Running head: REBEKAHS REFLECTION ON 1

Rebekahs Refection on Her Pursuit of Teshuvah College

Rebekah Garvin
Boise State University
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Rebekahs Refection on Her Pursuit of Teshuvah College
Traditional education was always important to my parentsfor me that is. My father, born
in the 1940s and raised in a poverty stricken home of 13 children, dropped out of public school
and raised himself on the streets of Portland, Oregon. He never went back to traditional school.
He did however get some hard-core life experience in the Vietnam War. My mother, an only
child, went to public elementary school, private high school and then fnished an Associates at a
local community college. I have no idea what she wanted to do with her life before marriage and
children. She tried a variety of things including going back to college when her children had left
the nest, but her direction was very unclear.
When I came along my parents were part of a Christian denomination that placed a high
value on education. Their form of education included a lot of indoctrination. As members of the
church my parents were obligated to live according to its lifestyle. Therefore, they really had
little choice but to send their children to that denominations religious schools. My life revolved
around those private schools from Kindergarten through College. Though I didnt agree with
their choice and longed for a life outside of a classroom, I knew the sacrifce they were making
so I maintained a high GPA, earned honors, awards, held leadership positions and in general
pursued and attained achievement in that system for 19 years. College presented me with many
diverse opportunities that I gladly took part in. From missions in Malaysia, task force in Spokane
to Summer Camps in North Idaho and California, I received a plethora of experiences from my
time in traditional private education.
My frst stint in college ended in 1995. Had I graduated I would have been the frst from
either side of my family to graduate from college. But life called to me from outside the bars of
institutions and much like a 1960s fower child I rebelled against the systems and methodologies
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of man. By 26 years old, even though I had spent seven years in higher education and was very
close to fnishing my Bachelors, romantic relationships and proftable business opportunities
came knocking at my door. I decided to strike out on my own and forego the idea of a degree.
I eventually realized that formal education actually impacted me in a rather unexpected
way. I discovered that it was the relationships that I had fashioned during my time in the
educational system that played the most important role in providing me with opportunities
outside of the system. As possibilities continued to multiply outside of college I didnt see
the need to ever complete a formal degree. I felt I had gotten from college what I needed
relationships. Within a few years of leaving college I had a thriving business, I was making
good money and I was married; all without a degree. A piece of paper hanging on my offce wall
wasnt necessary for success, at that time.
After many years of entrepreneuring as a graphic designer and founder of a renowned
design frm in the Christian Camping Industry, the stress of owning a business, having employees
and over 600 clients became my enemy. During a fragile pregnancy my husband and I decided
to close the business I had had for nearly ten years. Of course, as I was adjusting to life with a
special needs daughter the idea of going back to school was nowhere in my conscious thought.
When Hadassahs needs were addressed I began to again seek out a way to express myself. I
opened my own publishing company where I wrote, edited and published books. A few years
later I went back to serious entrepreneuring where for another successful stint I excelled as a pro-
photographer specializing in weddings, babies and ballet. After seven years it abruptly ended in
the 2nd Great Depression and we lost nearly every earthly possession. This was the radical event
that has re-awakened a passion in my heart that was all but dead.
I was born with the desire to teach. From the time I was three years old I knew I wanted
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to be a teacher. I loved several of my grade school teachers and thought there was no other job
so important. And I longed to do something important with my life. When anyone would ask me,
what do you want to be when you grow up? I always had an answer ready. It was uncontested,
I wanted to teach. That is until I encountered the Education Department in college. When I
encountered the bureaucratic nonsense, the regulations and protocols of which traditional Greek
education is formed, the desire was snuffed out.
As a result, over two decades ago I turned my back on the idea of becoming a teacher. But
the desire was still lodged deep in my heart. Over the course of my life it has been expressed
in some surprisingly non-traditional ways; from teaching piano, swimming, and gymnastics to
developing and choreographing song dramas. Ive taught camp directors how to direct dramas
and how to market their camp through brochure development. Ive even found myself as the
featured inspirational speaker on several academy campuses, church podiums, abused womens
retreats and gatherings of Academy principals from around the nation. The apostle Shaul says in
Romans 11:29 that ... the gifts and calling of Yahovah are irrevocable, meaning that the gifts
of the Ruach (the Spirit) which are given to us at birth are talents, abilities and strengths that are
literally a permanent part of us. I didnt know it, but Ive been living them out however I could.
The bureaucratic nonsense in the Education Department long ago didnt actually have the power
to erase what YHVH wrote on my heart. Sabotaged yes, but not destroyed altogether.
