Bethel Bits: Finding God in the stillness
Andrew Tschumper’s journey through Belize and life.
By Grace Gaffney | Royal Report
Senior math major Andrew Tschumper scaled a wall and stood at the top of a bluff in Belize. He looked around and saw only jungle. The stillness soaked into his skin.
He knew why he chose the Belize trip, but never thought he would be standing where he is now. After all, he was only a math major at Bethel. This trip wasn’t even for him.
Tschumper loved eating Butterfingers and his mom’s lasagna, playing guitar with his friends, playing soccer and spending all of J-term watching Harry Potter movies. He loved listening to John Mayer, especially his “good guitar stuff” but definitely didn’t love spending an entire month in quiet time.
“That day was a big struggle. There was a point at the beginning where you’re supposed to have actual quiet time and then incorporate reading some of the Word and then maybe transition to your own book, but it was all supposed to be secluded from everyone.” — Andrew Tschumper, senior
The full day of solitude was the worst.
“That day was a big struggle,” Tschumper said. “There was a point at the beginning where you’re supposed to have actual quiet time and then incorporate reading some of the Word and then maybe transition to your own book, but it was all supposed to be secluded from everyone.”
He did not shy away from a challenge. This 2015 J-term trip being one of them. The cross-cultural studies trip focused on medicine, remedies and different yet unconventional ways of healing. Something he wasn’t accustomed to.
He hiked up mountains, walked with Mayan healers and stopped to look at trees they used for medicine. He even tried “cupping,” a method of relaxation that pulls blood to the surface of your skin by getting sucked into a cup. Something very different for Tschumper.
The realization of alone time with God was eye-opening for Tschumper and he hopes he can have that same realization at home as he did standing on top of the bluff in Belize.
