Our time spent in the Holy Land was rich with fellowship and joy, and highlighted the beauty of diversity in which God connects with his children. Beyond the spiritual encounters we had, there was an enlightenment of knowledge and understanding that came from the Biblical sites we saw, guides we were molded by, and the history we became familiar with during fall of 2022. 

As a theology minor, witnessing God in these places opened my mind to the intentionality behind God’s narrative of the Bible and Jesus’ ministry. One site in particular that challenged my understanding of history and geography was Caesarea Philippi, where Peter confessed Jesus as the one true God (Matthew 16:16). I had never before understood the extent of how significant this moment was until I stood in the temple area and sacred niches. As we stood before the tribute to the god Pan, our professors who led the trip (Forest Buckner and Haley Jacobs) explained that this was said here, in a place where people came to worship the many gods that they believed in. The confrontational aspect of Jesus’ ministry was so clear to me in a place where he challenged such a beloved social norm, to declare not only that there is one God, but that He is the Messiah. 

This was one of many places that connected me to history and geography while in Israel. The theological implications of studying abroad were completely transformative as it took dates off of the page and places off of the map and allowed us all to experience them in the way that the authors of the Bible always expected us to be able to. 

Studying abroad also allowed us all, as university students, to explore the possibilities of using our scholarship to further God’s kingdom and contribute to our fields. This became especially clear to me as we stood in the basement of a Catholic church that was next door to the Church of the Nativity, where Jesus is believed to have been born. Here we found a tribute to St. Jerome, who was the first to translate the Bible to the common tongue. Doing this with the help of multiple women, St. Jerome made a huge step towards the development of God’s kingdom in allowing followers access to the inspired Word of God. Forest offered us a moment in prayer over our futures as students, that our studies may allow us to do God’s work and serve others. 

The abroad experience took a non-theological path as well, as it led me to gain interest in culture studies and politics through the encounters we had with people, cultural practices, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I found myself tunneling into research on policy and history beyond the course requirements. Frustration and empathy drove me to crave more understanding and information, to help me learn what my place is in the conflict and how I can steward that well, returning to American society. The skills that Honors has instilled in me to deeply question and seek more gave me a more meaningful experience while studying in Israel-Palestine. In conjunction with this, the faith that Haley and Forest instilled in all of us through song and prayer rooted my identity as a witness to all of the pain and warfare, in God and His promised kingdom. 

There is a song that Forest taught to us that encapsulates a type of dependence on God that we are often privileged enough to think that we don’t need. It says, “The kingdom of God is justice and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Come Lord and open in us the gates of your Kingdom.” God’s role in history, geography, and relationship is so evident in a place in which believers, such as our Christian host families, rely on God’s provision for all aspects of life. 

As a person of the Christian faith and as a scholar, studying abroad deepened my connection with learning greatly, as it pushed me to lean into potential change that is to be made for the betterment of the world. Leaving the classroom allows for the curriculum to take a life form of its own. Experiencing other cultures is a wonderful platform for finding matters of the heart and mind to explore, especially as it relates to thinking about ways in which our opportunities for scholarship may serve those around us.