The Scripture also says that it is our job to stir up the gifts that the Creator places in our
hearts (2 Tim. 1:6). In other words, the desire to teach will be with me forever, but I have the
responsibility to awaken that longing and walk in it. After 45 years worth of direct contact with
this thing called life, I now know what I love, what Im good at and what I want to pass down
to the next generation. There is nothing else I want to pursue; I want to teach. That is, teach
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something very specifc. I want to teach the ways of Yahovah, his Story and what the Covenant
is. I want to teach people what repentance is, show people what it looks like and invite them to
live in it. To say that I am passionate about leaving this as my legacy is an understatement. The
fre to teach has been stoked and become a bonfre. I have no choice. My desire is too loud. The
calling too persistent. The assignment too clear.
This past summer while I was hauling water to our mountain garden, Yahovah softened
my heart towards entering the formality of Greek education once again. I have lived through
the school of hard knocks, but this past Fall I tested out the idea of going back to school
by taking the one course I never fnished at North Idaho College eighteen years ago: Biology. I
skated through it with an A. I took that as permission from Papa to apply to BSU. I was advised
over the phone, by Chris Johnson, a BSU advisor, to consider the MDS Bachelors Degree. After
speaking with Alexis Kenyon I knew it was the program for me. Encouraged by the fact that it
would only take me, at the most, three Semesters to graduate, we moved the family ten hours
from home and into a totally new lifestyle. We went from mountain tipi-life to city apartment-life
so that mommy could become a college student once again and pursue her annointing!
There are many challenges the family and I faced when we moved down here from the
wilderness to the city in January. But the trials here are nothing like what we have just been
throughlosing everything and clinging to the side of a mountain for four years. Apartment
life is posh. One major challenge will be to let the family take on domestic responsiblilites that
I have shouldered alone for 15 years. But my husband is 100% invested and is here to support
and take over the mommy things. His alignment with me is crucial to this whole adventure.
I would say that the biggest challenge of all is that I am literally on a different calendar. BSU
is on the Gregorian Calendar and I and my family mark time by the Astronomically and
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Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar. Therefore days, months, years are not only
named differently but fall at different times. I have different holidays (holy days) that will not
be acknowledged by BSU at large. I have to be very careful when I schedule something with
people that are on the Gregorian calendar, because I may be accidentally scheduling something
on one of Papas holy days. Though BSU says in tongue that they want and encourage diversity,
I wouldnt say most instructors and fellow students are excited about the cultural diversity that I
bring to class and into small groups when it really comes down to it.
Never-the-less, I will work through all the realities I must deal with by being at BSU
this year because the MDS is an amazing opportunity for someone like me. I hope the program
continues to grow for all those people who need it in order to follow their dreams. Over my
lifetime I have put a lot of time and money into formal educationit has been a liability with
having to pay back the loans and having nothing to show for it. But with the MDS Degree,
years of college credit can be applied toward a Bachelors that will produce, for me, a level
of credibility that will help me to pursue my goals. With the MDS Degree in my pocket I will
springboard forward like an athlete who has their sights on the prize. I will graduate in December
of 2014 and use my Bachelors to enter a Masters program at Jerusalem University College
(JUC) in Israel. I must have a Bachelors to enter JUCs program. I was guided by BSU advisors
to fnish my BA in the USA than to try to make undergraduate credits transfer internationally.
The Bachelors degree from BSU wont necessarily help me teach the subjects we will offer at
Teshuvah Collegethe subject matter and the way we will be teaching will be very different
from what is offered at BSU. But the Bachelors Degree from BSU will allow me to pursue a
Masters in Israel where the content of that degree will be more relevant to the goals of Teshuvah
College. Above all, I believe that these degrees are going to provide me with good experiences
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and some credibility that I need to co-found Teshuvah College.
This year I am taking many classes that I think I will be able to glean from to use as we
establish Teshuvah College. Communication in Small Groups and Studies in Communication
and Culture promise to help me develop skills that I can use while engaging and communicating
with people from different sub-cultures with different personalities and abilities. Im hoping that
Grant Writing will at least familiarize me with the concept of writing grant proposals should
Papa want to use to that as a method to fund the colleges. Courses in Leadership and Confict
Management all promise to further my knowledge about being a leader of people. And of course
the TV and Stage Lighting classes will help to keep my heart alive through this whole process,
plus open my eyes to a few techniques to apply when Teshuvah College begins creating its own
events and marketing goals. I fully intend to glean from all these experiences as I prepare to be
an effective college founder and instructor.
