Junette Galagala-Nacion, from the Philippines, is a Langham Scholar who is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh.
Back in November, Junette joined over 70 supporters and staff for a special event in Carlisle to praise God for Langham’s global ministries. As part of the day, she shared about her studies and gave points for prayer.
Q: What are you studying and what do you hope to do when you return home?
“I am taking up New Testament in Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh and when I come home to the Philippines I intend to teach in the Biblical Studies department of the Asian Theological Seminary.
Q: What does Langham mean to you?
“Langham made it possible for me and my family to be here and to study scripture at a deeper level and to be able to apply it to my own context. It’s a huge blessing for us to have your support both your prayers and also your grants yearly so that we are able to do this for the Lord.
Q: What is your daily life like as a Scholar?
“In Scotland now the weather is awful so daily life is just managing you know day-to-day, going to the office and getting the reading done, getting the writing done, and some days are better than others. Now that it’s winter it’s a matter of surviving! I am used to the 12-hour daylight in the Philippines and right now it’s just so dark. But I’m staying awake and keeping myself surrounded by communities as well.
“In Scotland it’s a bit different obviously from the Philippines so I’m learning how the Church is different in Scotland than in the Philippines and I’m trying to see those nuances between the cultures and how God is alive in Scotland. He is alive in the Philippines as well and I am thinking about how I can make that transition.
“I am trying to just read and write and carry on with my work while my family is there and trying to see God in the different pockets of community.
Q: What stage are you at in your studies?
“I’ve just started Year Two so I survived my first Review Board in June and then I’m trying to do now what I said I would do in my proposal.
Q: How are you finding your studies so far?
“So far so good! But the first chapter is definitely challenging so I’ve had people comfort me by saying that what I’m going through is normal.
“I think everyone in their first year would be so excited to cite the ancient sources and I was keen on doing that but now I’m wading in an ocean of literature so coupled with Autumn and things getting dark it’s not the easiest thing to do.
“But here we carry on and we find places where we can find comfort and encouragement and you know the light of the Lord, like a star in the North, just keeping one’s focus.
Q: How can supporters pray for you?
“My first prayer point would be for me and my family that we would find the Lord’s warmth and grace and as a Filipino that I’m a default bearer of the Filipino flag so that you would pray for my country as well that we would come to know the Lord more deeply.
“Also for me and my studies – I am studying Gentile Christian identity in the formative years – that I would learn more about how I would navigate that in my own identity and the identity of my church as well.”