It has been a while since I posted. In January, I was feverishly working on my dissertation. I pushed so hard that my left sciatic nerve was rebelling. However, on January 20, with my adviser’s approval, I submitted my dissertation. Whew!
Shortly afterwards, I learned who would be on my defense committee, and I’m very pleased! They are:
- Fernando Segovia, a Cuban-born faculty member at Vanderbuilt and the 2014 President of the Society of Biblical Literature. I’m honored to have an SBL president on my committee! I quote him a few times in my last chapter! (I hope I interpreted him correctly!)
- Madipoane Masenya, a South African woman who oversees the largest Old Testament program in Africa. I know her from conferences in South Africa and in the USA as I attend the African Biblical Hermeneutics (philosophy of interpretation) sessions. I use a method (contextual lens) that she has used, so she should understand my approach.
- Marta Høyland Lavik, the internal member from Misjonshøgskolen (my institution), who is a great selection due to her research on African biblical scholars and her use of qualitative research in biblical studies. She understands the methods and issues in my dissertation.
So, for my inter-cultural project, I am fortunate to be blessed with representations from Hispanic Roman Catholicism and African Pentacostalism which comprise huge percentages of World Christianity. Thus, I am pleased that my dissertation committee of three includes two from the Global South.
My planned dates are May 2-3 — if my dissertation is accepted by the committee. There is a chance that they will send it back requesting work on some issues with a 3-month deadline to re-submit. I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be strong enough to be accepted thanks to my adviser’s careful reviews and critiques.
Now my “face is set to Uppsala.”
I’ve been a bit reserved on the public communication, because there was still a process to go through. Last week, it was announced that I was the finalist out of the four semi-final candidates with strong academic backgrounds. I’ve been informed that the Board of Johannelund will make the final decision on March 11. So, I’m walking by faith–not by contract.
There are a zillion things to do to get ready (which I won’t bore you with), but right now the two main things are:
- applying for the European Union equivalent of the “green card” which is a “blue card” and
- getting Anya registered for school.
Yes, my journey has changed from what I expected. However, I again see God’s faithfulness and Providence. Our former Missionaries in Residence at Trinity Lutheran College wrote of their journey with a huge step of faith to return to Asia in their mid-50. While they already had struggled to learn 2 languages during their work in Southeast Asia, they were now tackling the very difficult tonal and character-based language of Mandarin Chinese. People asked “Why?” While they were responding to God’s call to mission, they said that this huge step of faith “keeps them dependent upon Jesus.” So often, we can get comfortable in our professional lives and the way we manage them. They didn’t want to close the doors to opportunities because of fear of the challenges. They knew that whatever the challenges, God would be with them and God is faithful.
With blessings,
Beth