Heritage: Celebrating Diversity

    "Know where you come from, be who you are, and find the strength to change the world", words of wisdom that my old principal of Columbus North International said to us every day. These are words that keep me going and drive my hunger for learning about and experiencing other cultures. I grew up in an African American home but I went to a predominately Hispanic elementary school, so I was constantly surrounded by the culture. 95% of the teachers were from Latin countries so their culture automatically spilled into their lesson plans. We would have an event called the Culture Show where each class performed a song, dance or poem from a specific Latin country and following that we would have a Cultural Fiesta where the teachers would bring in food from their home country and we would dance and play games. 

     Going into 8th grade, the school board of Columbus decided to do a feeder system where three elementary schools (Eco Kenwood, 5th Avenue and Spanish Immersion) fed into one high school: Columbus North International (CNI). CNI offered over 30 different language courses to take and represented cultures from Morocco all the way to Korea. We hosted many cultural events and shows that showed me that the world is beautiful and unique because all of the different people that exist. I started to think that the Tower Of Babel incident wasn't so bad. 

       I have left every culture with a better sense of how the world works and why people are the way that they are. I had the opportunity to travel to Israel over the summer and it was a different experience than what I had at my old schools because this time, I was IN the country, not just surrounded by the people. I was able to go to places, eat authentic food and experience the land that truly represented the culture. I had an first hand experience with another culture and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to see part of what Jesus saw and experienced when he was here. All I want to do now is travel and see the rest of the world first hand!

       I believe that humans were not meant to stay in one place forever. God has created too much beauty, too much life to stay in the city line of Columbus or wherever you come from. There are Indians that are waiting to meet you, Africans who can't wait to hear about your God, Spaniards who want to hear about who you are and where you come from. There is still beauty to be seen and the great part is, that beauty is only one person away. Look to your neighbors, your coworkers, your classmates and experience who they are and where they come from. I encourage you to look at your heritage, your ancestors and see what makes you, you! Let  the atlas come alive and I promise your experiences will give you "strength to change the world". 

~Jalauna Phillips 

Beyond the Classroom- Musings from Israel

Musings from Israel -  2017

Mount Carmel WC

June 2-14 of 2017 will go down in the books as the greatest journey I have, and will ever, go on. A group of Worthington Christian students and staff, including myself, embarked on the adventure to Tel Aviv Israel on June 2. Our first day in Tel Aviv we spent roaming the streets, and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. This was quite the experience, because there were biting fish in the sea, and one bit our own dearly beloved Mr. Baugher. Luckily the bite was so small that it barely even drew blood. After a day of recuperating ourselves in Tel Aviv, we continued our Journey to Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee

The sea of Galilee was my favorite stop on the trip. Galilee, more than any other stop, truly brought the Biblical stories to life. I could clearly imagine Jesus calming the sea, because waves on the sea of Galilee could be crashing five feet high one minute, then still as glass a few moments later. This is due to the desert terrain and the valley that is the sea, which creates a wind tunnel. We climbed up a mountain cliff while there, which had no biblical significance, but was possibly the most breathtaking sight my eyes will ever gaze upon.

Mt. Arbel

Bethsaida

We also ventured to the site where Jesus fed the 5,000

Our Worthington Christian crew all were baptized in the sea, by Mr. Baugher.

After a few days exploring around Galilee we went to our next stop, the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea

The Dead sea is the saltiest place on earth. The sea itself is so salty that we were floating like ice cubes as soon as we sat down in it. The salt is so powerful that if I would have taken my phone into the sea it would have started to disintegrate. A single drop of the saltwater was enough to send me out of the sea with my eyes watering like old faithful.

In the Dead sea area, we got to embark on a trip up to Matsada. We planned on hiking up the stronghold, but the temperature was close to 115°F, so it would have been a health hazard. Although disappointed that I was not allowed to tackle this physical challenge, what I saw at the top was amazing nonetheless.  We got to see the ancient ruins of the Jewish stronghold, and see where the Romans would have camped out to surround them. 

Next we went to the Negev Desert, a Bedouin camp where we rode camels and slept in huts.

Negev Desert

Bedouin Camp

This was an experience that I will never forget, not only because we slept in a sweet hut in the middle of a desert, but because my best pal turned 18 that day. I tried to give Pete a bar mitzvah, but Dr. Price was the only participant.

Western Wall

After we left the desert, we continued on to our last stop, Jerusalem. We hit about every sight you could possibly think of in Jerusalem, from the Western Wall to Hezekiah's Tunnel.

Roaming the streets of Israel, I ran into one of my baseball coaches and great friend, Michael Kraynak, who was on a separate tour around Israel. It was one of the highlights of my trip, and was exciting to hear what he had learned too.

Coach Mike and Danny Myers

           

Streets of Jerusalem

On our very last day in Israel, we ventured around and went to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where our Biblical Hebrew students read and translated the dead sea scrolls with Dr. Price. Walking around Jerusalem was also a journey, and we ended up reenacting the Beatles famous cover photo.

