CRISSA NELSON | editor-in-chief

At 12:26 pm on Friday, Jan. 11, a bus pulled away with 38 students ready to embark on the start of the second ever APU South Africa Study Abroad Semester, but not before an emotional send off from family, friends and those who trekked out before them.

Leaving all expectations of a typical semester behind, these students set out to experience what the creators of the program envisioned and hoped would be a life changing experience, one that would make them better world citizens, deeper thinkers and healthier Christians.

After those who blazed the trails ahead of them returned, bringing back stories and advice, Associate Vice President for Internationalization Matt Browning, one of the minds behind the program, truly believes the goals of the program were met.

“I really believe we can say that most students who went have been ruined for the ordinary,” Browning said, stating one of his greatest goals for the students of APU. “I was full well prepared that there would be things that went wrong and would have to be changed, and while minor tweaking is only natural, for the first run at it…it was such a blessing to see how the students came back.”

Junior communication studies major Angela Baldwin admits that, as part of the first group, she had no idea what to expect.

“I didn’t know whether it was going to be a missions trip or study abroad,” Baldwin said. “But after being there, it exceeded any expectation I could have had. It’s such a uniquely organized experience. It’s not a normal study abroad, it was one of those rare trips of a lifetime.”

The semester is divided into three parts, the first five weeks spent at Cornerstone Christian College in Capetown where students live in local homes and in the college dorms and interact with cultural mentors. In Capetown they have the opportunity to study and travel in the largest city of South Africa. After about a month, they travel to Pietrmaritzberg, the location of the main campus. Instructed by local professors, the students complete up to 11 units of general studies requirements while visiting local community service sites. Students are then divided among the sites and spend the last month serving at those service sites while focusing and writing reflections on principles of community development and service.

“We were able to be holistic students,” senior theology major Jeff Johnson said. “What I most appreciated [about the program] was the experiential learning, particularly in the community service sites but also through interactions throughout our classes.”

Johnson felt the culmination of their learning was tangibly lived out in the service learning sites.

“We were able to fulfill God’s command of helping the poor and oppressed and being transformed through other peoples lives and experiences,” Johnson said.

Browning reflected upon the importance of sending the students to South Africa as learners, but recognizing the impact they had on the people there as well.

“We were careful that our students go with the mindset of learners,” Browning said. “But to hear about the relationships that were formed and the work they did in the communities with young boys and girls whose parents have died of AIDS, we will never know the impact of that cup of water, or smile, or just time spent hanging out with people.”

After receiving feedback and reviews from the returning students, Browning said only a few minor changes were made to the program. The most common response was that students had a hard time leaving Capetown where they had more interaction with South African college-age students. This semester, two of the courses will be offered in town at the University in Kwazulu Natal, the nearest town to Pietrmaritzberg. Browning also said they are working on getting more South African students to study at the Pietrmaritzberg campus.

During a luncheon gathering the Wednesday before departure, the students returning from the first semester program were able to give those preparing to leave a gift they could never have received as the inaugural group. Students showed pictures and told stories, giving advice of what to expect, and how to prepare. They then encircled the new students and prayed blessings over them and their time in the country that would become their home for the next four months.

“The old group prayed for the new group and then they started busting out in this African worship song,” Browning remembers. “It was just so powerful to look at all of the work that has gone into this program, literally years of work, and to see how God honors hard work and good thinking. In the end we just had to trust and at this point we have every indication to believe that we are on the right track with this.”

Browning believes that this program is on its way to becoming a cornerstone program of APU, one more step in his long-term goal to continue internationalizing APU.
“I wish everyone could experience the South Africa Semester,” Baldwin said. “It would make a difference in the worldview of APU. It just helped me to look at America a little differently.”