Student Stories from the Summer, Part 2

Student Stories from the Summer

Jess

Prior to the summer, at the tail end of the spring, I was hospitalized for Bipolar Disorder. Pre-hospital I was at the beginning stages of finding faith. More than half of my stay is cloudy and I was there 21 days, much longer than the average length of stay. What I do remember though, is praying daily and nightly, talking about God with other patients and reading my Bible religiously. Post-hospital, during this summer I have become even stronger in my walk with God. I attribute the ability of myself to stick with my meds, exercise and eat well to God. I have been hospitalized numerous times and each time after I fall right back into my disorder, I wouldn't take my meds, didn't eat because I was anorexic and drank alcohol and didn't sleep much. This time around, things are different, and as aforementioned, it's thanks to God. I've been eating healthy, on a solid sleep schedule, taking my meds and my mood and overall state of happiness are heightened. Thanks to God I am having an amazing summer. Every day is a chance for me to praise God, explore the life that I feel he wants me to live and finally be myself, happy and well. So God has worked in enormous ways in my life this summer. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Emily

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to spend seven weeks in Ghana with Wycliffe Bible Translators for a program called Discovery. Discovery is a little different from other mission trips, because it is not focused on evangelism or service. Rather, it is meant to be a opportunity for young people to fully immerse themselves in and experience another culture, as well as to see what missionary life is like. I was part of a team of thirteen young people, made up half of North Americans and half native Ghanaians. That was incredible in itself; just by spending so much time with my Ghanaian teammates, I was able to learn so much about what life is like in Ghana for college students and young adults. We spent some time with language and culture orientation, just going out to markets and walking around and talking to people. We then were split into separate teams for our village project assignments, in which we spent four weeks at a translation project. My two village partners and I helped by typing translated Scripture, taking inventory of translated books, and visiting local literacy classes. We lived with a host family, did our own shopping at the market, and did a lot of our own cooking. The team met up again for a week of debrief, and then we headed back home. Overall, my trip was very challenging for me in many ways, but it was very humbling, and ultimately very fulfilling. God provided wonderful, generous supporters to get me to Ghana, and then He used my time there for much growth and learning for me. I realized or re-realized a lot about Him, about myself, and about other people and other cultures. Discovery is a very appropriate name for the experience, and I would encourage anyone who is interested in missions or cross-cultural service to look into this trip. It'll change your life.

Ken

It’s Tuesday night and we have just wrapped a long day of work, a day which began at 9am. Just another day at the office… I have been blessed with a great job this summer. From May through August I work as an audio visual technician for Sandy Cove Ministries, in Northeast, Maryland. I help to run all things lights and sound at the conference center. From giant big screen movies in the auditorium to microphones and speakers in a meeting room, we did it all. Often putting in long hours for late night events or set- ups, the mid-night hour was a familiar sight. Throughout my time at Sandy Cove I grew to appreciate the body of Christ in a very real sense. Each individual had been hired to carry out a specific task at the conference center. They were then grouped by department to work together on their tasks. Each department had a job which was unique, yet contributed to the life of Sandy Cove. Without the talents of each department, the whole facility suffers. God has really shown me that every little job is important, no matter what your paycheck or position says. God has you in a place where he will use you to bring glory to Himself. Through the team environment this summer, God has been teaching me to lean on Him, not myself. Whether it was running the sound system, installing cables in the ceiling, or helping a guest with directions, my summer has been full of adventures both large and small.