{"id":3587,"date":"2013-04-23T15:12:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T20:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=3587"},"modified":"2013-04-23T15:12:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T20:12:52","slug":"outtatown-participants-celebrate-returning-home-and-finishing-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2013\/outtatown-participants-celebrate-returning-home-and-finishing-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Outtatown participants celebrate returning home and finishing program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IMG_7107\"<\/a>
The 30 students who traveled to Guatemala as part of the 2012\/2013 Outtatown Discipleship School sing and dance at their graduation ceremony. Another 31 students traveled to South Africa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Winnipeg, April 23, 2013\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Stories of love, hope, community and transformation characterized the 2012\/2013 Outtatown Discipleship School Graduation Celebration on Sunday, April 14 as 61 young people graduated from the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years to come, we will be influenced by the experiences we\u2019ve had as a community, as well as the things we have learned individually,\u201d Ross van Gaalen, a student from Outtatown\u2019s Site 2 South Africa group, shared with the crowd of family and friends who gathered to welcome the students back home after their semester abroad.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_7159\"<\/a>
\u201cFor years to come, we will be influenced by the experiences we\u2019ve had as a community, as well as the things we have learned individually,\u201d Ross van Gaalen, a student from Outtatown\u2019s Site 2 South Africa group, shared at the graduation ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cNo matter how impactful our relationships have been, no matter which crazy stories will stick with us, and no matter which lessons or insights will affect us most deeply, I believe this year has made us all better prepared to face the rest of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethany Bustard, a leader from Outtatown\u2019s Site 1 Guatemala group, shared that she and the students learned of God\u2019s transformative love during their time together.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s love is not passive or timid,\u201d Bustard said. \u201cIt is a powerful and active force as Christ offers to live in us, place his love in our hearts, and empowers us to go forward giving, receiving, and finding love in both expected and unexpected places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_7162\"<\/a>
L to R: Erin Harder, Brette Elias, Erica Deighton, Tara Hansen, and Louisa Hofer from the 2012\/2013 Site 1 Guatemala group celebrate their graduation from the Outtatown Discipleship School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The celebration included a time for worship as well as a message by Outtatown instructor Nathan Rieger, who challenged graduates to use their experiences from the program to look at the world differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to see differently \u2013 that is the core of discipleship,\u201d Rieger said. \u201cTo say, \u2018Jesus, I want to see with your eyes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Before praying for the graduates, CMU President Cheryl Pauls likened the university to a rich mosaic and spoke of Outtatown\u2019s place in the mosaic.<\/p>\n

\u201cOuttatown is definitely a vital part of what makes it glistening and gritty, real and holy,\u201d Pauls said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the stories he heard students sharing about their experiences, Outtatown Director Cam Priebe said common themes included hope, freedom, and the value of learning in community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur own journey impacts those around us, and their journey impacts ours,\u201d Priebe said, pointing to Outtatown\u2019s mission to inspire students in their life of discipleship with Jesus Christ in a journey towards knowing God, knowing yourself, and knowing the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that\u2019s done on an individual level, it\u2019s one thing,\u201d Priebe said. \u201cBut when it\u2019s done with others, there\u2019s incredible value in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the South Africa and Guatemala teams, this year\u2019s Outtatown program also included a team that traveled to Burkina Faso. That team graduated this past December.<\/p>\n

The Outtatown Discipleship School is a unique and enriching program of serving and learning for students seeking a life-changing experience of adventure, travel, service, and Christian studies.<\/p>\n

Through participation in Outtatown, students may earn up to 18 university credit hours for the academic work completed during their programs. Outtatown offers two-semester programs at site locations in Guatemala and South Africa, and a one-semester program in French Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winnipeg, April 23, 2013\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Stories of love, hope, community and transformation characterized the 2012\/2013 Outtatown Discipleship School Graduation Celebration on Sunday, April 14 as 61 young people graduated from the program. \u201cFor years to come, we will be influenced by the experiences we\u2019ve had as a community, as well as the things we have learned individually,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,25,5],"tags":[294,389,81,375,38,108,866,388,246],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3587"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3606,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3587\/revisions\/3606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}