I originally began this school year not intending to do summer project at all – not during this summer, and very possibly not any summers. I did my best to plan out my life: study for the LSAT this summer, spend the next summer in Washington, D.C., and then either job hunting or law school would begin after graduation. Not being able to go on a summer project was just a casualty of the rigorous schedule that I pigeonholed myself into.
Unsurprisingly, God began to slowly work in me as the school year began to progress. During the weeks leading up to Epic Conference, I felt my heart softening and becoming more receptive to the idea of giving time to Him during this summer… because after college, when else would I be able to? I attended summer project informational sessions with an open mind, and later admitted to both my discipler and our staffer that I was considering applying. (“Just apply!” is a commonly-yelled phrase within Epic UC Santa Barbara.) When I told our staffer that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do summer school in conjunction with East Asia, she looked up the schedule on the spot and verified that I would indeed be back in time to do summer school if I wanted to.
I knew then that God had opened enough doors and worked in my heart enough for me to at least be faithful in applying. And now I’m writing this post about my decision to go on a summer project! I’m doing my best to have no expectations because I saw how that panned out for me at the beginning of this school year – I know that God will do great things no matter what.
Just apply!
Elliott Lee, University of California, Santa Barbara