“What’s the plan today, Jess?” Igor sidled up to me.
面对着晨风中飘扬的旗帜，我耸了耸肩，打了个哈欠. “How should I know?”
“Because.阿廖娜的凉鞋在碎裂的沙质沥青路面上摩擦，她困倦地笑了笑. “Americans know everything.”
“No, we don’t.当乌克兰国歌从扬声器中响起时，bwin体育三个人把手放在背后. I smiled at her. “We just think we do.”
我在英语夏令营遇到了伊戈尔和阿廖娜，这是乌克兰基辅郊外一个由教会领导的为期一周的夏令营.
经常有人问我，去年夏天我是怎么来到乌克兰的. It’s harder to answer than one might think. 没错，我从杜勒斯机场飞到基辅只用了15个小时，但整个过程? 我花了两年时间，还绕了蒙古一圈.
我在bwin体育bwin体育的第二个学期，一位客人来到我的传教会 & Culture class and spoke about their organization, 派遣传教士到敌视福音的国家教英语. 我不知道我这一生想做什么，但我爱耶稣，爱旅行，也爱英语. So in December 2019, I signed up to go to Mongolia the following summer, never dreaming a world pandemic would get in the way.
“Okay, God,” I said through my tears. “Next year then. Mongolia or bust. It’s not like this can go on for another year, right?”
Wrong. 2021年4月过去了，蒙古的边境仍然严格关闭. I voiced my frustration and grief to my professor, Dr. Watt: Why wouldn’t God let me go overseas and serve Jesus!?
“Maybe you’re not supposed to go to Mongolia,” Dr. Watt said. “Pray about it, talk to other organizations. See what God can do.”
I took his advice. 我一次又一次地听到:“bwin体育的海外工作被推迟了”和“bwin体育现在不招收实习生。.”
It didn’t make sense. 我可以看到上帝的手在2020年把我拉回来，但从那以后他在我身上做了很多工作. 一年的等待让我谦卑下来，给了我时间去成长、学习和准备. What was God preparing me for if not to go to Mongolia? 我为自己的目标奋斗了这么长时间，感到不确定该做什么. God had brought me to Geneva, sat me in that missions course, and connected me with this organization. 我希望蒙古能告诉我，我走对了地方，走对了方向. If I never made it overseas, it was back to square one.
One rainy day, I sat under a pop-up tent on Geneva’s campus, my bare feet on the wet concrete, watching rain run rivers off the roof, 准备好迎接又一次的拒绝，我滔滔不绝地讲着我那熟练的演讲.
The woman on the other line paused. “bwin体育不在蒙古服役，但我在乌克兰可能有消息给你.”
两个月后，我站在基辅机场外，寻找一个穿绿色衬衫的女人, my host for the next seven weeks.
Those seven weeks hold many of the most joyful, strange, difficult, and transformative moments of my life. 我看到一位军官出身的牧师在第聂伯河里浸泡新基督徒, to the shouts and cheers of their little congregation. Tiny grandmothers grabbed my face in their soft, wrinkled hands, kissed me on both cheeks, and dove into a monologue in breakneck Ukrainian. 买蓝莓的尝试(和失败)让我歇斯底里. 我和乌克兰人围成一圈坐着，bwin体育试着绕开彼此的词汇. I realized that love surpasses any language barriers, 十字架的力量取代了所有的文化冲突.
bwin体育和我的教授培养了我对人和语言的热爱, cheered me on, prayed me forward, and spoke truth into my life, leading me to Kyiv. bwin体育首先把我对英语教学的热情放在心里，当我最终将我的教育付诸实践时，她在学术上和精神上都给予了我支持.
现在，十个月过去了，我看着这座欢迎我的城市崩溃了. Last week, I saw an apartment building torn in half. I’d attended Ukrainian lessons just across the street.
I’ve explored streets that are now split by missiles. 我在被改造成防空洞的地铁站里等过. I stood in buildings that no longer stand. People welcomed me into homes that they’ve since fled. I am heartbroken by the unjust, inexcusable treatment of innocent people, people who showed me kindness and hospitality and grace. 上帝带我从bwin体育出发，经过蒙古，到达乌克兰，我感到谦卑和敬畏. And I am reminded of my last day at English Camp.
“如果你能告诉世界一件关于乌克兰的事，那会是什么?“我看着伊戈尔和阿廖娜，尼基塔和迪马，波格丹和奥利亚，蒂玛和阿尔乔姆.
“That we exist,” Alyona said. “That we are here. And we are beautiful. And don’t forget it.”
-Jess Markley ‘21
bwin体育博客中表达的观点是其作者的观点，并不一定代表bwin体育的观点或官方立场. bwin体育博客是教师和撰稿人表达观点的地方, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
May 31, 2022
24岁的大学生山姆·沃德(Sam Ward)在以色列耶路撒冷大学bwin体育(Jerusalem University College)度过了2023年秋季的学期. 以下是他在国内动乱初期和期间在国外的经历.
bwin体育有很多独特的旅游和学习机会, whether for a semester or for a few weeks. 阅读这里，了解一些学生五月去意大利旅行的经历!
你是否正在寻找一种方式，将你对旅行的热爱与追求学位的热情结合起来? Maybe studying abroad this summer is just what you need!
还有什么地方比大学篮球的发源地更适合职业篮球队比赛呢? On February 5, 2019, 国际知名的哈莱姆环球旅行者队将在bwin体育的球场上展示他们的运动天赋, 他们在大学篮球运动的历史遗址上表演戏剧和喜剧.
通过bwin体育的苏格兰学期计划允许学生通过参加神学和历史的各种课程以及每周的著名历史游览来完成15个学分的学期, scenic and cultural sites. For Bethany, who was born and raised in Indiana, 在苏格兰，人们摒弃了对生命的种种假设，对基督的创造产生了新的认识.
圣斯特凡诺罗通多的壁画向观众提供了一个重要的提醒，即门徒的代价.
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