In early August, I had the opportunity to participate in the very first Global Conference of the Society of Christian Scholars in Nairobi, Kenya. The 50+ participants represented 24 countries from 4 continents! The Society is rather a network than an organization; its goal is to support and equip Christian academicians at non-Christian universities and colleges. Some 2 years ago, I was introduced to them by Dr. Martine Audéoud, PhD Program Director at BGU. Martine connected me with another BGU professor, Dr. Osam Temple, who is in charge of the Society’s regions of Anglophone Africa and the Middle East. At that point, I had no idea what this connection would bring into my life and academic work.
Being at this conference connected me with even more BGU people. I knew that Dr. Marlene Hines from Jamaica could not attend the conference, but she took part in the Organizing Committee, and she also serves as the Librarian of the Society. She leads monthly reading club sessions online, and we have already met there a couple of times. I also knew that Dr. Nita Kotiuga serves as the Spiritual Formation group lead, and I was sure she would be in Nairobi at the conference. So, I was relieved that meeting some BGU people would make my stay in Kenya more family-like. But I hadn’t counted on meeting even more of us!
So surprisingly, almost every day, I met someone who is related to BGU. On day zero, I met Osam in person! We had already met online at meetings and teaching Global Social Change together. And after so many Zoom calls, we greeted each other as old friends.
On day one, I met Nita, whom I had already met once at the Kuala Lumpur Immersion in 2018 and at my 2022 graduation in Dallas. We are also colleagues at BGU, and we were so happy to see each other in person, like sisters who live apart but belong together.
On the second day, there was a little desk with the books of Dr. Claudia Charlot, the book titled Haiti: The Black Sheep? that I shared and promoted on the BGU website! She is the head of the DTL Program at Emmaus University in Haiti, which is led by her kind husband, and both of them were representing the Caribbean region in Nairobi! We did a book exchange with Claudia, so I received her publication, and after returning home, I read it and loved it! Although I have never been in the Caribbean or Haiti, the book taught me so much about history, culture, and society. I just suggest that you read it if you want to learn what is being done wrong while we support developing countries and people in Haiti. Right now, Claudia leads a special immersion for Haitian students: she takes them to Jamaica, where she is originally from.
Another day brought me to Ernest, who is a DTL student from Uganda. The Ugandan team of conference participants asked me to take a group photo, and when I was done, Ernest came to me asking whether I was from BGU. I was surprised again: he is working on his dissertation and is close to finishing his doctoral degree! Amazing! So far, we already had 5 of us on site, and 2 in the background who were not able to travel to Nairobi.
What I learned from this trip is that even though I am separating my networks, tasks, and events from each other, God can overcome those separations and unite us as a big, global, faithful community of transformational leaders! These amazing people have already made progress in transformation through education, professional development, or spiritual support. I just feel so proud to be one of them. There is a saying: “You can graduate but never leave BGU.” Although you are done with your studies, you are becoming a member of this rich, colorful, diverse alumni community, and you can continue your involvement as a professor, staff member, or international partner of BGU. I look forward to meeting more of you.
Dr. Krisztina Oláh
Marketing and Communications