In my interview with Damoni Write, Assistant Director at the Student Involvement and
Leadership Center, I inquired about adding a Leadership Minor to my degree. It sounded like
the perfect minor for me. But requirements would dictate that I stay into the Spring of 2015 to
complete it. After we both looked at it realistically his suggestion was that I really didnt need
a minor with the MDS anyway and the best thing for me would be to just stay on track to fnish
in December 2014 and then go on to Israel to pursue a Masters Degree. Though I will not be
pursuing a Leadership Minor, exploring that option introduced me to a few upper division classes
that I decided to add to my IDP.
I also had Damoni clear up for me some details about future degrees as he has two
Masters degrees and is working on his Doctorate. Damoni informed me that while a Masters
degree requires two years and requires a project, a Doctorate varies as far as time and requires
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a dissertation which is, as he said, original research that adds [something different] to the
collective body of knowledge that already exists. I asked him about the importance of getting a
Doctorate. He said that a Doctoral Degree gives a person the most freedomfreedom not to do
something specifc but to not be limited as to what one can do. A Doctorate adds credibility and
will open doors to be able to work in your passion. The Doctorate Degree is not about getting a
specifc job; its about having options. Im not sure yet whether I will need to pursue a Doctorate.
I also met with Bill Pubols, Executive Director for the Biblical Studies Center (BSC),
founded in 1971 that is next door to the BSU campus. I chose to speak with him because the
BSC is a small college much like Teshuvah College will be. Considering my familys goal of
opening a very unique college, I wanted to know how they got started. Bill is very passionate
about the mission of the BSC and sees it as an important part of the BSU area. Students can
take classes there and BSU will accept them as Elective Credits through a transfer process. As
I described to him the goals we have for Teshuvah College he was intrigued and felt there was
a need for a college like I dream of. He feels that in our culture today there is a crying need
for structure in life in general and [in] how to follow God. He thought that the methodology of
Teshuvah College would be a great way to provide discipleship with God and according to him
it would offer the structure students are looking for. During a rousing three-hour conversation
with Bill, we became friends and I was encouraged to pursue the fre that burns within me with
passion and gusto! I believe that he will be a wonderful resource and encouragement in the future
for me, as I chase my craving.
I am planning on graduating in December 2014 from BSU. The plan we have laid before
YHVH is that in January 2015 we will take the family to Israel so I can pursue a Masters Degree
in Biblical History and Geography at Jerusalem University College. We are currently looking
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for grants and scholarships to do this international adventure. In the meantime, we are already
beginning to lay plans for Teshuvah College. This year, as my Service Learning Goal, I am
working on creating a Hebrew Roots Club here at BSU to bring cultural diversity and awareness
to this incredible movement happening world-wide. Also while I fnish my degree, we plan to
start doing research to fnd our unique demographic and then we will begin to form partnerships
with already established ministries whos constituency is in need of a college like ours. Another
plan is to take our youth group, 2nd Wave and frmly established it so that we can offer it to our
demographic thus building our constituent base for the college through it. Our goal is to establish
and strengthen our relationships with Hebrew Roots, Messianic, Jewish and Christian families
coming out of the nations through our local and national 2nd Wave Youth Conventions.
That said, the future is nothing that I can yet claim to control. Part of my culture, ideology
and my beliefs as a Hebrew is that Yahovah will guide me day by day. He owns the future, not I.
Of course, I can dream and hope into the future, but I know better than to say No matter what,
my plans will happen! The Israelites once said that they would rebuild no matter what! and
Papa was not too happy about them going around him and making plans in spite of him. I am
very clear that it will be not by [my] might, not by power (Zech 4:6) that anything as grand as
Teshuvah College will come into being. It will be by Yahovahs Ruach (Zech 4:6) that it will
happen. I hope YHVH wants it to happen and I hope that I get to be the one he entrusts it to. I
hope that he pours out his blessings upon me, gives me favor in heaven and among men to do it.
All I really want to do is learn Papas story, teach his Torah and soak in his Covenant like King
Dahveed did. I used to be able to troubleshoot around Papa and make whatever I had planned
come to pass. People used to say that whatever I touched seemed to turn to gold. Man, is my life
a different story now. Papa is my Provision, period. He has taught me a better way than to stress
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over tomorrow. Let him have it! Of course I pray, listen, then plan. I pray and then move, then I
pray some more. But I hold those plans and movements loosely. For ultimately, when desire is
threatened and dreams are sabotaged I want to have both hands available to hold onto Papa as
tightly as I can.
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References
Bill Pubols, Executive Director, The Biblical Studies Center and BSU Chaplain
Date of interview, 02/21/14, 12-3 pm
Damoni Write, Assistant Director Student Involvement and Leadership Center, BSU
Date of interview, 02/19/14, 2-3 pm