A N E W M E S P C E N T E R I N J E R U S A L E M

UpdateUpdateUpdate

Since Fall 1993, the Middle East Studies Program has operated as a vibrant study abroad experience, under

the auspices of the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), in Washington D.C. For 17 of these

years MESP was based in Cairo, Egypt, at three different locations (first at American University, later in

Zamalek and finally in Agouza). In Spring 2011, the Egyptian revolution

forced MESP to leave Cairo. Since then, the program has had a tempo-

rary "home" at Tantur, Jerusalem. On September 1st 2012, we dedicated

a new MESP Center, made possible through a joint project between

MESP and the supportive Staff of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute. Both

parties share a Christian vision to engage with the local Muslim, Eastern

Christian, and Jewish populations in a meaningful way, and where possi-

ble, to act as a bridge between and for them.

F R O M

S T U D E N T T O

I N S T R U C T O R :

A J O U R N E Y

W I T H A R A B I C

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W H A T W E D I D

T H I S S U M M E R 2

A P H O T O G R A -

P H E R A N D A

B L O G G E R

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C L O S I N G

T H O U G H T S . . .

A D A Y I N T H E

L I F E O F

M E S P

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The MESP Update is a personal communication from Dr. David

Holt to his friends, colleagues, and MESP alumni. It is intended to in-form and give insight on what he is doing as director of the Middle East Studies Program and to share pro-

files and stories on past and current MESP students. Comments or opin-

ions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the views

of MESP or the CCCU. The MESP Update is published bimonthly, dur-

ing the regular semester.

Dear Alum & Friends of MESP, Very excited to see the new Jerusalem Center in use, with terrific speakers and an active schedule in full swing. With all the talk of chaos in the region, the MESP Fall ‘12 cohort is enjoying and embracing access to all three Abra-hamic communities here. As I write, some students are off to a Palestinian wedding in Bethlehem as invited guests, while others are viewing the work of an iconographer as he prepares to unveil a new painting. We will soon be trekking several miles to visit the Wailing Wall at the close of Yom Kippur ceremonies (no vehicles are used on that day). Life is going well for MESPers and we are thrilled to be embarking on a new travel itinerary to Islamic Spain, Morocco and Turkey, later in the semester! Enjoy the profiles and features in this communication, and remember us, as well as the peoples of the region in prayer, when you get the time. Though into my eleventh year with MESP, I still feel very privileged to experience the people and places we do, and grateful to be part of another MESP gen-eration. Blessings ,

David P. Holt

V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 1

Students’

home-stays

with

Palestinian

families

Group Travel to

Islamic Spain,

Morocco and

Turkey

Photo credit: Christopher Di Trolio

C L I C K

N E X T I S S U E

Amelia Sampat ad-

mits that while she

has always been

fascinated by the rich

culture of the Middle

East and has had a

passion to work in

the region, under-

standing how to chan-

nel those passions into a constructive career

was a challenge. "Attending MESP in the Fall of

2011 played an important role in shaping my

character while giving me ideas how to direct my

aspirations into healthy life goals. I began to

recognize a deep desire to research reconcilia-

tion education between Israeli and Palestinian

students."

Consequently, Amelia returned to Jerusalem

during her summer break, and did some volun-

teer work at Tantur in exchange for room and

board; a connection that was created through

the MESP program. She also began researching

for her Undergraduate Honors Thesis, visiting

schools in Jerusalem and conducting interviews

with teachers, staff, and students about their

educational approaches to reconciliation. “Being

able to hear the perspectives of educational

W H A T W E D I D T H I S S U M M E R !

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Staff, while being influenced by the popular opinion of

both Israelis and Palestinians gave me valuable infor-

mation that would not have been attainable through a

stack of lengthy journal articles.” Amelia acknowledges

that her semester on MESP and subsequent visit to

the region allowed for “experiences in cultural prac-

tices, a grasp of colloquial Arabic, candid discussions

on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with political figures,

and a heightened awareness of the social structures

impeding the peace process.”

“Though I’d been interested

in the Middle East and

North Africa for many years,

living in the region while on

MESP confirmed that this

was exactly the place I was

meant to be,” says Jessy

Hampton. So this summer,

Jessy headed to Tunisia as

a participant in AMIDEAST’s

Learn and Serve program, studying Tunisian Arabic

while working with Tunisian college students on prac-

ticing their English. She split her five weeks between

Tunis, the capital, and Nabeul, a small coastal town,

and left a few days open for some touring in the west

and south of Tunisia.

"My interactions with Tunisians revealed that while

their Jasmine Revolution remains in the forefront of

people’s minds and they are enjoying control over their

government, many expressed disappointment with

their democratically-elected officials, whom they feel

have not made enough changes, nor addressed the

hardships faced by the population, especially in places

outside main urban centers like Tunis." Speaking to the

dual role that the current government plays, appeasing

both the secularists and the ultra conservatives, Jessy

acknowledges that while the revolution is an obvious

turning point for Tunisia, “it is certainly just the beginning

of a long road toward democratic change in the region.“

This past summer, Jenna

Englehart spent about

seven weeks teaching a

summer English program

for kids in Oman: "MESP

‘whetted’ my appetite for

working in the Middle East;

so when God opened the

right doors for me, I was

ready to take the opportu-

nity and go back."

In order to protect the pri-

vacy and security of the

Institute where Jenna

worked, MESP can only provide readers with limited infor-

mation, but will say that Jenna was able to build some

wonderful relationships with her young Omani students

and with the local community where she resided. It was a

huge learning experience for her to parse out how di-

verse the different areas of the Middle East can be, as

she compared differences between living in Israel-

Palestine and daily life in the Gulf.

