Student Rachel Morris reflects on her summer 2012 trip to Nicaragua with Messiah’s Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research

Anticipation rose as we turned off the bumpy dirt highway into off-road country surrounded by roaming farm animals, tiny huts and clotheslines. A swarm of kids chased after the big yellow bus that carried our diverse team of Messiah College students, Living Water educators and newly trained village leaders, welcoming us to the community. After spending time in Puerto Cabezas preparing, we finally arrived with the mission of bringing pure water and The Living Water to the small community of Awas Tigni, Nicaragua. The next two days spent in the beautiful land of Awas flew by like a blur. Community members were eager to learn all we had to share. Classrooms were filled, and people completed a variety of activities and lessons on everything from hand-washing, to making a tippy tap to using one of our filters! (more…)

Once perceived as a grandmother’s pastime, knitting has exploded in popularity among younger generations. Now knitting has become the new chic way to be crafty and creative. Some attribute the popularity surge to numerous knit-loving celebrities, but Joy Oakes, a senior at Messiah College, believes that knitting’s attractiveness comes from its conduciveness to multitasking.

“Knitting is something that can be done while doing something else,” Oakes stated. For Oakes, that something else is fellowship. Specially, fellowship made possible through Tabitha’s, a unique student-ministry that uses knitting to serve the community.

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