During International Education Week, MLC’s Cultural Engagement Center (CEC) put the spotlight on study abroad and teaching abroad, and the campus family got better acquainted with our international students, who come from Canada, China, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

One special event during this week was the Global Potluck in the CEC. This event allowed students to share a part of their culture in a casual, low-pressure environment while building community and eating delicious food!

Liza Bornschlegl (Resurrection and Life-Rochester MN) attended the potluck and appreciated how the food became a conversation starter and a way to share unique aspects of each person’s culture. “Even though our cultures and the foods that we brought were so different from each other’s,” says Liza, “there we all were, sharing a meal together and learning about each other as friends.”

Pictured: Wei (Nadine) Li (Koinonia-Hong Kong), Liza Bornschlegl, Jason Hanania (Bethany-Saginaw MI), Renee Johnson (St. Paul-Ottawa, Canada), AnaCristina Iglesias (St. Mark-Watertown WI), and Xueqian (Sissi) Gan at the Global Potluck.

Please drop off donations at the MLC reception desk no later than February 1. Or mail them to 1995 Luther Court, New Ulm MN 56073.

On November 16, UMAC announced its all-conference honors, awarding eleven to the MLC football team.

Mason Cox (St. Paul-New Ulm MN), Jude Pederson (Cross of Christ-Coon Rapids MN), and Cole Broekhuizen (St. John-Bay City MI) were named to the offensive first team.

Thomas Balge (St. Paul-New Ulm MN), Joey Ehlke (Good Shepherd-West Bend WI), Jeremiah Stanton (Redemption-Milwaukee), and Christian Koelpin (Faith-Tyler TX) were all named to the defensive first team.

Max Nordlie (Divine Grace-Lake Orion MI), Carson Oestreich (Immanuel-Hadar NE), Sam Rodriguez (Bethlehem-Menomonee Falls WI), and Micah Koschnitzke (Grace-Milwaukee) were the four MLC players to take offensive second team.

Tom Balge (pictured), one of the honorees, feels thankful for his coaches’ help and his teammates’ dedication throughout the season. “I think the honors reflect our season well,” says Tom. “We were so close to being the top team in the conference, and each team member played a key part in our third place finish.”

The awards also make Tom optimistic for the 2024 season. “Out of the eleven players who won all-conference,” Tom says, “six of them were freshmen, sophomores, or juniors. Although we will be losing very good players, I think it’s safe to say that our team has a lot of potential next year.”

Tutor Aaron Bush (MLC ’19, WLS ’23) serves the MLC campus family in a variety of roles: dorm supervisor, instructor, assistant football coach, morning and evening chapel chaplain, and student chapel advisor.

Despite his service now at MLC, Tutor Bush didn’t always see himself in ministry. When he was a baby, a WELS pastor invited his parents to worship, and he doesn’t have called workers in his family.

It was Tutor Bush’s eighth-grade pastor who showed him that pastoral ministry was something he could do.

After attending Wisconsin LHS, Tutor Bush went on to MLC and then WLS, serving as a vicar at Abiding Grace-Covington GA and as a seminary assistant at St. Paul-Slinger WI. Now he’s striving to provide the kind of encouragement given to him as he considered ministry. “I passionately want to support those who also have come from non-ministry backgrounds,” says Tutor Bush. “They have a unique perspective to offer their fellow students and future fellow called workers.”

As for his work at MLC, “The students are the best part,” says Tutor Bush. “They come with their own unique perspectives. They’ve struggled through hardships. There are still many who keep the faith as teenagers and young adults. God is still good and has preserved his elect. We don’t need to be scared to listen to our young brothers and sisters in the faith.”

A beautiful Christmas tree and a nativity scene greet the campus family and visitors when they walk into the WCC, reminding them of God’s gift of a Savior.

Want to know more about what’s happening here on the hill? Interested in the new senior retreat? Excited to learn more about the Child Development Associate credential?

Check out the Fall 2023 MLC InFocus magazine!

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