While Jenna is keeping her options open after gradua-

tion, she is considering either pursuing a master's degree

in TESOL or going to an Arabic language school.

MESP wishes God’s blessings on these three young women

as they wrap up their final year as undergrads and looks

forward to following their journeys after graduation!

Amelia enjoys a Falafel sandwich

Any member of the Spring 2008 MESP student cohort will recall Dustin Wellbaum's diligence with learning Arabic. He was truly com-

mitted!

After graduating from Abilene Christian University in May 2008, Dustin returned to Cairo where he found work and continued to en-

gage with the language and culture of the region. In Fall 2010, he began a Masters degree program in Middle East Studies at Lund

University, Sweden. "My first year courses were held at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), in Lund, and gave a solid foun-

dation in the formations of theories and philosophies of the Middle East." recalls Dustin. He then began his third semester in Buraimi

Oman, interning at a language center that provided courses in Arabic to non-native speakers: "It was here I conducted much of my

final thesis research (classroom observations, interviews, and surveys) and received my first experiences teaching the Arabic lan-

guage in a classroom setting."

Fast forward to May 2012. Dustin submitted and defended his thesis on second language classroom dynamics and teaching peda-

gogy.A few weeks later, he married a lovely Swedish young woman whom he met in Cairo in 2008. But the good news only gets better: "After returning from our

honeymoon in Vienna and Budapest, I received a phone call from CMES offering me a position as their Arabic language instructor. I accepted the position and this

is where I find myself now.” MESP says: Mabruk Dustin! Well done!

F R O M S T U D E N T T O I N S T R U C T O R : A journey with Arabic

Jessy is ready for a visit to the Haram al Sharif—Dome of the

Rock

This past summer, MESP alums: Amelia

Sampat (Southeastern Univ.) Jessy Hampton

(Seattle Pacific Univ.) and Jenna Englehart

(Houghton College), returned to the Middle East

region to study, work and do service. All three,

attended MESP as rising juniors in Fall ‘11 and

will complete their undergraduate studies at the

end of the 2012-2013 academic year. Here are

their stories:

Jenna in Petra, Jordan

A L U M N I

Dustin Wellbaum

Thursday September 13th 2012

7:30–8:15 am: Breakfast

Tantur’s breakfasts are terrific!

8:30-9:00 am: Devos Using a reading from the late theologian—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Kyla Lindberg from North Park University led students in a conversation on “Who Am I to God.”

9:30-11:00 am: Gershom Gorenberg Great discussion from an author, blogger and journalist who specializes in Mid-dle Eastern politics and the interaction of religion & politics. Topic centered around his latest book: The Unmaking of Israel.

Leave for Tel Aviv

12:30 pm: Picnic lunch Afternoon on the beach

6:00pm: Panel A dynamic panel (Secular Jew-businessman, Israeli-Palestinian Christian-embassy employee and a Traditional Jew-attorney) discussed and answered questions on “The Politics of Identity in Israel.”

. . . A B L O G G E R A N D A P H O T O G R A P H E R

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“I am of the view that MESP speakers are among the best educators anywhere: authors, aca-

demic experts, religious leaders (Israeli and Palestinian) are just a few who comprise the MESP speaker roster. Along the journey our students also get to hear re-gional diplomats, politicians and journalists share personal per-spectives on relevant issues of the day. Our speakers often act as a 'living library' for students, giv-ing them direct access to contem-porary issues through story tell-ing, argument, or apologetics.

Together with student interaction and cultural activities the overall MESP learning environment is a dynamic one! Allow me to share with you an example of another fine day at MESP!” ————>

David P. Holt (PhD) Mesp.director@gmail.com Director, Middle East Studies Program Council for Christian Colleges & Universities Jerusalem, Israel and Washington, DC 0549051844 (Israel) (00972)549051844 (From the USA)

F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N A B O U T M E S P P L E A S E C L I C K H E R E

C U R R E N T

S T U D E N T S

Celeste Harlow comes to MESP as a junior from

Bethel University in Minnesota, where she is pursu-

ing degrees in Reconciliation Studies and Journal-

ism: “God has given me a passion for reconciliation

and restoration, and this program (MESP) fits my

passions and desires nearly perfectly.” While on

campus, Celeste hones her writing skills as a staff

writer for the Bethel Clarion and has founded, man-

ages and edits an online Christian magazine for teens and young adults.

We at MESP have enjoyed reading Celeste’s blog posts, describing her so-

journs here in the Middle East, and would like to share with you one recent

entry (The Ladder) from her blog site :

Like many students who have attended MESP,

Christopher Di Trolio is an “MK” who was raised

outside the US. He considers Argentina his home.

Chris comes to MESP from Eastern University in

Pennsylvania, where he is majoring in Political

Science. He has served on the Model United Na-

tions Leadership Board at Eastern and is actively

involved on his campus. An avid traveler who has

already visited fourteen countries, Chris says he is

“drawn to the Middle East” and admits that he

believes his future vocation includes this area of the world.

While at MESP, Chris is continuing his hobby of photography and is

relishing in the amazing beauty that the region offers, both natural and

architectural. In Chris’ words: “you can’t take a bad picture here!”

We are honored to feature one of Chris’ photographs on the cover of

this newsletter.

Every day, thousands of people flood the narrow streets of the Old City in

search of holiness. From all over the world, religious devotion draws tour-

ists to the scenes of divine significance. Churches have replaced mangers

and tombs. Where Calvary (allegedly) once stood, for example, now

stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. READ MORE

@mesp_tweets

C L O S I N G T H O U G H T S . . . A D A Y I N T H E L I F E O F M E S P

Celeste Harlow

Christopher Di Trolio

David Holt