A Day in the Life of a Student at Ethnos360 Bible Institute: Kasey Muise

Meet Kasey Muise

Kasey is from Los Angeles, California, and is a sophomore at Ethnos360 Bible Institute of Jackson. In high school, Kasey had always planned on becoming an actress. She graduated in 2014 and spent the summer auditioning for plays in local theaters and working in order to save money so that she could attend acting school.

After going to a community college for a semester, Kasey went on a week-long missions trip to Tijuana, Mexico, with Caravan Ministries. Before the first day was out, it was clear to her that God wanted her to be involved in missions. Kasey turned down the acting school in L.A. to become an intern at Caravan for a year. It was at Caravan that she desired to be trained for the mission field at Ethnos360 Bible Institute.  

 

A Typical Day at Ethnos360 Bible Institute:

6:45 A.M. – Breakfast 

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock and take no time getting out of bed. I get dressed before grabbing my Bible to head downstairs in the dining hall for some quiet time before breakfast. The school offers a variety of fruit every morning, so I typically eat lots of fruit and a breakfast sandwich.

7:30 A.M. – Dorm Detail

I have an hour between breakfast and class, so I use this time to finish dorm detail. Basically dorm detail is a task that each person has Monday through Friday to keep the dorms clean. After my room is straightened up, I head back downstairs to get a cup of coffee in the dining hall right before going to my first class of the day.

8:00 A.M. – Class

Rich Bruce is teaching this hour on Man and Sin (Hamartiology and Anthropology). It’s pretty impossible to fall asleep in this class, as its content is pretty staggering. Each day we are reminded of the depravity of man and the condition of the lost. I knew that each person had a sin nature; but I didn’t realize that believers were given an additional nature. It just dawned on me that I have two natures fighting within me, and I have been given the power to choose which nature I will submit to.

9:00 A.M. – Chapel

Today is worship chapel which is my absolute favorite chapel. I go to the front even though I usually sit in the back for chapel. There’s just nothing like being in a room full of people who are committed to studying the Word of God together, people at different places in life coming together to sing about how much He loves us. The Spirit of God is most evident to me there. And worship chapel is always perfectly planned – it’s scheduled on the days that I’m at the end of myself. In just those 45 minutes of praising God, I am renewed and encouraged to keep pressing on.

10:00 A.M. – Class

Now it’s time to go to back to class. Chris Darland is teaching Life of Christ for the next two periods. We’ve covered the books Matthew, Mark, and Luke; and now we’re in the gospel of John. Each gospel has a unique perspective but they come together so complementary. In Matthew, Jesus is proven to be King of the Jews. In Mark, Jesus is proven to be the Messiah. In Luke, Jesus is proven to be human. In John, Jesus is God Himself. Each book is important to cohesively show us who the person of Christ.

After reading about the promised Messiah in our Old Testament classes, we get to see so many prophecies Jesus fulfills during His time on earth.

12:00 P.M. – Lunch

The tight-knit community of Ethnos360 Bible Institute is most apparent during lunchtime as most of the staff eat lunch in the dining hall. Lunchtime is a great time to get to know staff and even ask the teachers questions about things I didn’t understand in class. Getting to know the staff families at a personal level greatly impacts the learning and discipleship aspect of the school.

1:00 P.M. – Elective

After lunch I get ready for my elective which is from 1:10-2:00. We’ve just started Understanding Suffering, taught by Rich Bruce, and it’s already been challenging as we go into the topic of why God is loving and sovereign but still allows suffering to happen in the world. My past has given me a lot of framework for this class.
I really struggled with the idea that if God exists, He can’t be all-powerful and good. This class has taught me how god uses the trials in our lives for our good.

3:00 P.M. – Discipleship

I have a meeting with my dean which happens a few times a month. It’s part of the discipleship program of Ethnos360 Bible Institute. Right before coming to Bible school, I realized that I’m not a person who is quick to be vulnerable. A previous discipler of mine challenged me to learn how to open up and be spoken into. I’ve slowly told my dean most of my story…which is a big deal to me. She graciously has taken my story and accepted me where I am. She speaks wisdom and gentle truth into my life. I walk away knowing the things I need to work on but I remain encouraged.

4:00 P.M. – Work

It’s time to head over to the YMCA where I work as a receptionist, so I have to wear business casual clothes. I really enjoy working there, because I have prior experience in reception. Last semester, I worked at Wolverine cleaning here in Jackson. When I first got here, it took 2 months to find a job (Wolverine) but that’s because I came in January. Later I found out about the YMCA job through a classmate and it only took two weeks of processing. The key is to be really proactive in job searching when you first get here.

7:00 P.M. – Work Out

My shift is over and I head home to work out. I was surprised when I got here at the equipment they have in the fitness center. They have a good selection of machines that I don’t need a spotter for. I have access to the YMCA gym but I don’t use it because our facility on campus is really nice.

7:45 P.M. – Student Work Program

I am on Student Leadership this semester under the role of Student Work Program (SWP) Leader. SWP is a program which involves each student helping to clean the school in order to keep the cost of tuition down. As an SWP leader, I oversee female students who have the tasks of cleaning all of the women’s bathrooms, the girls’ floor, ladies lounge, and the stairwells. Being an SWP leader has stretched me; not a week goes by that I don’t experience confrontation. The biggest challenge for me has been to not sacrifice the program for the people. A task as simple as mopping the bathroom floor may not seem very important, but each “small” task helps the school function as efficiently as possible.

8:00 P.M. – Homework

I end each day finishing up homework. From the beginning of my time here, I was encouraged to view my Bible homework as a means of relationship and fellowship with the Lord, not just an academic exercise. The homework is geared toward application and about learning how to search the Word to feed yourself spiritually. Through the homework, I’ve learned how to read and ask questions, and pull things from the Bible that I can use practically. The Bible says that God draws near to those who seek Him. Homework time doesn’t exclude that. Even when doing homework I can seek Him and trust that He will draw near; He has proven to be faithful to show up.

 

What’s Next for Kasey

My desire is to spend a year doing an internship in ministry and working simultaneously. Afterwards, I hope to continue my missionary training at Ethnos360’s Missionary Training Center or Ethnos Canada’s training center Emanate.

Someone once asked me where I wanted to be a missionary. I honestly had no idea, so I told them to point at the map and pick a location to get the point across that I’m willing to go anywhere. They pointed to South Asia, so I did some research because I didn’t know anything about this region. From my research, I found that in one area of South Asia, there were only 20 out of 273 language groups that have heard the Gospel. Despite my desire to go to South Asia, I’ve learned over the course of my time at Ethnos360 Bible Institute that the Lord isn’t caught up in the geography of where I’m headed but in my willingness to go.