First Student Assembly
Provides Helpful Reminders
by
Katie Polcyn, Student Reporter
The
Student Assembly held last week starts every semester with
helpful reminders of important policies, dates and general
information that is beneficial for all BUA students.
Gabriel Cortes welcomed the students and encouraged them to
stay strong in their calling. “God never calls us to
failure, He wants us to do well. He wants us to succeed in
all that we do,”
Cortes said.
Teo
Cisneros, an alumni, trustee and the head of the
Presidential Search Committee, reiterated what Cortes said.
One word of encouragement that he received while studying
here was: “He who called you to a stony path will provide
you with strong shoes.” He shared how he understood well how
hard it can be to be a student here, with having bills or
sickness or difficulties finding a home. He said, "You might
be worrying 'What if the churches don’t even like me?!', but
just remember that God is faithful to provide for us and to
care for our needs."
Cisneros asked for prayers in the search for a new
president. The search committee started searching in the end
of November. As of now
they are creating a profile and hope
to have a job posting by the end of February.
He told the students that they will keep the
students and faculty updated as to what is
"He who calls you to a stony path will
going on with the search but to keep praying.
provide strong shoes," says Teo Cisneros
Sandee
Elizondo expressed her joy over seeing all of the new
students. She gave several important pieces of advice to the
students:
-
Financial Aid
If a student drops or withdraws a class, it
may affect financial Aid. They may end up paying a
little money back to the school so it is best to always
check with Ms. Acosta if wanting to drop a class. If a
student receives any government assistance with their
education they are required to keep account of academic
progress.
-
Insurance
When students register for the Fall ’07 term,
they will be required to either show proof of insurance,
or to sign up for insurance through BUA.
-
Withdrawal
The last day to withdraw from any classes is
March 19. If a student does want to withdraw a class
they need to speak with the registrar, Mr. Kraus, (also
with Ms. Acosta) to withdraw. If a student wants to drop
a class, and just stops attending, they will fail the
class, so Elizondo encouraged the students to officially
withdraw in order to not receive a failing grade.
-
Chapel Attendance is
Inspirational. . . and Required!
Students will be receiving "passports" to fill out at
each chapel service and to turn in at the end of the
semester.
-
BUA email
Be sure to check it! It is the main source of
communication in the school.
There will be many important announcements the students
will receive in their email. If any students are having
problems with their account, they should speak with the
IT department: Louis Villamar or Elizabet Puerta.
-
Esperanza Counseling Center
Gloria Tijerina is a bilingual, Christian
counselor who offers confidential counseling for
individuals, children, families, youth, crisis
intervention, and marriage counseling. If anyone is
interested, Student Development can help them get in
contact with the counseling center.
Mario
Ramos also encouraged the students to be involved in a
Christian ministry this semester.
The Christian Service program has been incorporated into
some of the classes this year.
Finally
Mary Ranjel reminded international students
to
advise
the international student office when traveling outside the
US and to look for announcements and important information
on the international student bulletin board. Any questions
regarding issues pertaining to international students may be
addressed to Mary Ranjel or Paul Kraus.
Finally,
in the case of severe weather, they can call the main number
for BUA (210) 924-4338 to check the status of classes
(whether they are cancelled or not) or they can check the
local weather channel, KENS5.
Advancement
Office Expands Communications Team
If something is
happening on campus this semester, students Katie Polcyn
and Liliana Perez will be there to get the story,
snap the shot and spread the word. Katie is our new student
reporter and Liliana is returning to the communications team
as our student photographer. They will be working closely
with Brad Russell this semester in the work-study program as
the Advancement Office expands its communications efforts.
The communications team meets weekly to make assignments, so
if you have an event or story idea, feel free to contact any
member of the team and we'll be there.
First Youth Ministry Certificates
Awarded
You
don't have to work with youth very long to understand that
helping youth grow spiritually, navigate relationships and
make good life choices involves a whole lot more than good
snacks, cool music and Bible studies.
Knowing this, a number of area Hispanic youth workers
enrolled last fall in BUA's first ever certificate course
for youth ministry.
The
program was coordinated by Gabriel Cortes and facilitated by
Hispanic youth ministry experts
Adlin and Robert Cotto of Ft. Worth.
Recently, 10 of those students completed all the course
requirements and became the first recipients of
a “Certificate in Youth Ministry” from BUA. Certificate
recipients came to BUA the second Saturday morning of every
month from September through January, and received 12-15
hours of practical contextualized training in Youth Ministry
from a Hispanic perspective. Picture above are Robert and
Adlin Cotto (training facilitators), Chagy the Clown (guest
presenter), Gabriel Cortes and seven of the graduates.
Congratulations to all the graduates representing eight
different San Antonio area Hispanic churches:
José Arévalo, Iglesia Bautista Alta Vista;
Mark and
Rachel López, Buena Voluntad Baptist Church;
David
Benavides, South San Filadelfia Church;
Patricia Obregón, Iglesia Bautista Camino del Rey; Emanuel
Cerda, Iglesia Bautista Camino del Rey;
Marco
Barrón, Central Baptist Church; Bolivar Pila;
Alejandra Barrera, Iglesia
Bautista Monte Calvario;
and
Jacqueline Aguilar, Iglesia Bautista Nuevo Amanecer.
