A few short days after Christmas — and a few short weeks after missiles stopped soaring between the Gaza Strip and Israel — Emory University alumni, faculty and staff ventured to the Middle East on a continuing mission to build educational, inter-religious and cultural relationships.

It wasn't the first time Emory officials had braved conflict in the Middle East and other strife-ridden regions of the world, including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, South Africa and Appalachia. Examining and understanding the root causes of conflict is the purpose of the Journeys of Reconciliation Program, which is led by the Office of Religious Life.

April Bogle, director of public relations at Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion and co-director of communications at Candler School of Theology, joined the group and shares insights gained along the way in this week's Emory Report.