About Next Summer...

Please be praying for me next summer. I'm still not sure what I am going to do. There are so many things I could do. I want to either go on summer project, stay in Isla Vista and become a part of the 24/7 prayer movement that is starting in the prayer shed, or I could just stay at home and continue to be involved with a couple youth groups and Ian's worship nights. At the same time I know my parents want me to either get an internship of sorts or go to summer school.

The thing about summer school is I can do it back home, in Santa Barbara, or on Santa Monica summer project. Internship...not really something I want to do. It will take a lot of my time that I would rather spend doing other things. Now that I know what I could do with those, I'm going to go into detail about the things I would want to do.

Summer project is a program with Campus Crusade that sends people to different locations of our own choosing to reach out to people. You can get full detail here. Basically we go out and reach out to people while we grow in leadership skills and build friendships. To do this, I would have to raise support by sending out support letters or speaking to people to ask for money. I would definitely have to put my full trust in God through the support raising and know that He will provide. I would also have to think about where I would be going. Some locations I have considered are Santa Monica, Hawaii with Epic, the Middle East, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, or the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Santa Monica is the standard one most UCSB students go to. It is eight weeks with Chris Comstock being involved for the first part. Later on, staff will leave it to all the students. In this one I could get a job or go to summer school at the same time. It's the only one I'm considering where you can do that. I've been encouraged by Chris Comstock and many others who have been on it to do this one.

The Epic Hawaii Summer Project is one where we reach out to Asian American students and get to stay on the campus of University of Hawaii. I know some awesome people who have been on it, and I know I can grow more in my identity as an Asian American. Of course, I also have a family reunion in Hawaii and I might leave for a bit to do that, but that probably won't happen since my parents and brothers don't plan on going to that family reunion. It would also be awkward for me to leave project to do that. Well one of the main reasons is to engage in my cultural identity. The location is more of a plus.

The Middle East would probably be the one with the most difficulties. We would be going to a country where the majority is Muslim and where Christians probably face persecution. It would be a great cultural experience as well. I know a few people who have gone and bonded really well with the others on project and the people there. I also think we might visit some Biblical places but I'm not quite sure on that.

Tokyo Summer Project would also be interesting for me. I lived there for three years from fifth grade to seventh grade, and it was the place where I faced some of my toughest times. Jennie led it this year, so I think she's leading next year. The people I know who went on it had an awesome time there, and I think it will be cool to place myself in that culture again. I'm sure I would have to face some tough memories going back, but I know I will enjoy some as well. Oh, and I miss having ramen there.

Australia or New Zealand...to be honest I want to go to them mostly based on location. I don't recall ever going south of the equator as well. I'm sure I will grow in either one anyways.

Finally, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. It's definitely the cheapest one I picked and is only five weeks. I've taken an interest in Native American cultures in the last few years, so I think it will definitely be awesome to put myself there. I would also like to learn more about the Blackfeet and interact with them. It is definitely one of the more interesting ones I would like to experience but have never actually been a part of.

Those are the projects I am most interested in. It will definitely be tough, but I know I will probably grow a lot in any of them. Even if I go on summer project, I know I can still go back home or to Isla Vista afterwards.

Staying in Isla Vista would probably be good too. I want to get involved in the prayer movement as mentioned earlier, and I definitely think being an intercessor can be effective. I would probably be involved with summer Real Life and continue to attend IVC. Living in IV would definitely be an interesting experience since I've been living in the dorms. I would be able to attend summer school at UCSB, and I could look for a job. I'd probably become more independent by living away from my family. I mostly want to stay to be a part of the 24/7 prayer in the prayer shed and hopefully see it grow.

Finally, I could just stay home. I'd most likely do community college again, but my parents think getting an internship would be a good idea as well. I already talked to Pastor Aaron about possibly being a leader at T4 during the summer. T4 was the youth group I had been a part of since 8th grade. I would also still go to Wildfire, another youth group on Monday nights. They both operate differently with Wildfire being more like IVC, but I still love the kids in them and want to be there for them. I would also be involved with Roots, the young adults group for Valley Christian which T4 is also part of. There is also going to Ian's worship nights at his house. I would definitely be involved in a lot of things if I stayed home. If I went to summer project, I could still do most of these except being a leader at T4 which would require I be at home all summer.

Now that I'm done explaining most of my options, I can go on talking about how God has opened some doors. A couple days ago, my family visited me at UCSB on their way down to LA. In the car, my parents asked what I planned on doing next summer. I explained summer project to them. I remember last summer when I told them that summer project is like a missions trip and my parents were disappointed. At the time, my mom asked if I planned on staying single my whole life because she was afraid I would become a monk. This time they asked what summer project was again and I said it was like missions. They asked how I would do that, and I told them I would have to raise support by asking people. My parents fears about me doing it is that I want to become a pastor in the future and that I won't be able to go to graduate school. I explained that just because people go on summer project doesn't mean that they want to become a pastor. Later on in the conversation my dad says he'll support me in choosing whatever I do as long as it helps me go to grad school. I definitely saw how God opened my parents' hearts a bit to it, but now I have to explain how it would get me to grad school.

To my surprise, my mom also asked if I wanted to go to summer school at UCSB. This came up because of a conversation about getting into relationships. I've definitely told her I am fine being single and I don't need to have a girlfriend. I feel like she thinks I will get into one for some reason if I stayed in Santa Barbara. God definitely opened her heart about me staying in Isla Vista since I remember her as being someone who wants me to be at home when it's not the regular school year.

Prayers are definitely working, but I would like anyone to pray with me more about opening my parents' hearts to whatever I do next summer. I also need prayer about what I will do next summer. In any of the cases I listed above, I know I will continue to grow. I will definitely be seeking God even more.

This is probably my longest post in a while so until next time...
Kenneth