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June 13, 2007: Dr. Paul Wright, Executive
Director
We are well into our summer programs and JUC’s
Mt. Zion campus is alive with activity. We had five groups in the
field in May, two are here in June and an eighth is coming in July,
with altogether over 300 students. These include groups from several
of JUC’s consortium of associated schools, Cedarville University,
Columbia International University, Northwest University, Wheaton
College, Messiah College, and Northwestern College.
Faculty instructors this summer are Dr. Carl Rasmussen, Dr. Elaine
Phillips, Dr. Carl Laney, Dr. Paul Wright, Cyndi Parker and Judith
Fain.
It seems as though talk of tension and war in
Gaza, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East is always in the
air. In spite of all action real, threatened or perceived, we are
running our full, scheduled itineraries without trouble or
adjustment. Of course we are always able to make changes in our
activities at a moment’s notice should conditions deem it necessary,
but we don’t anticipate any trouble with the routes that are
planned.
Highlights at the end of our spring semester
included field trips to Jordan for the Cultural Backgrounds of
the Bible course and to Neot Kedumim, Israel’s biblical
landscape garden, for the Parables of Jesus course. Our trip
to Jordan focused on living situations that reflect aspects of the
biblical lifestyle. We stayed overnight with bedouin deep in Wadi
Rum, well off the paved track. Within minutes of our arrival a baby
goat was born, and half an hour later we watched the chosen sheep be
sacrificed for our evening meal. It was a bit of the cycle of
life—just outside the tent, on the rock and sand, without
antiseptic or barriers of any kind. Dinner, “the fatted sheep,” was
cooked over coals from the juniper tree in a sand pit. The next day
we witnessed traditional living skills and crafts with villagers in Wadi Dana—plowing, grinding grain, churning milk and so on, all with
ancient methods that reflect biblical practices. A few days later we
participated in a special program at Neot Kedumim, Israel’s biblical
landscape garden, focusing on imagery used in parables of Jesus and
the rabbis. It was all “hands-on,” and a great example of how
studies at JUC not only expose students to the biblical landscape,
but to customs and lifestyle possibilities as well. We offer a
well-rounded educational experience to students of the Bible—the
best available, in fact. Our dedicated staff is privileged to live
and work with a solid core of dedicated and focused students in the
land of the Bible—I can’t think of anything more attractive or full
of promise.
If you are interested in participating in a
strong and effective work for the cause of the Gospel and in a task
that is focused on the land and the people of the Bible, then I
would invite you to join or renew your commitment to JUC’s growing
team of patrons and supporters. I invite your prayer, encouragement,
good words and, as you are able, financial assistance in our shared
cause. |
