I N T E G R A T I N G F A I T H , S E R V I C E , S C H O L A R S H I P LASP NEWS LASP’s mission is to culvate a Christ-centered community of crical thinking learner-scholars from mulple disciplines, that seeks to expand global awareness and integrate Kingdom values via experienal learning in the Lan American context, challeng- ing students to respecully engage our host cultures and strive for academic excellence. A Biannual Newsleer Spring 2016 A Miracle of Sharing Former LASP staff member, Trevor Poag, shares a lile bit from his research efforts on students’ transformaon- al experiences in studying abroad with LASP. P. 1-2 Alumni Updates Read about what LASP alumni are doing, where they are in the world, and what they are passionate about. P. 5-6 Stay up to date and connected with LASP by “liking” our page on Facebook. Search “LASP” A Miracle of Sharing P. 1 Current Perspecves A few updates from our current semes- ter p. 3-4 Looking Back by Trevor Poag, LASP Assistant Director 2002-2013 I recently completed research on how studying abroad with LASP has changed students' percepons of their faith. My analysis of data from 430 anonymous parcipants revealed something I did not expect to find—a miracle! I am pleased to share this summary of how LASP stu- dents described the impact of studying abroad on their faith, the way that such faith development informed their acons in the world, and the miracle that drove this transformaon. In 89% of responses, LASP students indicated that studying abroad in- fluenced a change in their religious faith. Students described the es- sence of this change as a shiſt from religion centered on “us,” to faith grounded in a framework that considers “all of us” (transcending eth- nocentrism). Students further described this change as one that di- rected their aenon to the relaonship between orthodoxy and or- thopraxy. They spoke of a stronger desire to live the faith of Jesus as a reflecon of their faith in Jesus. Trevor and Laura Barnard-Poag with their son, Emerson. Both Trevor and Laura worked on staff with LASP for many years before moving back to New York in 2013 to raise their family.
This is the Spring 2016 newsletter for the CCCU's Latin American Studies Program in San Jose, Cost Rica.
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I N T E G R A T I N G F A I T H , S E R V I C E , S C H O L A R S H I P
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, challeng-
ing students to respectfully engage our host cultures and strive for academic excellence.
A Biannual Newsletter Spring 2016
A Miracle of Sharing
Former LASP staff member,
Trevor Poag, shares a little
bit from his research efforts
on students’ transformation-
al experiences in studying
abroad with LASP.
P. 1-2
Alumni Updates
Read about what LASP
alumni are doing,
where they are in the
world, and what they
are passionate about.
P. 5-6
Stay up to date and
connected with
LASP by “liking” our
page on Facebook.
Search “LASP”
A Miracle of Sharing
P. 1
Current
Perspectives
A few updates from
our current semes-
ter
p. 3-4
Looking Back
by Trevor Poag, LASP Assistant Director 2002-2013
I recently completed research on how studying abroad with LASP has
changed students' perceptions of their faith. My analysis of data from
430 anonymous participants revealed something I did not expect to
find—a miracle! I am pleased to share this summary of how LASP stu-
dents described the impact of studying abroad on their faith, the way
that such faith development informed their actions in the world, and
the miracle that drove this transformation.
In 89% of responses, LASP students indicated that studying abroad in-
fluenced a change in their religious faith. Students described the es-
sence of this change as a shift from religion centered on “us,” to faith
grounded in a framework that considers “all of us” (transcending eth-
nocentrism). Students further described this change as one that di-
rected their attention to the relationship between orthodoxy and or-
thopraxy. They spoke of a stronger desire to live the faith of Jesus as a
reflection of their faith in Jesus.
Trevor and Laura Barnard-Poag with their son, Emerson.
Both Trevor and Laura worked on staff with LASP for many
years before moving back to New York in 2013 to raise their
family.
P. 2
Looking Back
Regarding actions that emerged from students’ changes in perceptions of
their religious faith, LASP students described their attempts to embody the
most challenging tenets of the Kingdom of God. They spoke of their partici-
pation in churches that stand in solidarity with the marginalized. They
shared about their vocational choices to work with immigrant communities
in the United States. They detailed their efforts to confront and transform
injustices in the global economy. These accounts of LASP students’ efforts
to “live Jesus” foregrounded the complexity, beauty, and difficulty of em-
bracing a Kingdom-centered life.
I asked LASP students to identify the study abroad components that most
influenced their changes in religious faith and action. Students related
many features of their LASP experience to these changes—class presenta-
tions, assigned readings, study trips, and process group discussions. In de-
scribing how these components informed a change in their faith, however,
students identified their relationships with Latin Americans as the connec-
tive tissue among the other program components. Time and again, stu-
dents described how their relationships with the host community breathed
life and relevance into an otherwise sterile engagement of academic mate-
rial.
Now, the miracle. As I step back and carefully digest the findings of
this study, I am reminded of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. In this story, a
young boy’s decision to offer his meager lunch informed Jesus’ feeding
of thousands of hungry followers. As with the boy in the feeding of the 5,000, the sharing actions of LASP’s Latin American hosts
have catalyzed the spiritual development of thousands of U.S. and Canadian students. This is the overarching finding of my re-
search: LASP students are the recipient-participants in a miracle of sharing that was driven by the generosity and grace of LASP’s
host communities.
There are numerous implications of this core finding. In the case of study abroad, do we recognize host communities for their
essential role in such programming and seek to reciprocate their contributions to the learning of U.S. and Canadian students? Do
we design study abroad programs to facilitate relationships between students and their hosts? In the case of our spirituality, do
our relationships serve as connective tissue among the components of the Kingdom of God, bringing life and relevance to its pro-
posals? Do our actions reflect the miracle of sharing and catalyze the holistic development of others? The LASP community has
much to process and much for which to be grateful as this miracle of sharing unfolds...
You can read detailed results of this study in the current issue of Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad
(frontiersjournal.org).
Our Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 applications are now open at...
bestsemester.com/apply!
"Do you know a student who would be a good match for our program? Are they interested in learning
about Latin America from diverse perspectives? Are they ready to practice intentional critical thinking,
engage in multiple intense immersion experiences, and diligently practice their Spanish language skills?
Encourage them to apply today! It’s not too late!
Apply for the Latin American Studies Program
Trevor, with son Emerson, who is now 4 years old
P. 3
Current Perspectives
Student-led Praise and Worship at the LASP office
Limon trip: We enjoyed a fun week-
end exploring issues of race and
discrimination in the province of
Limon. We also visited the KékoLdi
indigenous reserve and the beach at
Cahuita National Park.
How many different volcanoes can you visit
in one semester!? PURA VIDA!
Students have been treated
with such great love by their
host families.
Current Perspectives
P. 4
In our two-week Nicaragua Study Trip, students engaged in a number of challenging realities in Managua, including the dump/poverty
in the Oriental Market, as well as the context of a rural community-immersion experience. Students were greatly impacted when we
faced the questions of WHY such inequality exists in this region and how can we appropriately combat it. One of our Key speakers from
Managua was Ana Margarita Vigil, president of the Movimiento Renovador Sandinista party in Nicaragua. Another key experience in
Managua was our meeting with the organization Inhijambia, which works with child drug addicts in the market. Students grew close to
their host families in a short amount of time and we began to miss them as soon as we started our journey back to San Jose.
Adventure on
the water: the
beach and the
lake. With the campus ministry, CEM at the UCR!
Music in class and in concert
at the National Theater
Rodderick’s organic farm is an example of a personal response to injustices