This summer, 10 ACU students and one faculty member will travel to Beijing and Langfang, China, where they will bring a message of hope to local orphans. The students, in conjunction with the adoption agency Children's Hope International, will be leading summer camps for the orphans. This trip is a product of conversations that began last summer when ACU president Royce Money, his wife Pam, and Drs. Wayne and Mimi Barnard traveled to Beijing with a Christian delegation visiting government officials.
"We discussed the need for summer camps for the orphaned children of Beijing and Langfang," said Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of spiritual formation at ACU. "Now, we are going back with ACU students to make it happen."
The student delegation will arrive in China in late July and remain there for three weeks. They will be working with Children’s Hope International, along with John and Lisa Bentley, former ACU students who direct Harmony Outreach, a home for Chinese orphans with special needs.
"For the ACU students, this trip will be a learning experience in more ways than one," said Barnard. "In addition to acquiring the valuable experience serving in an international context, they will be exposed to Chinese history and culture as they travel through Beijing and X'ian. Such experiences are vital to ACU’s vision of training global leaders."
The students have been working for months preparing for their trip to China. Along with finalizing curriculum for the camps, the students have been raising money to fund their experience.
"After three weeks submerged in a radically different culture, while serving others, these students will have made a difference in their world and gained experience and understanding along the way," said Barnard.
ACU students scheduled to go to China include Katie Barnard, Candace Berrier, Korie Darby, Jenny Dodd, Kellie Ethington, Julieann Hart, Lauren Hart, Cassey Owen, Preston Woolfolk and Cami Yeagley. Dr. Wayne Barnard will facilitate the trip.
This is not the first time ACU students have visited China, though it is the first organized student team to serve with social service agencies in that country. Students have previously been involved serving through programs designed to connect ACU students with Chinese university students through teaching English. Other students have studied in China through a culture-crossing CCCU program, while some have moved to China to work in various capacities, said Barnard.
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