SEMI Sweet Editor’s Note

Sun conures in magnolia trees.

The world has globalized. Borders erasing and militarizing. Gateway cities thrown open. Immigrants. Mass migration. Refugees. Wonder. Pain. Cultures encountering their counter-opposites. We, at Fuller, celebrate this criss-crossing, this clash and creation of diversity and beauty. I look up and see yellow-headed tropical birds in a magnolia tree on El Molino and realize - even the birds have become unbound.

In encountering “the beautiful other” - the men, women, and children different from ourselves - we ultimately encounter ourselves and our God. We hope that you enjoy this photographic, lyrical, and poetic journey through some of the nations. ▪

By Janay Garrick

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“go...

LEFT: A boy shepherding sheep on the hillsides surrounding Kabul, Afghanistan.

MIDDLE: An elderly man amongst the ruins of Kabul, Afghanistan.

RIGHT: A tent school on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.

BOTTOM: The city of Kabul, Afghanistan during the winter.

we are made of lines like drawings, walking shade and light

hidden for a time and then exploding in sunlight

dispersed collected isolated gathered

align your hearts across unknown lands with invisible boundaries

explode in the shared sun ▪

By Lauren Meares

A shepherd in the mountains surrounding Fyzerbad, Afghanistan.

Our God, be kind and bless us! Be pleased and smile. Then everyone on earth will learn to follow you, and all nations will see your power to save us.

Make everyone praise you and shout your praises. Let the nations celebrate with joyful songs, because you judge fairly and guide all nations. Make everyone praise you and shout your praises.

Our God has blessed the earth with a wonderful harvest! Pray for his blessings to continue and for everyone on earth to worship our God.

Ps. 67, CEV

TELL THE NATIONS TO PRAISE GOD

A boy shepherding sheep on the hillsidessurrounding Kabul, Afghanistan.

Kenya -the heartbeat of the world beneath beaded long-stemmed necks, up holding drought-stained smiles on famine faces.

Kenya insists on BLOOMING tossing her zebra-striped neck to andfro across the plains, wide white eyes scanning like the Lord’s seeking theanswer to His call.

Kenya waxes her grass moon up top Mt. Kill Man jar – Oh! – fields full of slaughter ivory knees bloodied in prayer the people praise the Living Lord the Lord of Life while all around death reaps a harvest of skin and bone souls. ▪

By Janay Garrick

FLOWERS IN DROUGHT

Lyrics by Todd Hoover

Hear me, O Judah, JerusalemAnd please don’t be upset by the newsThough we mostly don’t bother to listen to FatherEven as strangers, we have lots to doFor we’ve been commissioned to rebuild a mountainWhere His Temple shines glorious, brighter than ever imagined

Hear me, O radiant JerusalemEvery town, every village will singFor their spears and their swords beaten down by the LordEden’s perfection restored by a kingThough I cannot speak for our Dad’s last decisionWhen he finally returns, may our faces be turnedToward a beacon of light where all are invitedAs covenant strugglers with GodLet us walk up the mountain and back to our homeIn His holiness, joy and shalom Hear me, O wandering JerusalemWe’re so quick to diminish our callTo act just as Dad taught and to walk where He walksLife is His righteousness, not Adam’s fallFor we follow laws so much larger than ZionAnd these idols are dangerous, hindering all progress to heaven Hear me, O stilted JerusalemWill we murder our Lord out of pride?With our swords and our spears, build this mountain on fears and tearsEden’s destruction unchanged by a lieIf we have no heart for the sick or the hungryJudah’s ruins decay, and no nations will say

CHORUS:“There’s a beacon of light where all are invitedAs covenant strugglers with GodLet us walk up the mountain and back to our homeIn His holiness, joy and shalom”

Where is that beacon of light where all are invitedAs covenant strugglers with God?Can we walk up the mountain and back to our homeIn His holiness, joy and shalom? Hear me, O jaundiced JerusalemHave we heard not a word our Lord’s said?He said “glorious nation,” not “military station”By training to kill, we’ve pronounced ourselves deadUnderground on the day we’re supposed to be wedBut it’s you and I who are stones in this mountainOn which Jacob’s house calls for the whole world to followA beacon of light where all are invitedAs covenant strugglers with GodLet us walk up the mountain and back to our homeIn His holiness, joy and shalom CHORUS x2 There is a beacon of light where all are invitedAs covenant strugglers with GodLet us walk up the mountain and back to our homeIn His holiness, joy and shalomIn His holiness, joy and shalomIn His holiness, joy and shalom ▪

COVENANT STRUGGLERS WITH GOD

A gojjo (hut) on the outskirts of Yetebon, Ethiopia. Photo by Janay Garrick.

