“Welcome to Fortress America.” Those were the words that greeted 15 Laurentian Leadership Centre students after they went through security and three sets of steel reinforced bulletproof doors at the United States Embassy in Ottawa. Through a connection that I had in the Ministry of Public Safety I organized a tour of the United States Embassy for LLC students - an opportunity otherwise unavailable to the general public.

Two classmates and I were studying for our Apologetics quiz one afternoon. The quiz was on Søren Kierkegaard’s The Present Age, a work too complex for our scattered minds. Yet after discussing class lectures, we began to make sense of the material while dissecting the text and digesting Tim Bits.

We skimmed the pages to find appropriate pieces of Kierkegaard’s thesis. One particular line stuck out: “there is still something to remember and think about while one is silent. But talkativeness is afraid of the silence which reveals its emptiness.”

As we absorbed this thought, we asked ourselves, “Is our conversation this empty?”

Trinity Western University has an HKIN class called Creative Movement. It’s not really talked about much and no one seems to ever have heard of it. But it’s here at TWU, and quite unknown to us non-HKIN folk.

It’s quite remarkable, really. It consists of a bunch of twenty-somethings dancing around the gym, holding props such as pylons or baseball plates to inspire movements, and involves improvised dancing to a poem read aloud. I’m always a bit shocked when I get home from the class at night, and realize exactly what it is that I’ve done in front of 20 of my peers. I’m also a bit shocked because, after I’ve done these things, there’s no self-doubt or embarrassment. Instead, despite its cheesiness, I come away from the class with an awareness of who I am in a different way than when I’m leaving another class.

Melody Holmes - Guatemala

My study abroad was a window into a whole new way of life. I enjoyed the most delicious meals I have ever eaten from street vendors, and I prayed that I wouldn’t get sick. I saw the communication theories I studied in class come to life before my eyes. I bartered with vendors. I listened to grandparents laugh and talk in a different language, and imagined that I could have been part of their family. I slowly learned to communicate in another language; I experienced worship in another culture and realized that my God is enormous. I gave my life into the driver’s hands as I used public transport. I ate freshly picked pineapple.

I graduated from Trinity Western University in April, after spending four years asking questions, wrestling with ideas, and even thinking that I came up with some answers. I was in an academic environment that thrived on controversy and critical thinking. I was taught to ask all those questions about the “outside” world, including “How can I be a [mission-minded] person who can authentically engage culture?”

These questions brought me to Japan, allowing me to jump in with both feet. But some of these questions have also been demobilizing at times.

If you don’t already own a copy of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, I recommend that you dash out to the nearest bookstore and buy it. Packed full of witty wisdom and cunning thoughts, The Prince is sure to cause centaur horns to blossom in your spirit and garnish your selfish ambition with petals of piety.

Those of you who have already read Machiavelli’s most esteemed and highly controversial book will appreciate my sarcasm; nonetheless, I am sure you will understand that The Prince must not be treated with anything less than the deepest respect it demands and deserves.

Given the choice of attending any number of schools, why do we choose Trinity Western University? Considering that any other university or community college has significantly lower tuition and far more specialized classes, what makes TWU worth the investment?
Because, as a Christian liberal arts university, TWU has a position on education that provides its students and graduates with a unique educational experience and preparation for life.

The Virgin Mary has often been a symbol of hostility between Protestants and Roman Catholics. The dogma of her Immaculate Conception – the doctrine that she was born without original sin, established in 1854 by Pope Pius IX – has strengthened the controversy surrounding her figure.Yet Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox all share two thousand years of tradition, during which we have worked through our understanding of Christ.