Challenged and Changed: Living and Learning in Central America

The stories in this book are the fruit of a vision that took root more than four decades ago. When Ron and Marianne Frase came to Whitworth College back in 1973 they had the dream that Whitworth students could travel to Latin America and learn many truths through deep experiential learning. This would take place through listening to living among and loving our Latino neighbors. The chapters are filled with stories of growth and change. Some are fun and comical. Others are painful encounters with difficult lessons. Time and time again the resiliency and faith of Central Americans emerge and inspire. The vignettes are windows into discovering how lessons learned in Central America shaped students lives years after their graduation. Additionally Whitworth itself became a better academic institution more willing to take on the tough academic social and political contemporary challenges so that its students could genuinely become well-equipped global citizens and servants of Christ. Some 130 years ago George Whitworth wanted his new school to provide an education of the mind and heart. I lived alongside these life-transforming stories but you cannot read of such joys injustices humanity inhumanity faith and hope without feeling it in your bones. This is a beautiful painful book that takes readers to the trailhead of hundreds of alumni who have continued on their journey of making the world a more righteous place. --Bill Robinson President Emeritus Whitworth University This is a remarkable testimony to the powerful vision of Professor Ron Frase who believed that students at Whitworth University might be transformed by living and studying among Central Americans. The stories expressed in this volume will inspire as well as challenge any reader to reflect more thoughtfully on how to engage the world with humility while seeking social justice. --Dale E. Soden Professor of History The legacy of Ron and Marianne Frase and the faculty who helped lead this study program will live for generations. Not just through the individuals and families of alumni who were part of this program but also through the countless lives they touched throughout Latin America--particularly Central America. This history gives just a glimpse of the powerful change that only study abroad can bring about. I am grateful to all who made this book possible. --Dale Hammond Whitworth University Lindy Scott is professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at Whitworth University. He is the editor of the Journal of Latin American Theology: Christian Reflections from the Latino South and is the author of many books and articles on the relationship between Christianity and society in Latin America. Kim Hernandez has been a Spanish professor at Whitworth University since 2001. She is the coordinator of the Central America Study and Service Program at the university. She specializes in teaching Spanish for use in Christian ministry as well as intercultural competency training for study abroad in Latin America.