INTEGRATING FAITH, SERVICE, SCHOLARSHIP
LASP NEWS
LASP’s mission is to cultivate a Christ-centered community of critical thinking learner-scholars from multiple disciplines, that seeks to expand global awareness and integrate Kingdom values via experiential learning in the Latin American context, challenging students to respectfully engage our host cultures and strive for academic excellence.
A Biannual Newsletter
Introducing Dr. Debbie Berhó, new LASP Director New LASP Director, Dr. Debbie Berhó, shares her story and her vision for LASP.
Fall 2016 Current
Pursuing Truth
Perspectives A few updates from our current semester
Bailey Gerber, from Grace College shares a reflection on her journey with LASP.
p. 3-4
p. 5
Alumni Updates Read about what LASP alumni are doing, where they are in the world, and what they are passionate about. P. 5-6
P. 1-2
Introducing
Introducing Dr. Debbie Berhó, new LASP Director by Debbie Berhó LASP holds a very special place in the hearts of our more than 1,000 alumni, and provokes a variety of responses from CCCU campus constituents. My directorship represents a change that will feel threatening to some, and be welcomed by others. I want to introduce myself as transparently as possible, to indicate my openness to communicating with you. When I was 4 years old, I discovered a book with fascinating drawings of beautiful women with fancy combs in their hair, wearing elegant shawls, and handsome men in bolero jackets playing guitars. It was my mom’s Spanish textbook. At that tender age, my fascination for the Spanish language began. It has led me to travel in Spain, Mexico, Benoit and Debbie Berhó Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, with longer stays in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Chile. In 1986, when LASP was just starting, I too spent a semester abroad in Costa Rica, over on the next hill at the Seminario Nazareno de las Americas (SENDAS), as part of my BA in International Studies from Northwest Nazarene College. While there I met a charming Chilean student, Benoit, who eventually became my husband. We lived in Idaho and later New Mexico while I was completing my masters and doctorate in Latin American Studies from the Latin American Institute of the University of New Mexico. My two areas of focus were Spanish Linguistics and Modern Latin American History. We have three children – our son Dominique is 27 and works as a college recruiter in Southern California. Our oldest daughter Chantal is married and is mom to our precious granddaughter, Annelise, who is 2 ½. They live in Oregon. Our youngest daughter, Lisette, is 15 and has made the giant leap with us to life in Costa Rica.
P. 1
Introducing
Introducing Immediately after grad school, I began to work for George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. During my 19 years there, I taught all levels of Spanish, Latin American History, and developed various new courses including Spanish for Heritage Speakers and Spanish for Medical Personnel. I served on every type of committee imaginable, and was chair of a multidisciplinary department for 2 ½ years. I led two student trips abroad, and evaluated study abroad programs regularly in order to provide our Spanish students with the best quality programming for their goals. I believe that my work at George Fox gives me a deep understanding of the environment of Christian higher education as well as the challenges it is currently facing, and equips me to communicate well with the faculty and administrators of our sending schools. I love to work across disciplines – as evidenced by my academic degrees and research. I’ve always focused on religion, as related to Latin American politics, music, culture, and identity. My dissertation was entitled “POLITICS IS RELIGION: The political discourse of Juan Domingo Perón.” More recently I have focused on evangelical Latino immigrants, publishing Protestant Hispanic Churches of Oregon in 2012, and working with the nationwide Latino Protestant Congregations project from 2013-2015. Vision for LASP
As the new Program Director, I have become a student of LASP. This semester I am attending class and doing reading assignments right along with the students. I have been reading through archival materials such as newsletters, alumni updates, and Student Academic Program Committee reports, and listening to both praise and concerns expressed by faculty, Off-Campus Study directors, and Presidents. Since 1986, both Central America and Christian Higher Education in the U.S. have undergone significant changes. It is my task to cast a new vision for LASP that responds to these changes and to the concerns of our constituents, while maintaining the elements that have made LASP such a cherished, life-changing experience for so many. I owe some of my thinking about LASP’s future to The Gift of the Stranger: Faith, Hospitality, and Foreign Language Learning (2002), by David Smith and Barbara Carvill of Calvin College. LASP has always forced students to experience the discomfort of being a foreigner. Smith and Carvill claim that “the rigors and sufferings of being, so to speak, ‘in Egypt’. . . carries with it an unexpected spiritual blessing: it provides . . . the opportunity to learn in a unique way that they [students abroad] are in God’s special care” (61). They assert that the biblical view of being a stranger always implies an existential covenantal relationship to God” (60), and indeed, over the years many of my students have returned from a semester abroad reporting a deep sense of God’s personal presence in the middle of their loneliness and disorientation as a temporary foreigner. As a lifelong Spanish professor, I highly value gaining Spanish proficiency both as an end in itself and as a practical way to show respect for and gain understanding of Spanish speakers. Carvill and Smith applaud the study of another language for creating “situations in which communication breaks down and learners become voiceless and frustrated over not being able to express in the foreign language what they want to say” (62). The experience of being a voiceless outsider, while painful, is a valuable step toward gaining cultural and personal humility. I am taking steps to strengthen and deepen Spanish instruction at LASP, while retaining its core elements of cultural humility, learning through experience and relationships, and deep listening to others’ perspectives. I am also exploring summer programming that will meet the needs of students who cannot step away from their major requirements for a full semester abroad, particularly STEM majors. Please do not hesitate to contact me (dberho@bestsemester.com), and stay tuned for official announcements about future programs!
Introducing
P. 2
Current Perspectives Students have enjoyed making friends with the University students in the Cristianos en Marcha Bible study each Friday evening. Some students have even gone to dance classes at the CEM center and weekend trips to the beach with the friends they have met!
Students took a trip to PoĂĄs volcano. Ash has recently been blowing into San JosĂŠ from the Turrialba volcano, that has been frequently erupting.
Our first guest speaker for our class on poverty. Elmer is always a favorite of the semester and we were grateful to him, as always, for sharing his story of growing up in a dump in San Salvador and immigrating to Costa Rica as a child refugee.
Students snorkel and whale watch in Manuel Antonio.
Students participated in Spanish language acquisition classes every afternoon. This is a photo from an activity that they did as one large group, discussing 22 different Costa Rican fruits!
P. 3
Current Perspectives
Current Perspectives Our weekend trip to the LimĂłn Province included visits to a banana, pineapple, and coffee plantations, a meeting with an indigenous leader on one of the southern reserves, and some free time on the beach in Cahuita National Park! The students also had time to do interviews in the streets of LimĂłn in order to better understand the perspectives of Limonesnses.
We visited an organic farm outside of San JosĂŠ.
Students meeting the youth in the drug rehabilitation program in the Mercado Oriental in Managua, Nicaragua .
A rural church service, Hermanos en Cristo.
Current Perspectives
Students in their rural community immersions in Nicaragua .
P. 4
Current Perspectives
Thoughts: Pursuing Truth Bailey Gerber, Grace College Excerpts from a student blog, Monday, September 26, 2016 Complete blog at: notrunningfrom.blogspot.com
I'm sitting in the uncomfortable. And I want to share it with you, because discomfort is always, always, always the point at which growth occurs. So. Here goes. Bailey, at an Independence Day parade, September 15th After just four weeks in Costa Rica, I'm realizing how little of the world I know. How much it's going to cost me to know it more. How much I'm really willing to sacrifice to do what I say I want to do. I'm learning about perspectives I've never considered, points of view I've never analyzed. All because I live in my own world, used to seeing God in my own ways, existing on my own terms. Everything I know, I've created. Based on what I've been taught and what I've been given. But this world--this new experience I'm living every day--is full of new truths that are sometimes similar to and sometimes nothing like the ones I knew before I came. So I've been forced to reexamine what I know is True. Like an expanse of uncharted land that just keeps rolling, the beliefs I am creating are in some places secure and in some places wildly undiscovered. But there are still some things I can see--some things I know. I'm starting with those. Because I cannot explore the rest until I've charted what I know. People tell me sometimes that it's not about "true" and "false." But if it's not about Truth, what is it about? I can't base anything on "maybe-maybe not." Without some type of fundamental Truth, there's nothing on which I can build my worldview. Here’s to open hearts, open minds, and a shameless pursuit of Truth. It's a new kind of Marvelous Light, here in Latin America. But I'm still adventuring in it, because God's still lighting my path with it.
Alumni Relations Amanda Cummings, FA ’13 is beginning her second year in Madrid, Spain as an English teacher. She loves the lively and historical Spain that she explores as often as possible. After this upcoming year, she has plans to live somewhere else in Europe. Amanda sends her love from Madrid and encourages everyone to come for a visit! Tieg Laskowske SP ‘11 graduated in May 2015 from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Tieg's senior design team took first place at a solar boat competition, edging out 16 other universities from across the country. Tieg moved to the Dallas, TX area following graduation and has been working for an engineering firm there since March. P. 5
Allison Harp, SP ‘11 married Johnny Oehler on September 25, 2016. They currently live in Bend, OR and travel around working as wedding photographers—including shooting several LASP alumni weddings! Kristine (Tunnell) Helsper SP ‘11 is working as a 4th grade teacher in a charter school. She and her husband are planning to move to a small homestead this summer and plan to take on a garden, chickens, and possibly a few goats to live more sustainably. They traveled to Peru this past summer. McCall (Adams) Calloway, FA ‘10 is now working as the Field Station Manager at the Quetzal Education Research Station in Costa Rica. Paige Woods, SP ‘10 is living back in Dallas and working for American Airlines. She recently passed all four sections of the CPA exam and bought a home. Come visit! Lindsay Mullett, SP ‘09 recently graduated from Harvard Law School with her JD and
has begun a 2 year Immigrant Justice Corp Fellowship in NYC, where she is representing low income immigrants and refugees in legal proceedings. Her younger brother is currently at LASP and Lindsay got to FaceTime with some Tico friends she hasn't seen in years! Elisa Tally, SP'09 graduated from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (2011). She lives and works as an editor in Bloomington, MN. In June 2016 she celebrated her five-year anniversary with Baker Publishing Group, an independent Christian publishing company that joined with other publishers and Publishers Weekly magazine in their March 14, 2016 issue to call for an end to the book embargo against Cuba.
