Photo by Tony Cece

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ambassador Shares Kenya Opportunities and Challenges

October 31, 2012

Hearing the name Kenya evokes an image of a country that's home to safaris and long-distance runners, but this African nation is far more complex and on a trajectory to become a key player in the global economy. His Excellency, Elkanah Odembo, ambassador to the United States from the Republic of Kenya, spent Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Regent to learn more about the university's programs in Kenya and share some of his nation's opportunities and challenges.
Ambassador Odembo's visit was the first in Regent's Office of Global Affairs Ambassador Series, which brings diplomats to Regent for personal interaction with faculty, staff and students to provide global insights for academia, community service and career growth.

"Regent's mission is to educate global leaders, and part of that education involves providing opportunities for our students to interact with global leaders," said Dr. Sergio Matviuk, executive director of the Office of Global Affairs.


His Excellency, Elkanah Odembo, ambassador to the United States from the Republi
His Excellency, Elkanah Odembo, ambassador
to the United States from the
Republic of Kenya, speaks at Regent.
During the day, Odembo participated in meetings with university leaders, including President Carlos Campo, as well as deans of Regent's eight schools and Professional and Continuing Education division. He learned more about Regent's work in Kenya and also discussed other opportunities for education and training.

"I'm very happy about the work that Regent is beginning to do in Kenya," Odembo said, speaking at the university's weekly chapel service. "Universities must have a global outlook and take a global approach. That's what I see at Regent, and it will yield significant fruit."

Regent's initiatives in Kenya include plans to offer Africa's first faith-based Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, in conjunction with Pan Africa Christian University, as well as ongoing discussions to provide teacher training. Regent's Center for Entrepreneurship has an affiliate that is helping to revitalize communities through business initiatives. This past summer, Regent's Trauma Team spent two weeks in Kenya, providing crisis and group counseling and offering training workshops for local mental health professionals, pastors, school children and families in the region.

One of the highlights of the ambassador's visit was his presentation to more than 150 students from Regent, Tidewater Community College, several private high schools and seven of Virginia Beach's public high schools, including Princess Anne's International Baccalaureate program and Tallwood's Global Studies Academy.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Odembo focused on Kenya's efforts in economic development. He noted that Kenya is taking a lead role to strengthen regional economic communities so that African nations do more business with each other, do more business globally and uplift the entire continent. Kenya, which has the strongest economy in east Africa, is looking for more companies to join the many companies with a large presence there, including GE, IBM and Coca-Cola.

He also talked about the nation's major investments in education, which is critical because Kenya has a very young population who need appropriate educational opportunities to become productive citizens.

Odembo openly addressed the challenges in the "horn of Africa," which has been a fairly unstable region due to problems in countries such as Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan. He pointed out Kenya's role in promoting peace and security, such as assisting a transitional government in Somalia and helping to support a refugee camp in Kenya—the largest in the world—that has about 600,000 people living in an area designed for 60,000. "Across the board, changes are happening in Kenya and in Africa," he said. "In governance, leadership and economic development—very important things are happening."

Students demonstrated good knowledge of issues in Africa, as they posed questions to the ambassador on topics including Kenyan government policies to promote investment, U.S. policy toward Kenya and Africa, managing the challenge of ethnic tension in the region, and Kenya's new constitution, which was adopted in 2010.

Odembo has held senior-level positions at philanthropic and non-governmental organizations in east Africa for more than two decades, advocating for human rights and social justice. Before his appointment as ambassador to the U.S. in June 2010, he previously served as Kenya's ambassador to France. He has a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and a master's degree from the University of Texas.

Learn more about Regent's global activities.

PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Monday, November 12, 2012

Registration Opens for Summer Mission Trips

By Amanda Morad
November 6, 2012
Regent University's Center for Global Missions has opened registration for its two summer 2013 mission trips. The center's fifth annual trip to Ghana will be May 15-31 and their second annual trip to China will be July 2-16.
The registration deadline for both trips is January 31, 2013.

