Students on the fall 2019 Harding in Zambia study abroad program used. electronic newsletters to keep family and friends updated on their trip. In fall 2019, a group of Harding students engaged in an alternate form of communication to stay in contact with people back home while studying abroad in Zambia. Sophomore Audra Crisler, who attended Harding University in Zambia (HIZ) in fall 2019, spoke about the importance of documenting her experiences through an email chain and communicating those stories to those she was closest to back home. "We were taught by a missionary [about] the importance of telling a story of a person correctly," Crisler said. She said it was easy to share stories and images through social media in a way that did not tell the whole story. She used her email chain as a platform to share the full experience. She included anything from daily activities to ways she saw God working, and it enabled her to stay connected with her friends and family in the U.S. Crisler said around 110 people were included in the email chain, and she tried to send one or two emails per week. "I have been so thankful for the contact and connection these emails have given me," Crisler said. "There are a handful of people who respond each time and ask questions or give encouraging words. I don't have Snapchat or Instagram, so I sometimes feel extremely disconnected while I am here, but I feel like the emails are a good way of reminding people that 'I'm still here!' and when they respond, it makes me feel a part of their lives too." Sophomore Emma Hayes also used this communication tactic to send blog-style emails to a group of around 100 people. Both Crisler and Hayes said WiFi could be unpredictable at times, but the emails consistently helped them stay in touch with people as best they could. "It is encouraging to see who has kept up with me through email and who wants to genuinely know what is happening here," Hayes said. "Even if we are unable to talk regularly, they can count on hearing from me through email." The women described what they learned from virtual communication and how deeply they were affected by the relationships with those in Zambia. They described how relationship-oriented Zambians behaved and how it challenged them to step outside of the American mindset of busyness and to-do lists. "People are always first, and yet, they still get done what needs to happen," Crisler said. "I am hoping this is something I will be able to take back with me: putting people and relationships first. Not thinking of time as something to give and take, but as something to always have. To really look into people's eyes and listen, not just be waiting for the next thing to say." Crisler's words and stories transcended time zones and locations of those who sent and received them, and those involved learned valuable lessons. "I've learned more about God through Audra in the way she is seeing his creation and her words about the people she is coming in contact with and describing around her," junior Hailey Bracey, a recipient of Crisler's emails, said. Moving forward, Crisler and Hayes said they were thankful for the connections they made in Zambia and hoped to create similar relationships when returning to the U.S. "I feel like the Lord has been teaching me just how beautiful his people are," Crisler said. "That the whole point of his creation and story was to be with his people. With me, with these Zambians, with everyone at Harding. And he just wants me to be with him." story by Madison Scott international 49
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