The First Day, 10 Months Later, Father's Day, & Scholarship

Some of the group from the international bible study on Wednesday nights.
Back in April we spent a weekend away at the North Coast. This is us at Giant's Causeway.

Last September, as I walked out of customs at Belfast International Airport, there was a table with a big sign saying 'Queen's University' sitting in the midst of the terminal. Within minutes of being in Northern Ireland I connected with two of the most important aspects of my year: my friendship with three other Americans and the International Friendship Association (IFA).

Who would have guessed that four random people would become best of friends? As we gathered around that table, trying to keep an eye on our luggage, Megan, Melissa, Jude and I shook hands, going through the routine of introducing ourselves to complete strangers after a long, overnight plane ride. It's now June, ten months after we met, and I can't imagine this year without these three incredible friends. From trips to Fall's and Clonard, to quiz nights at the local pub, and weekly dinners, they have been, without a doubt, some of the best memories, and, without question, the best friendships, I have from this year. Through the four of us getting to know each other, I've been introduced to the larger 'gang' - a group of twelve great friends from Missouri, Canada, Northern Ireland, France, and elsewhere.

Along with meeting 'the gang' that day, I also met Kerry Fee and later that first evening, her husband, Peter Fee. Kerry works for IFA and Peter's a local anesthesiologist. Kerry's work involves bringing together community churches to welcome and reach out to the international students that come to Queen's every year. A part of that has been Wednesday night Bible studies. Open to all international students who are interested in practicing their English and learning more about Christianity, the group is usually made up of 20 or so students: mostly Chinese and Malaysian. I was the token America and a couple French students joined us for a while.

We usually break up into a couple different groups after dinner and I would go with the group that was already familiar with Christianity and wanting to go deeper. One of the guys in the group was named Kai. A biology PhD student, Kai had come to know Jesus during last year's Bible study. It was great to be a part of the group with him - his joy for life and an excitement for understanding Scripture.

It was awesome to go to his baptism today at All Saints, a local Anglican Church of Ireland congregation that is Kerry and Peter's home church (Peter's grandfather was a minister there years ago). Having just been to Megan's confirmation a few weeks ago at Clonard Monastery, it's been an incredible month of having friends who have chosen to publicly proclaim their desire to pursue Christ and his calling on their lives in this world.

So, what does this have to do with Father's Day? As Kai and I were walking over to Peter and Kerry's for a celebratory BBQ, Kai told me about his conversation with his dad. His parents are both traditional Chinese communists and Kai's dad couldn't understand why Kai had made the choice he did. Befuddled, he told Kai, 'I didn't think scientists could be religious.' To which Kai answered, 'Religion isn't in conflict with science. It just gives you a different perspective.' I thought it was a great answer.

Over lunch, Kai and I were talking with Lizzy, a mom with a PhD in Physics from Italy, and talking about the great scientists who have also been people of faith in Christ. The ones that first came to mind were: Isaac Newton, Alister McGrath, Blaise Pascal, and, later in life, Charles Darwin. There is a long list of brilliant scientist who have changed and continue to change this world and feel as though their faith in Christ has strengthened their scholarship. One person that comes to mind is geneticist Francis Collins, the head of the human genome project.

In the broader realm of academia - an area that so often seems passionately committed to the minimalizing, if not the death, of faith - the landscape is filled with those who have boldly committed themselves to the best of scholarship, in response to and because of their passion for Christ. And so, for those of us in academia (and those who aren't), we can confidently pursue our fields and areas of study with the best of our ability, knowing that our faith, rather than being left at the door, can and ought to help form and shape our minds and our work. That, as many have found throughout the centuries, our work ought to be the best we can pursue because of a God who gave us our talents, our abilities, and our opportunities. Having been lavished on with such rich blessings, how can we help but not respond by giving our best to the endeavour?

Oxford: Change of Plans

This is my Grandma. At 90, she's the only grandparent I've ever really known.
I'm so excited to live near her again this next year.

It's been a really busy month. JBU's first summer teams arrived - both the studies team (16) and the missions team (8) - so we're nearly a full house with almost 30 people. There was a lot of last minute stuff for David and I to do in getting ready for their arrival, but it's been a lot of fun to have them here.

Once they got here, I had two weeks to pour myself into a 15,000 word paper on the MI5 files I've been looking at. I'd never heard this term before, but what they had us creating was a 'calendar'. Basically, it's synopses, date/name data, and extracts from a group of archival records. On top of providing summary references for the individual 'artifacts', we also had to provide biographies for as many of the names mentioned as we could - which is a bit of a challenge with these MI5 files from 1947-8 that cover topics and people both in England and in Kenya, but I gave it my best shot. Lastly, we had to write a 5,000 introductory essay to the resource to explain/describe the original material as well as explain how the calendar has been set up. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much sleep in the last week. Turned that in on Tuesday and I'll need to start on my dissertation soon.

But, beyond that update, here's the news on Oxford for next year:

Update on Oxford

Plans for Oxford next year have taken a significant turn, but it's not a 'downturn' or a 'turn for the worse'. While unexpected as of three weeks ago - it's exciting!

In looking for funding for next year, nothing has come through, and the possibilities are now quite limited in what could happen. I got in touch with Dr. David Anderson - my potential supervisor there - about delaying a year and it'd be fine by him. So, the big change of plans is that....

I'm coming back to the US!

I'll likely come back shortly after turning in my dissertation (due Sep 15) and be back in the states for a year. During that year, I'll reapply to Oxford (they don't defer) and apply for funding/scholarships/grants. The hope is that, in a year, I could return to Oxford with it mostly or completely funded. I'll also be applying to some really good African PhD programs in the US - Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Indiana at Bloomingfield, all have really strong programs.

It also means I'm on the job hunt for this next year, so I'm going to be looking for history teaching positions at community colleges or private high schools. (If you know of anything, let me know!)

The way the decision has come about has been really great and it's so clear that it's God's direction. I'm incredibly at peace about it. My grandma was recently diagnosed with mild-altheizmer's, so this will allow me to be near her, which I'm so excited about. I call her 'Beautiful', because she is, and I'm looking forward to loving on her for a year (she's nearly 90!). As well, my twin brother's back in Little Rock, so I'll get to be near him - which is something I've been wanting to be for a long while now. So, I'm hoping I can come alongside and encourage him and just enjoy some good 'twin brother' time. :-)

I have a friend who's been praying for me and for Oxford. She emailed me last week with a real sense that there might be something in store for me this next year, something that I wasn't giving much attention to, that, if I were to go to Oxford, would be drowned out. That was long before anyone knew I was thinking about not going. We'll see what God's got planned! Whatever it is, it'll be incredibly exciting! It's another adventure!