"We are living in changing times; global communication now takes place at the speed of light, global immigration precipitated by wars and economic push factors is occurring on an unprecedented scale and cultures and religions once separated by vast chasms of land and seas are now existing very close together," said Dr. Clifton Clarke, the center's director.

"In such a complex and evolving world, the Center for Global Missions seeks to train and prepare leaders that are competent to navigate the fluctuations of these modern times through cross-cultural learning, global immersion, education for global competence and the ability to share Christ in a way that is relevant," Clarke added.

With this evolving global landscape in mind, the center is developing leaders to reach every corner of the world. In Ghana, students will have the opportunity to stay with Ghanaian families and experience the culture and hospitality of the nation first-hand. Participants will also visit churches, schools, colleges and villages, and take part in outdoor crusades.

Through these snapshots of service and outreach, participants will become familiar with African Pentecostalism. Students will share the gospel with unreached people groups and have opportunities to teach needy children and orphans. There will also be opportunities to learn about the history of the slave trade and to visit slave castles.

On the China trip, students will visit Chinese university campuses, learn about the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in China and work with local missionaries. Visiting government-sanctioned churches will also give students a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities for evangelism and church growth in China.

The approximate cost of each trip is $3,500. Students may also register for three credit hours for each mission trip at a significantly discounted tuition rate.

Contact Eric Ketcham, Center for Global Missions coordinator, at ericket@regent.edu for application details, or start an application.

Learn more about the Center for Global Missions.
PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Professor Trains Missionaries in Counseling Skills


Dr. Jim Sells
Dr. Jim Sells

 
By Rachel Bender
November 12, 2012

Isolation from family. Cross-cultural adjustment. Hostility from locals. Economic hardship. These are just some of the stressors that missionaries and their families face in the field. Overcoming these stressors takes time, understanding and patience. Dr. Jim Sells, a professor in Regent University's School of Psychology & Counseling, recently explained that it can also take trained professionals dedicated to making a difference.
"Missionaries are an essential and yet very vulnerable group of Christian ministers," he said. "In all of the ways that they are similar [to pastors], they are different."

Sells was recently invited to present at a two-week workshop for missionaries in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last month. The workshops are an annual event sponsored by the Narramore Christian Foundation. These particular workshops are geared primarily toward missionaries charged with oversight of other missionaries.

The workshops provided intensive psychological training and personal enrichment for a group of 30 missionaries. Sells, along with faculty drawn primarily from Biola University's Rosemead School of Psychology, covered topics of managing stress, coping with emotions and conflict resolution within mission teams, as well as families.

The need for older missionaries to understand how to support the younger missionaries in their care is great. "Part of being a lay counselor is being able to sit intensely with emotion," Sells explained. "You need to be comfortable with your own emotions to understand the emotions of others."

Sells admits that the topic of counseling and psychological issues among missionaries is one that needs more time and attention. He is thankful that groups like the Narramore Christian Foundation are doing just that. "I don't know any place that exists in the world where there is such an intensive psychological exploration for people in ministry," he said.

While this was Sells' first trip to Thailand, it is by no means his first time dealing with the topic. He's traveled to Kenya twice, presenting workshops in Nairobi and Mumbasa.

"When you take on the support of a missionary, you are doing far more than just sending a check," he explained. "A financial aspect is needed, but there is a host of support structures that are required for a person to survive in the difficult structures under which they are working."

Ultimately, he said, "I see my job as helping to train, educate and inform churches as to what their obligations are for the care of the missionaries that they send out." And, he added, his work is providing additional knowledge and experience for his students as well. "We have a number of our students who are working in mission care settings in China and in Africa," he said. "[This is important for them] just to be more knowledgeable about how mental health needs are being addressed in the international community."

Learn more about the School of Psychology & Counseling.
PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations

Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu