava validates that the number of applicants this year are identical to the 2009 figures. Resident Advisor acceptances were sent to applicants Monday, Mar. 8.
The numbers, recorded by associate director of Student Life, Jen Fleckenstein, resulted in 250 applicants, and with 90 positions offered. There were also 20 students put on an alternate list. Fleckenstein also confirms that this year’s numbers are similar to the 2009 year.
The results for the SALT team have yet to be determined, though administrative assistant to the Associate Dean of Students, Jeanette Garces, assures that 42 positions will be offered.
In the Communiversity office, the accepted interns were also notified this past weekend. 43 students initially applied for the position by completing the online application. However, only 26 completed the process by following through with an interview. Chuck Strawn, director of Communiversity, offered 9 positions, also designating a few applicants as alternates.
Living In The Wilderness: 3-1-2010
ALICIA BORDER | STUDY ABROAD BLOGGER
A lone tree stands in the Jerusalem dessert
A slight change in topic form the past few blogs, but I have been thinking lately about the differences in culture between America and Israel. While in so many ways Israel is a very westernized country there are still so many things about being here that differ so much from what I am used to back in the states.
The first and most evident is the idea of time and schedule. Here time is very fluid, things change and being on time isn't something that is emphasized. Being super punctual, let alone early, is not something that happens very frequently from what I have gathered over the past month or so that I have been living here. I have always been one of those people who leaves more early than I need to and I like to be at least fifteen minutes early for almost everything like work and classes. I find that doing that here is getting increasingly more difficult. To give an example I will talk about my classes for a second. This campus is very small and it takes me no more than a minute to walk to the classroom from my dorm room. I left my room ten minutes early the first few days of class and I was the only one in the classroom, including the professor (and that's my American professors, the Israeli ones are later than all of the students). This seemed to be the norm amongst the student body that are here for the semester. Over the past few months we have all seemed to become accustom to this whole "middle eastern time" thing. Now when I sit down in class and look at my watch it is just at the time class is supposed to start and only half of the class (if that) is there. We also never leave on time for our field studies and our professors make a habit of telling us we will be leaving at a certain time expecting to leave at least fifteen minutes later. It is a strange phenomena, but I am rather growing to like it. The whole culture is so much more laid back and less on edge. It is such a difference form the up tight, go go go, culture in the states. It is beginning to seem that it will be hard to transition back to that lifestyle that I was so used to living at home, especially being that I live in the LA area.
Other than time there is also a vast difference in the orientation of people with their families. Family is such a huge deal here. In ways I think they have it more right here than we do in our world. Family is the unit you go to for help. Family is on what you rely. Family is who you are. They help each other out. It, in ways, breaks my heart that we have somehow missed this in our culture. This is how it was Biblically. We are meant to have those people on whom to rely in our lives.
One last thing, while not so much an aspect of cultural differences, but rather a change in thinking. This semester of being in this place and with these people has already taught me a lot about myself and is continuing to stretch me in so many ways. Learning to let go of a lot of images and preconceived notions is such a freeing thing and I am very grateful for the opportunity to grow while I am here. This semester is beginning to seem to be characterized by growth not only spiritually but mentally and emotionally as well. God is working in great ways here, not only in me, but through all of us studying here as a group. I pray that He continues to do so for the rest of the semester and for the rest of our lives. God is so good.
Green Chips? Student Perspective Blog
SAMMI SHEPPARD | STAFF WRITER
“Did you buy that bag because it says it’s compostable?”
My roommate knows me too well.
I was in Vons the other day looking for something to make for lunch. I decided I wanted to make a grilled cheese sandwich with some chips on the side. As I made my way toward the chip aisle, I saw a display of Sun Chips. I like Sun Chips, but what really caught my eye were the words written on the bag: World’s First 100% Compostable Chip Package.
Since I’m all about protecting God’s creation, (I mean He made it; would you want to mess up His work?), I thought it was a really cool idea to have a package that is compostable.
The package is made from more than 90% renewable, plant-based materials, meaning it will break down completely into compost in a hot, active compost pile. It’ll take about 14 weeks for the bag to break down completely.
Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar. When a compostable product breaks down, it must be able to break down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass, at the same rate as paper, without producing any toxic material since it is used to support plant life.
So instead of having the package sit in a landfill for years upon years, Sun Chips has decided to make a smart and more sustainable choice in their packaging, especially since composting is starting to catch on in the green movement.
More and more people are making a composting bin in their backyards to make fertilized soil for their gardens. (Even APU is planning on using composting piles when they make a green living area where students can grow their own vegetables.)
And going green isn’t just for Al Gore, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Silverstone, Orlando Bloom and Cameron Diaz are putting forth an effort to protect the environment.
As I ate my Sun Chips from their 100% compostable bag, I flipped on the TV. Living with Ed was on, a funny show about comedian Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife. (You might recognize Begley as the crazy dad in Pineapple Express, but he’s also been in A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, and lately, commercials for the Census.) The show takes a look into the Begley lives as they try to reduce their carbon footprint on the earth.
The front of the Begley house has drought tolerant plants, many of which can be eaten. As you progress through the house, you can see all the energy efficient appliances the couple owns. Ed is so committed to reducing his impact on the planet, he only rides his bike or drives his electric vehicle. He also installed solar lighting panels on his roof to provide electricity for the whole house.
While I might not be able to live as environmentally friendly as Ed Begley, Jr. since I don’t have the money for it yet, I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint on the environment. If that means buying delicious chips in a compostable bag, I’m all over that. I’m just making the world greener one chip bag at a time.
Senioritis: Student Blog
KARLA SHIRVANIAN | STAFF WRITER
Ten weeks, 67 days, 1608 hours, 96,480 minutes until graduation. I do not think I am alone in the fact I am counting down until the end of the school year. This is not because I have not liked my college experience or because I am not having fun, but simply because, well it is graduation. It is the end of the school year; it is a new step, a new chapter, and a big deal. Oh, and because of this other thing called senioritis that is kicking my butt.
I am excited to graduate, excited to move on, excited to grow up. Yet, with all that excitement come nerves, expectancy and a little bit of anxiety. The idea of graduating sounds so fun, but then all of those big decisions come along like where am I going to work, where am I going to live and even, so I want to go to graduate school.
Those are all the things that seem to come to mind when I think graduation, a lot of fun things laced with some crazy things too. It is amazing. But before I get there I keep realizing there are some things I keep forgetting to do, like homework. I have always been a hard-working student that tries hard and works to keep grades up, but there is this thing that gets in the way of it. I keep trying hard to get all my work done but my mind has become easily distracted.
I always thought it was funny that people were rushing last minute to get their MAS hours signed and turned in; I became one of those people. My to-do list has “turn in MAS hours” but every time I mean to, I get preoccupied with something else.
I was the person who thought that it could not be that hard to get through the last couple of weeks of college since the finish line was so close, I was wrong. Looking ahead has taken over my time and left me with no time to look at the present and keep up. It is not like I am slacking or doing bad, it is simply the struggle of motivation. It is t he struggle to know I am so close, but yet, still have so much to do.
I never thought this would be so hard, and I do not think I am the only one struggling. I have heard of so many people counting down to the end of the school year. School becomes hard to do when you are preoccupied with the idea that in 10 weeks, nine if you do not count spring break, eight if you do not count spring break and finals, school will be over.
Did I mention getting a job is also on the to-do list. Oh yes, all of the hard work, studying and all-nighters were to get a degree in order to get a job to live, make money, survive, and eat after caf days are over. This is a big one. Applying for jobs is also something on the mind, but I do not even have a resume yet. I know this is also on the minds of many a senior out there.
Through all of the thinking, over thinking and to-do lists I have come up with one solution. Breathe. That is right. Simply sit, take a breath and relax. Because if there is one thing I have learned in college is that everything works out and it all seems to find its place in life naturally. So, even though it is crazy to think that 67 days from now I will be thrown into the realm of adulthood, I know it will all work out, because somehow it always does.