We are so excited to have Kelly Lomax and Joe Gaston from Mobile, Alabama on this pilgrimage! Kelly and Joe  will be providing a Talents Unlimited and video production in-service  for Latin Patriarchate School teachers in Jordan.

Meet Kelly Lomax

Kelly is the Director of Talents Unlimited. She was a classroom teacher for 23 years and loved every minute of it. She adored her students and felt like it was her ministry to create a safe, happy, positive place where she could grow and learn each day. Her current position was a gift from God – Kelly was told that she was the only one in her district qualified to take the job! She began this adventure in July 2015 and was greeted on her first day by a phone call from Nancy Hemminger informing her about the amazing relationship between Talents, Project HOPE, and  the Latin Patriarchate Schools. It’s been quite a ride  for Kelly since that day! Suha and Amal from Amman, Jordan, made the trip to Mobile, Alabama in the spring of 2015 for the Talents conference. Then, Nadia and Wafa arrived in July 2015 and soon became the first International Certified Trainers for Talents. These ladies have trained hundreds of teachers across Palestine and Kelly commends them for their commitment to teaching this critical and creative thinking framework.

This will be Kelly’s first trip outside  of the United States. She feels privileged to make this trip with friends from Project HOPE and Cincinnati educators. She is looking forward to seeing so many of the sites on the itinerary! She is  most excited to see the path that Jesus took from his birth to his Resurrection, there will be many memories etched in her mind from this pilgrimage. Kelly feels this will  truly be a life-altering experience both professionally and personally, and surely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Kelly is very excited to visit the schools where Talents Unlimited is being implemented and meet the students and teachers. She wants to share with teachers and students in the US and LPS just how similar we all are when it comes to learning, thinking critically and creatively.

 Meet Joe Gaston

 Joe  was born and reared in Mobile, Alabama. His wife Lori and he have been married for 21 years and have four children. Their oldest child Brittany is a freshman in college  while their youngest child Hadley is a kindergartner. Needless to say their lives are very busy!  Joe is a former elementary school teacher, who is currently working as an instructional technology teacher for his school district, and as an adjunct professor for two universities in Mobile.

This will be Joe’s first trip to the Holy Land, and he is very much looking forward to it! He is most excited to visit the town of Bethlehem.

Outside of the holy sites, Joe is mostly looking forward to visiting the Latin Patriarchate Schools and working with the teachers.  He had the honor of working with several teachers from Jordan and Palestine last fall while they were visiting Cincinnati. Joe is eager to exchange ideas with more teachers from these areas.  His goal for this trip is to share with teachers ways of  using video production  in the classroom as an aid in teaching the curriculum. Teaching students the process of video production not only helps them think more deeply about the content they are studying, it also gives them a way to share their own stories, as well as the stories of their families and their communities. His hope is that teachers will go from the workshops feeling excited and confident about conducting video production projects in their classrooms.