Three Days and Counting!

As many of you know, I am a part of a special program at Wheaton College called HNGR (Human Needs and Global Resources).  This program involves living, working, and studying in a country in the Global South for six months.  On June 9th, I will be going to Jinotepe, Nicaragua, which is a city of roughly 45,000 people in the southwest part of the country.  There I will work with an organization called Luke's Society.  They are an international organization that does a combination of community development, health care, microfinance, and discipleship.  The particular branch in Jinotepe focuses primarily on community development and women's empowerment projects.  I am still not entirely certain specifically what I will be doing or what part I will play in their work.  I am sure I will find that out shortly.

In addition to interning at Luke's Society, I will also be working on an independent study.  My independent study is in the discipline of Latin American theology.  Although there are many different theologies in Latin America (Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, popular) all of them place an emphasis on how Christ came for the oppressed in order to liberate them as He ushered in the new Kingdom and the new creation.  I hope to look at how theology informs and affects the treatment and place of women within the Nicaraguan society.   

I leave in three days and I am very excited to go to another country, use/improve my Spanish, learn more about another culture, and see life and the world from a different perspective.  I know I will grow a lot, learn much, have many cultural mishaps, and funny stories to share along the way.  Stay tuned!