I love Messiah commencement. I love how educators line the soccer field and congratulate the seniors as they take their final walk together before they are college graduates. I love the students’ enthusiasm: the cheers, the hat tossing, and the photos. I love seeing graduates meeting up with family and friends at the creek after the ceremony. I love seeing the proud parents; it is their day too.

Mostly I love hearing the names being read. It brings back so many great memories of gifted and caring students:

Brittany. . who studied and served in Uganda and Thailand.

Lauren . . . whose education took her to New York and Italy.

Jeremy . . . whose Messiah adventures landed him in Greece.

Rachel and Michele who collectively studied in Spain, Ecuador, and England and who worked in the EpiCenter. CONGRATULATIONS! I WILL MISS YOU!

Name after name . . representing so many lives that have been changed. How honored I am to have witnessed it.

Goodbye and best wishes graduates. I can’t wait to hear where God leads you next!

The EpiCenter is quiet.

Usually a lively place with back-to-back student visits, the EpiCenter seems . . . well . . . lifeless. I MISS THE STUDENTS! I don’t begrudge them their spring break. They worked hard and deserve a rest. But, I am already looking forward to them coming back next week.

Students are starting to get notified of acceptances to programs. I love seeing the excitement when they get those e-mails and letters letting them know that their lives are about to change . . . forever. And next week starts the beginning of a four part orientation in which students will explore: “Health and Safety in an International Environment,” “Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Communication,” “Growing Your Faith While Studying Abroad,” and “Self-Defense Awareness and Familiarization.” We don’t just send them. We prepare them.

Back to the unusually quiet EpiCenter . . . at least until next week.

The TV news anchor was predicting snow. I braced myself for the roadside shots: piled up dirty snow, bumper to bumper traffic, and reports of accidents and closings.

Instead the camera focused on a beautiful gothic building dusted in snow on a quiet, serene street. The newswoman was gushing. “Isn’t it lovely!!!”

It was a cross cultural moment; it was January in England.

On January 1, I skipped my traditional pork and sauerkraut and accompanied a group of 19 Messiah students and 12 other BCA participants to Cheltenham, England where they would be studying for the semester at the University of Gloucestershire.

It was a wonderful 5 days. I could talk about the cold I got the minute the wheels left that tarmac at Dulles or my luggage that was lost until the day before I returned, but all of that was secondary to having a wonderful week with a great group of students.

Denise and Sandy the BCA directors enthusiastically greeted the students when they arrived in London. What a team; they almost finished each others’ sentences. They loaded the students on a bus and headed for Cheltenham. The first week went something like this: A bit of orientation, settling students into classes and their dorms. A bit more orientation, but not before the directors marched students to the computer labs to e-mail their parents: “I arrived safely in England!”

Students learned how to navigate the buses and where to purchase supplies and had a celebratory welcome dinner at ASK.

The airline finally found my luggage. I hugged it. I didn’t realize I was that attached to my hairspray.

The week ended with an excursion to Bath where we sampled the famous Sally Lunn’s buns with clotted cream and jam, toured the Roman Baths, and visited the Jane Austen Centre.

I waived goodbye to the students and headed back to Central PA. I landed in Harrisburg six days after I took off for the UK. As always, it is good to be home and back at Messiah.

P.S. The airline lost my luggage on the way home too

The semester is coming to a close, Christmas is almost here, and the EpiCenter is looking quite festive. Here are some photos of the office.

Merry Christmas!
Wendy

Christmas has arrived in the EpiCenter. Yes, I know it is still November, but we are so full of Christmas joy, we just couldn’t contain ourselves. Here is the top 10 reasons to visit the EpiCenter during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

10. Pretty Poinsettias
9. Hear Michele say, “Festoon” (her word for decorating for Christmas)
8. International Christmas decorations
7. Free candy canes
6. Learn how to say Merry Christmas in other languages
5. Lights galore
4. A lighted Christmas tree with tiny ornaments
3. “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” playing on the TV in Spanish!
2. Discover study abroad locations around the world were you can spend next Christmas
1. See our creche - we love Jesus!

Most of the students who plan to study abroad in the Spring have submitted their applications and are waiting for their acceptance letters. We have students applying to Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Uganda. And 16 students have already been accepted to study in Thailand!

I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for these students as they start on adventures that will change their lives!

Returning students celebrated with international desserts, Greek music, and loads of memories at the Welcome Back Reception in the EpiCenter last week. Dining Services outdid themselves with melt-in-your mouth treats like Kenya snaps, that we though tasted like creme brulee in a roll, Brazilian nut cake, and Ten Gok (fried won ton cookies). Student had a great time swapping stories and just getting reconnected. Check out these photos to get a “taste” of the reception.

The Abroad View magazines arrived today with Carolyn Eanes’ story. If you want a copy, stop by the EpiCenter. I ordered 100 You can also view Carolyn’s article, “Behind Prison Walls” online.

Read it with a box of tissues.

English major Carolyn Eanes, who graduated this spring is going to have her article “Going Behind Prison Walls.” published in the fall edition of Abroad View magazine. The article highlights Carolyn’s Fall 2006 experiences serving in an Ecuadorian prison during the semester that she studied at the University of San Francisco Quito.

Shortly after arriving in Ecuador, she watched a documentary about the desperate conditions of children growing up in Ecuadorian prisons while their mothers are incarcerated. Armed with a passion to make a difference, she made an appointment with the warden of El Inca Women’s Prison in Quito and left with permission to minister to the children throughout her semester in Quito.

She chronicles her experiences in an article “Going Behind Prison Walls.”

Congratulations Carolyn!

Welcome to the EpiCenter Blog. I am happy you found me. I am the Director of the EpiCenter, Wendy Lippert. I have had the pleasure of helping students discover their world for the past 13 years.

If you want to find out more about our programs, visit the
EpiCenter web site to discover a world of opportunities.

If you are on campus, stop by the EpiCenter. I am in Eisenhower Campus Center. Look for the new map outside the office. It highlights all of the locations where Messiah students study.