The latest alumni association travel experiences gave travelers a chance to see two remarkable countries: Cuba and Israel.

The trip was the association’s first under the Road Scholar (the former Elderhostel) banner, since group permission to visit Cuba has only recently been opened again by the U.S. government.

While in Cuba, the travelers spent time interacting with local residents, experiencing lively cultural activities, eating local cuisine, learning about the Cuban economy and interacting with the local Christian Reformed Church in Jaguey Grande.

Calvin vice president for advancement Ken Erffmeyer traveled with the group as a college representative. Erffmeyer said, “The personal interaction with friendly Cuban nationals was heartwarming and led to an unparalleled education for trip participants.”

Erffmeyer added, “The Cuban trip surpassed my expectations. It is a very complicated place with an economy that cannot support the country or its people, so I hope we will see continued reforms. The people are very friendly and you get a feeling you are back in 1959 with the building infrastructure and old cars. You realize that in a socialized country like Cuba, basically everyone appears equally poor and the average Cuban makes one U.S. dollar a day. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the U.S. lifted the economic embargo and allowed U.S. citizens to visit as tourists.”

For the second year, Bill and Lyn Vanden Bosch led pilgrims to —and the desire to see these sacred lands occasioned two separate trips in the month of March.

Alumni and friends had the chance to see not only many important sites from scripture but also took in the complicated mixture of cultures and countries that is the Middle East.

Calvin’s recently retired director of scholarships and grants Lois Konyndyk made this notation in the final blog entry of the Israel pilgrimage: “Our closing communion service centered on the idea that if we keep quiet, the very stones themselves will cry out. So Bill took us back in our mind’s eye over all the stones we had seen, from Ibillin and Nazareth to Masada and Ein Gedi, from a cave in Bethlehem to the garden tomb. But those stones, although they ‘tell’ a story, are silent witnesses. We are the ones God calls to tell of His great love for the world and the Savior who died to save it.” Read the blog .

More travel experiences are in store for later this year and for 2015. The alumni association partners with the (CALL) on the planning and promotion of these programs.