Hernandez Joins "Radical Latin
American Project" in Brazil
Isaías
Hernandez is getting radical about his faith. For
the next eight months he will be participating in a
mission project sponsored by the Brazilian Baptist
Convention World Missions Board. The project’s name is
“Proyecto Radical Latino-Americano” thus called because
the participating students are supposed to live within
local standards at different countries in South America
under the supervision of a Brazilian missionary.
Isaías has been in training (one month in Brazil and
currently in Uruguay) before he and his group are sent
to Bolivia and Peru for two periods of three-months in
those countries.
We
hope to share with you reports of Isaías'' experiences
along the way, but please pray for Isaías and the
project (pictured back row, second from right).
Spring Student Sports Underway
After a tie last
weekend, the BUA men's soccer team will be looking for a win
this Sunday under the leadership of coach Esdras Reyes. Head
out to Parque Arredondo on Old Pearsall Road outside loop
410 and catch the game this Sunday, February 4 at 4:00 p.m.
Go Eagles!
Basketball tryouts are also being held by student coach
Ronnie DeShales, contact Ronnie for details at
rdeshales@bua.edu or
desheles@rainbowhills.net
Rollins Lectures
Bringing Distinguished Historian Justo González
and Alberto Prokopchuk of Argentina to Campus, Feb. 28 -
March1
Join Us at the 2007 BUA
Rollins Lectures
The Latino Church:
Converting Challenges to Opportunities
Wednesday, February 28, 9:00 a.m.--4:30
p.m.
Speaker: Rev. Alberto Prokopchuk Executive
Director, Latin American Baptist Union
(UBLA);
Argentina; lecturing in Spanish
with
English translation via headset
° The Challenge of Planting Churches
in Latin America
° The
Challenge of Church/State
Relations in Latin America
°
The Challenge of Unity Among
Baptists in Latin America
Thursday, March 1, 9:00 a.m.--3:00 p.m.;
7:00--8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Justo González, Distinguished
historian, author and professor;
United
Methodist; lecturing in English
° The Challenge of Transitions
° The Challenge Leadership
Development
° The Challenges in My Own Ministry
Journey
° The Latino Challenge to the Church
at Large
Hispanic Evangelism Conference, Feb. 2-3, Trinity Baptist
Church
Alcanzando y Testificando:
Conferencia Hispana de Evangelismo
Click here
for more information on this weekend's
Hispanic Evangelism Conference being held at Trinity Baptist
Church
on Friday from 1:00 - 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from
8:45-1:00 p.m.
Student volunteers are
needed for a number of different conference tasks. Contact
the Student Development office for more information.
The Praise Band from
Iglesia Bautista South San Filadelfia
led by BUA's Abel Amaya will be leading in worship!
Online Credit Card Payments Can Be
Made on the Web
Remember
that anyone can make a credit card payment for any student
services fees (tuition, books, housing, etc.) or donations
by simply going to the BUA web site at
www.BUA.edu.
Click
on the top "Student" link and then click on the "online
payments" link at the bottom of the drop down menu. This
will take you to a page describing how the process works and
then you can click on the link at the bottom of the page,
"make online payment now."
Once your account is set-up, then just go directly to the
"make payment now link." The system is fast, convenient and
completely secure.
Pay away!
Herff Jones Company on Campus for Ring and Regalia Orders,
Feb. 7th
Wednesday, February 7th from 11:00
a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in classroom # 204, Herff Jones will
be here with information for graduating seniors regarding
class rings. Class rings may be ordered at that time.
Faculty will also be able to price and order academic
regalia if they would like to purchase their own. You may
talk with Charlie Wedge about making any payment
arrangements you may need.
Lozano
Reports on Baptist-Catholic Dialogues
Nora
Lozano
recently returned from
participating in the first in a five-year series of dialogue
events between Baptists and Roman Catholics, sponsored by
the Baptist World Alliance and the Vatican. Meeting at
Samford University's Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham,
Alabama, the opening conversation theme centered on
"Tradition and the Bible in Light of Christ." Each faith
group presented three formal papers on the theme followed by
open discussions. Dr. Lozano was enlisted as the Baptist
recorder of the proceedings and was charged with working
alongside a Catholic peer who transcribed the conversations,
identifying points of agreement, points of difference and
areas for further discussion.
"The
whole process was very enriching," says Lozano. "It was very
valuable to experience the diversity of our Baptist partners
from Ghana, Jamaica, Singapore, Argentina, Great Britain,
the United Sates and Mexico. We discovered that even though
we are all Baptists, our concepts even of 'tradition' were
very different."
Lozano reflected that
as a systematic theologian, the whole process was a rare
opportunity to do "meticulous theology," to reflect and talk
deeply about theological ideas with a rigorous kind of
intellectual and scriptural responsibility for the beliefs
one holds.
From the Baptist
perspective where such dialogues have sometimes raised
concern by Latin Americans who have felt oppressed by the
Catholic church, the dialogues are an opportunity to bear
witness to important Baptist principles such as the
separation of church and state, priesthood of all believers,
and Scriptural authority. Participants say the dialogues are
a way to be missionaries to one another so they might become
missionaries with another to serve the needs of the world.
"The level
of respect for one another was very high, says Lozano. "I am
greatly anticipating our meetings across the next several
years."
