Summer Projects 2020 Recap—Blog - Acts Two Fellowship — Christian Fellowship at UC Berkeley | Christian Fellowship on the UC Berkeley Campus | Student Club Group at Berkeley | Acts Two Fellowship — Christian Fellowship at UC Berkeley (a2f)

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic A2F had to suddenly cancel the 2020 mission trips abroad, but we still wanted to reach and connect with people in these countries, so students gathered together while in quarantine to kickstart some virtual summer projects! Some of our teams gave different workshops about how to defend the Christian faith, taught college students English, and explained to kids why their identity is in Christ, so here are some heartwarming sharings we collected!

What did you expect and did anything surprise you about your summer project?

“I was really nervous about it because I didn't know what to expect. I was afraid that it was going to be awkward and basically just us lecturing at people but that was not the case! It was surprising how welcoming and relationally open they were. They were so willing to participate and share with us it was so encouraging to experience. I felt so loved by them and I'm so grateful that we had this opportunity.” — Fatima Escobar (Senior, Peru)

“I didn't expect much! I was skeptical to say the least that we could do anything meaningful over a handful of video calls. So I was very surprised to see that at the end of these two weeks, I had really grown attached to the students I was meeting with and was praying for them on a regular basis. The students also really appreciated our calls and expressed gratitude for the little that we did. Hopefully I'll get to visit them in person one day!” — Andrew Chen (post-grad, Cambodia)

“Before we started preparing for the Cambodia Summer Project, I seriously doubted that we could put on a successful mission trip for middle-schoolers in Cambodia. I felt obligated to participate because I didn’t want to miss out on something my peers were doing. I just treated it like another thing I just had to do. But God completely changed my heart towards the mission trip as I started working on it!” — Jennifer Prince (Sophomore, Cambodia)

What is one passage that has spoken into your life regarding summer projects?

“One passage that sticks out is from 2 Timothy 2:9: “for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!" It is indeed true that the gospel has universal reach. To hear students like Pong really resonate with the parable of the prodigal son, to hear students like Pano really resonate with verses from the Roman Road, taught me that the bible indeed speaks truth into our human condition no matter what country/culture you grew up in.” — Andrew

How have you grown closer to your classmates, leaders, and/or Jesus?

“During the trip, even though only 2 students consistently came, I was really encouraged to see how my peers and leaders gave their everything for those 2 students. From creating some amazing custom visuals to putting in many hours of practice to perform magic and soccer tricks to dancing tik tok regardless of how ridiculous we all looked, everyone truly gave their all! And as a homegroup, we were personally blessed to be reminded of how God himself, the good shepherd he is, leaves the 99 sheep to chase after the 1. After all the morning DT team times, late night work nights prepping for the week, and crazy moments we got to experience together, I've been blessed to see and experience so much love, joy, and selflessness within our cohort. We all knew it was worth it when we saw those 6th graders’ joy and excitement grow throughout the week!” — Almarie Mata (Sophomore, Cambodia)

“My peers worked so hard and came up with such incredible games and activities to engage the kids with. I was so inspired by the energy they brought to the mission trip every day, and I'm so proud of my class. Working on the presentation didn't just allow my faith to grow just because now I was able to explain some aspects of the Gospel better to a 6th grader, but because now I had a genuine reason to and desire to share the Gospel. Prepping for Cambodia allowed me to lovingly re-frame all my thoughts, my actions, and my desires into something outside of me, something bigger than me.” — Jennifer

What is one piece of advice for someone who is thinking of doing a summer

project for the first time?

“It will be time consuming because there will be a lot of planning and behind-the-scenes work, but it's super rewarding because doing ministry will keep you accountable to memorize things so that you can teach it to others, which actually helps you deepen your faith like it did for me. My other piece of advice would be to do it with joy, because you would be in the process of trying to change someone's eternal destiny. It's like my home group and I are saving people from spiritual death like spiritual superheroes!” — John Angeles (Senior, Peru)

“My advice would be to go into the summer project with only one expectation for yourself: to love the people you meet as much as possible. Having that love be what fuels you as you prepare talks and come up with activities is what will make the experience truly amazing. Even for a virtual mission trip, by keeping the person on the other side of the screen first and foremost in your mind as you prepare, you will be able to let go of other expectations that may stress you out or hold you back. Even though the task seemed daunting at first, I was so incredibly blessed by my summer project experience serving middle-schoolers in Cambodia. I’m really thankful I was able to take part in it and enjoy every moment of it even if things didn’t go exactly as planned—and that’s the beauty of making the mission trip all about loving others.” — Jennifer

Personally, I’m grateful for the way that God has touched the hearts of others through the summer projects. After reading these reflections, I can see how the word of God is not bound just as 2 Timothy 2:9 says. It pushes me to think harder about how I am spending my time and encourages me to think that no matter the circumstances, we can always find a way to share the gospel. I’m excited to see what next year’s missions trips will bring!