A Favorite Time of Year

At a school, most people's favorite time is graduation. Mine is the very first days of school even though it’s a very difficult time for me work-wise. The reason? I get to meet new students. I get to find out where they’re from and a little bit about them and also to learn about their hopes and ambitions of how this education will serve those dreams in the future. I like to meet new people anyway. But, I have a particular fondness for meeting international students. I learn so much from them. They have travelled far from their homes, their culture, and their families and have sacrificed much. Yet, it seems they are consistently humble, joyful, grateful, . . . Simply put, they just make you want to be around them. This photo is of a man named Keleme. He’s from Ethiopia. He came to the United States for the first time a few years ago to work on a Doctor of Ministry degree and needed a host for a little while. Through some connections we had the privilege of meeting this awesome person and were able to connect with him twice a year for a few weeks each when he came to the US for classes. Looking forward to seeing him receive his doctorate before long.