Latino/Latina Studies Program (LLSP) Partnership
by Lizette Acosta, Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando Campus, Latino/Latina Studies Program
The Latino/Latina Studies Program participated in the Commencement Ceremonies for the first time on May, 2005. Since then, we’ve had a total of 30 graduates, many of whom have remained connected with LLSP in some form. And so when Tammy Cessna, Director of Alumni Relations, suggested we celebrate the first ever alumni gathering, we were only overjoyed to agree. We anticipated a wonderful evening, but in fact, our expectations were all surpassed. A total of 21 students and spouses were present, along with a few professors. Our guest speaker was Joanne Solis-Walker, who served as the first director of the LLSP. Through the evening, we heard testimonies about the impact LLSP has had in the lives of our alumni, and about the miraculous and awesome ways in which God has used what they had learned here. We were witnesses to the varied ways in which God had curiously interwoven their time with LLSP with the ministries they were now leading. And we heard countless expressions of gratitude for the powerful ministry of this program. One of the resounding comments of the night was how much the alumni appreciated the opportunity to gather again with their fellow students. The evening overall was a joyous celebration of the ministry of Asbury amongst the Hispanic population in Orlando. Joanne’s address to us all that evening was based on Isaiah 43:18-19 – “…Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” – a very appropriate word for a community whose fingerprints are evident in the Kingdom work that God is doing in our midst. “Do you not perceive it?”