COVER: From the Turkana tribe, a married woman (as signified by the single strands of beads) with traditional scarification on her face. Turkana, Kenya. Photo by Janay Garrick.

...‘go’ the Lord said to me,for I will send you far away…”

Acts 22:21 NIV

“I say: My purpose will stand,and I will do all that I please.

From the east I summon a bird of prey;from a far-off land, a man to fulfill My purpose.

What I have said, that will I bring about;what I have planned, that will I do.”

Isaiah 46:10-11 NIV

Storm is coming. When asked to pose for a picture, this Afghan man returned with a bazooka - a real one. Afghanistan. Photo by Garry Mayhew.

“If i settle on the far side of the sea,even there Your hand will guide me,Your right hand will hold me fast.”

Psalm 139:9-10 NIV

FIRST: A girl from the Kuchi tribe (these are the nomadic people of Afghanistan) on the outskirts of Kabul.

SECOND: An Afghan girl in the Shomali Plains of Afghanistan.

THIRD: An elderly man in Fyzerbad, Afghanistan.

FOURTH: An Afghan girl in the Shomali Plains of Afghanistan.

Photos by Garry Mayhew and friends.

IMAGINATIONS & INCLINATIONS and so we live in the tension between hope and loss peace and chaos healing and corrosion

we are pulled our limbs and fingers being stretched further than they are able one way into joy the other into sorrow

but we must hold tightly to hope to our imaginations of restoration to our inclinations towards a new order and at the same time wade through thick suffering as real as water coming up to our necks

as i walk along this fragile way i will force my eyes to paint a layer of this goodness, this hope, this commanded faith on every broken piece on every fractured line in the faces i meet on every dying branch of this world’s falling tree seeing in my inmost their rightful place...

El volcán Telica, Nicaragua. Photo by Mike Master.

Caldey Island. Photo by Joy Mosgofian.

IMAGINATIONS & INCLINATIONS and so we live in the tension between hope and loss peace and chaos healing and corrosion

we are pulled our limbs and fingers being stretched further than they are able one way into joy the other into sorrow

but we must hold tightly to hope to our imaginations of restoration to our inclinations towards a new order and at the same time wade through thick suffering as real as water coming up to our necks

as i walk along this fragile way i will force my eyes to paint a layer of this goodness, this hope, this commanded faith on every broken piece on every fractured line in the faces i meet on every dying branch of this world’s falling tree seeing in my inmost their rightful place...

...but i will tell my heart to be ready to expect the arrival of disappointment when she comes to befriend grief to accept the timing of loss

and at the same time

urge my spirit to believe that death has no victory for i know the one who will restore everything ▪

By Jeana Master

A Chadian refugee in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Photo by Stephanie Struck.

A man from the Tana River Delta, Kenya. Photo courtesy New Life Home Trust www.newlifehometrust.org

Rebekah Brown.Photo by Janna Gould.jannagould.com

A child outside of an abandoned Ethiopian Orthodox Church on the outskirts of a leper colony. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo by Janay Garrick.

Jan 7FIELD ED: THEO. REFLECTION ORIENTATIONrequired for FE501/A, FE533, & FE500fielded@fuller.edu, 626.584.5387, 12-2p

UPNEXT

ADVERTSFULLER STUDENT WIVES GROUP

All student wives are invited to join SUPPORT, the Bible study, prayer and fellowship group just for you! We have two distinct meeting times, so choose the one that is best for you or come try both.

Wed, 9-11a. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 3rd floor.Childcare for 0-5 yr olds.

Thurs, 7-9p. Chang Commons, Theme Room 2 (enter Oakland side, through the tot lot). No childcare.

Jan 18 - Feb 15TuesNEW BREHM LAB: CREATIVE WRITING$70 (students/alum)brehmcenter@fuller.edu, 5-7p

This class will introduce students to a few forms of creative writing — short story, poetry and creative non-fiction/personal essay — while also providing a foundation for thinking and talking about literature from the point of view of a person of faith. We will discuss the creative process, and

consider different ways of “filling the well” of creativity. The goal is to inspire students to write creatively and focus on a writing project they are interested in, something they will complete over the 5-week period and be able to submit to the Fuller literary magazine, Offerings.

CREATIVE WRITING

The Fuller Arts Collective is excited to revive the student literary magazine Offerings as a part of the Spring Festival of the Arts.

Submit your photos, poems, fiction and creative nonfiction to fullerartscollective@gmail.com from now until March 1.

GUIDELINES:• Must be faculty/staff

or currently enrolled FTS student to submit

• Prose pieces must be 2,000 words max

• Submissions must be in 12 pt Arial font

• List your name, school/department, & contact information in top right corner

• Photo submissions should be highest resolution possible

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