This marked the end of our adventure, one that truly brought this unlikely group of students closer together as brothers and sister in Christ.

The Worthington Christian students and teachers with tour guides Hagia Gov and Dr. Randall D. Smith

Sharon's Story

In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated the Southeast of the U.S. causing almost 200 billion dollars in damage. Grace Polaris Church in Columbus partnered with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Ministries to send a team of 12 to Vidor, Texas. Among the 12 were our very own Ben and Mr. Stoll, who felt God calling them to help. One week in November was selected to make the trip. We stayed in the First Baptist Church of Vidor for 5 nights, and to them, we are extremely grateful. Our team was given the task of gutting out houses that were affected by the hurricane.
     This is where we met Sharon. Sharon Dunigan, a long time resident of Vidor, Texas, was completely devastated to see her house destroyed by the storm. Her husband passed away back in 2015 and has been living alone since then. Her husband was a hoarder and every belonging on the ground floor had to be thrown away. The entire first floor had 3 feet of mold growing and everything had to be ripped out from the drywall to the flooring. In the three days that we were with Sharon, we saw her begin to open up as she felt her burden being lifted off.

In my interview with Sharon, I got to hear her rescue story and how her faith in Jesus has been strengthened through this experience. Check out the video posted above to hear her story.

~Ben Stoll

God's grace and faith through depression

 
Sometimes life is not easy, and depression creeps in and can consume you. Life can seem pointless and all possibilities and hopes can seem exhausted. Throughout my life I have been through hell and back but with God I’ve managed to dig myself out. Although I am not always optimistic and happy and sometimes I doubt God, and I push him away, I know he never leaves me. God's love for his children is so great, and never ending. Nothing we do will ever push him away, or scare him away. Life can be crazy, and everything around you can seem to be moving at a thousand miles an hour, and yet you're stuck in place. Holding on to hope can make things just a little bit better. One way I accomplished this was by taking time to write poetry, and write stories. By releasing all my inner thoughts and feelings rather than keeping them bottled inside I was able to face them easier. Poetry is such an amazing outlet, and I recommend journaling or poetry to those who need a way of letting go, without therapy, or face to face interactions.

Ben King Capstone

     Amos is a book of the bible, but some people haven’t heard enough about Amos.  I interviewed three intelligent pastors from Linworth Baptist church to see what they think about the book of Amos. I have asked them four questions about the book and I have put together a great picture on the book of Amos. 

     The prophet Amos lived during a time period where there were two kingdoms in Israel, the northern tribe and the southern tribe. The Northern tribe(Israel) is prospering and relaxed and they are a superpower, but they are disobeying God's law and committing sins. God calls a shepherd named, Amos to speak against Israel. He condemns them to judgement and calls them out on there sin and states that they will be swept away by enemies and be taken away from the land that was promised to them. But at the end of the book it ends with a promise that they would be restored to there land someday and would be at peace.  

The Power of Graphing Calculators

     Every day across America and around the world, students use graphing calculators for mathematical computations, which is a far more powerful computer than we used to send men to the moon in 1969. 

And yet, the features students use most were available as early as 1852.  If students learned to tap into the full potential of the calculator, they could way beyond math class. 

Mr. Pifer, a math teacher at Worthington Christian High School, thinks that using a calculator is comparable to using a hammer or a saw for a carpenter. They are very important to what they do. Using programs in Mr. Pifer's classes are very important because he does not want his students to "get bogged down in the mechanics of the process." Programming calculators is not easy though and requires somewhere to start. 

     Mrs. Cain, the Technology teacher at Worthington Christian Highschool, thinks that it is not hard to start programming calculators because it is just giving the computer instructions to do. Mrs. Cain also suggests hour of code on code.org to start programming and learn the basics. Tim Sherrod, the JV soccer coach for Worthington Christian High School and computer programmer, thinks that programming your calculator could help a lot out in the real world because all the basic controls are exactly the same. Programming code is becoming known as a universal language because it is everywhere, and Mr. Sherrod thinks that no matter where you go or do programming will help you. To know that the use of a calculator could affect your job and life one day is pretty incredible.  

Corner Bakery requests WC workforce

     From conveniently designed drive-thru parking spots that assure a customer that they are not forgotten to every flake of a golden croissant, Corner Bakery is not just a restaurant, it’s a community. Mr. Bowers, the owner, holds Worthington Christian in high regard as a center of rising employees. “I choose WC students”, as Mr. Bowers says in an interview with the iJournalism team, “because the caliber of student is elevated”.  Flavor profiles of Corner Bakery are a result of a higher standard that is expected from a well run franchise. 

     When co-interviewer, Danny Myers, questioned about the local competition of Barry’sBagels, Mr Bowers responded “Barry’s has a better flavor profile yet once you enter a franchise they require you to use all their recipes”. Right when you walk in the door it is clear Corner Bakery does not cut corners and is one of the rare occasions of an honest establishment. If there are any WC students interested in acquiring a job at Corner Bakery just walk in and ask for Mr. Bowers.