The pandemic has brought every kind of surprise. Just over a year ago the Seminario Nazareno de las Am\u00e9ricas (SENDAS) was thinking about how to restart theological education in places where technological resources for communication are scarce or non-existent to the population.<\/p>\n
This has been the case for many ministry students in Cuba, said Dr Marco Velasco, SENDAS Academic Dean, as the theology programs at SENDAS are currently almost one hundred percent virtual.<\/p>\n
In Cuba, one full year had passed during which courses on the master\u2019s level were inactive. \u201cWe felt as if we were at a dead end,\u201d said Velasco. \u201cHow much more time would pass without providing courses and without advancing theological education for students on the island?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks be to God who provided the necessary means to restart theological education in Cuba. It started with the use of the WhatsApp\u00ae application, and since March of 2021 bachelor-level theology courses have been taught using this social network on the island. But there was something more. The entire dream was the students who aspired to continue their theological studies on the master\u2019s level would be able to do so.<\/p>\n
Little by little the use of the internet is growing in Cuba, and this is why there are six students studying on the master\u2019s level. Mirelys Correoso, Jessenia \u00c1vila, Yasmani Ferr\u00e1n, Yamil\u00e9 San Juan, Ivelisse P\u00e9rez, and Alberto D\u00edaz are taking courses entirely online. Additionally two graduate students, Yoerkys Mart\u00ednez y Osmel Pozo, who had not been able to complete their studies before, have now been able to take their professional exams for their bachelor\u2019s degrees via videoconference and graduated in 2021.<\/p>\n
“We have been challenged and confronted by the pandemic along with all of the obstacles it has brought. But God in his great mercy has surprised us and encouraged our hearts as well as the necessary measures to continue moving forward, \u201c\u2026so that the body of Christ may be built up\u2026.\u201d (Ephesians 4:12, NIV).\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: Dr. Marco Velasco\u2028Academic Dean, SENDAS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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