Magzania

Let's go to Arusha and learn together! Sunday night, we had supper and then settled in. We are sharing accommodations, two bunk beds to a room. I decided to break off from my travel group (americans and Germans) when picking rooms to see who came later - and I'm glad that I did. I have three roommates, one from Lebanon and two from India! The next morning, we had opening worship/celebration. My favorite part was the offering of gifts from each region we represent.. pictured are African and North American continents. We had two times today for community building as well as a campus tour and an introduction to the program. The weather is so beautiful here!! In small groups, we met each other. My group comes from US, Brazil, Lebanon, Norway, Hong Kong, Fiji, Jamaica, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, Cameroon. We shared about ourselves, our study focus area, and a "holy ground" rule. I shared the oops-ouch rule and we had an interesting conversation on the meaning of thos...

One week until I embark on this amazing adventure! I am getting so excited! I wanted to provide some more information about the program - specifically, our assignments and composition of small groups. I also reflected a bit on my hopes for this experience. At the end, I have included the link and lyrics to the theme song of the CWME (Conference for World Mission and Evangelism) Letter-Writing As part of the requirement of the GETI program, we are asked to complete eight pre-assignments -  using one of four tracks: letter-writing, creative writing, visual and bodily expression, and academic writing. I have chosen to use the letter-writing track - my letters will be written to American youth and young adults (millennials) who are resisting the North American church.. I think this will be a good platform to share some of the good news happening in the non-western movement of Christianity, to provide hope for the place the protestant church finds itself here in the US (declining in ...

A journey that began five years ago with a sense of call to be a missionary in Africa, that eventually led me to serve in Montana as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) through the PCUSA, is now culminating in the opportunity of a lifetime! This summer I applied, and was admitted as a student to the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2018 from March 5-12 in Arusha, Tanzania! The selection committee was composed of members from the World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, and the Network of Institutions of Higher Ecumenical Theological Education. Additionally, I received a scholarship through the YAV program/Presbyterian Mission Agency to cover the full cost. The students will arrive from different parts of the world and form a group of up to 120 advanced young students of theology. We represent a variety of countries and church traditions with an interest in gaining insights into the ecumenical movement’s current debates on understanding and practicing mission in vario...