Current Perspectives, Alumni Relations
Alumni Relations Laura (Frey) Reyes, FA '08 is in her last year of a 2-year Master's degree program in Spanish at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She is working at the university as a Teaching Associate and also volunteering at a local Hispanic resource center called La Conexión that services Spanishspeaking families and migrant workers. Kadie Becker, SP ‘08 started a new job in August 2016 as an ELL teacher at Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis, MN. This school serves primarily refugees and newly-arrived immigrants. Bethany (Adkins) Jones, SP ‘08 recently accepted a position in the Judicial Clerkship Department at Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, NY. In the coming months, she plans on starting her Master's Degree at Cornell University in International Development.
Mike Roehrkasse, SP '05 lives in Iowa with his wife, Haley, and 3 year old son, Levi. Mike works for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation as a Special Agent investigating crimes ranging from homicide to financial crimes. Mike and Haley are expecting their second child this March. Sarah Wineland, SP ‘05 lives in DC and occasionally runs into fellow LASPer Matt Kuniholm since they live in the same neighborhood. She got married this September to Jason Chen, a 4th year general surgery resident, and they are settling into their new condo. Sarah continues to work for Deloitte Consulting doing antitobacco work for the DoD. Kyla Cofer Nichols, SP ‘04 and her husband, Chas, welcomed their first child on May 19, Logan James Nichols, and are celebrating their 2nd anniversary in October. Christie Zimmerman, FA ’03 left DC and moved to CO for her MBA five years ago and now lives in Denver working in organic food policy, purchasing helping farmers raise sustainable animals/crops. It's a great blend of her previous experience Lisa (Tegtmeier) Youngstrand, SP ‘08 is and living among the Rockies is always a living in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and daughter, Avaley Elizabeth, who plus. was born September 11th, 2015. She has Josh Byeman , FA ‘03 The Byeman family recently started working at a church, digrew with their daughter, Ava, born on recting an elementary aged program. Her family is traveling to Bangkok Thailand in Josh's birthday in Dec 2014. Josiah Murphy, SP ‘03 has been accepted October 2016 to teach English for a month. into the MA of TESOL program at Kent Kathleen Winslow, FA '06 has recently State University (Ohio) in preparation for moved to the Czech Republic. She is servfuture missions service overseas. ing as a missionary associate of the OrthoMelissa (Keys) Zubal, FA ‘97 has moved dox Presbyterian Church and teaching from an urban area near Detroit, MI to English at a Czech elementary school. Czech definitely isn't Spanish, but it's a lot the village of Holly. She and her husband of fun to study! are embracing country life with a large garden and three chickens! Melissa is a
LASP Staff
Deborah Berho — Director Javier Arguedas — Faculty Jessica Sanchez — Administrative Coordinator Britney Villhauer— Program Coordinator
Alumni Relations
program coordinator for a senior living community specifically for dementia patients and loves getting to know the patients and their families Naomi (Lambertson) Pusch, FA ’96 married Michael Pusch in 2010 and in 2011 had her only daughter, Klara. She continues to advocate for biblical justice for the oppressed that she learned to seek from the brave brothers and sisters she met 20 years ago in Central America. Andy Herod, FA ‘94, his wife Jessica, and son Moses, announce the birth of Axel and Levi Herod, twin boys, born on August 31st. Next steps are getting them both passports. Andy continues to work for Para Los Niños, a non-profit in serving Skid Row and some of the most distressed communities in Los Angeles through education, mental health and social services. David Hagenbuch, FA ‘88 is Professor of Marketing at Messiah College, recently published a book with Aldersgate Press titled Honorable Influence: A Christian’s Guide to Faithful Marketing. More information can be found at www.HonorableInfluence.com Sue (Mast) Noroña, FA ‘86 is now in her 5th year as a missionary with United World Mission, serving in Quito, Ecuador. She works in a program called "Corrientes", which is a mentoring program for Latin Americans who are preparing for the mission field. She teaches ESL through conversation, with an emphasis on discipleship, and also mentors in the area of Spiritual Formation. In February 2015, Sue married Joaquin Noroña, an Ecuadorian missionary. They are delighted to be serving the Lord together, and pray that their marriage will be a testimony on the mission field.
stay connected. Learn how others are integrating faith, knowledge, experience, and action, and share your own stories as well.
FIND US ON FACEBOOK at Lasp Bestsemester!! P. 6