September Ministry Update

                               

Hey Guys,

We made it through August and what a wonderful rush it's been. This past month has definitely pushed my limits in terms of what I thought I could handle with accomplishing tasks done for the ministry, meeting people at welcome week events, and doing my studies for the theology class. I failed to see or realize, I should say, that it wasn't just me doing those things, God was with me and I had to lean into him for strength and wisdom.

Richland  Outreach: 

I will admit, outreach at Richland was a bit daunting to me because I didn't really know what to expect going in. Would these students openly respond to our invitation to hang out or come to events? Was I going to be able to relate to the students, and the culture at Richland? What ifs, what ifs, what ifs. Even though I filled my mind with these questions I needed to remember God put FOCUS here for a reason and more personally, I was put here with a purpose. God is in full control and we are simply joining him. Fast forwarding a bit, the outreach events went well. I felt that I did not really get to interact as much as I would have liked to and get them connected into cores (our small group bible studies) so I was a bit saddened about that. We then decided to have some campus conversations on campus, aside from the outreach events, and that was sooooo good! We got to talk to many students and just get to relate to them. Their responses to our invites was so encouraging and we had many excited to come. I had a guy that had his headphones in his ears so I was a bit hesitant to approach him, so I thought I'll just slip him our pie cards that had our information on them. The moment I did he jumped out of his seat and was just overjoyed. He said that he had been looking for a ministry/ bible study to be involved in and just asked so many question about the ministry, so that was just neat to experience.
We had a great turn out for core as well and our conversations were just so good, and fruitful. We got to talk about friendships and the idea of vulnerability and how those play out in our lives. It has been really great getting to see this play out and I'm excited to see what God has in store for Richland, so keep us in your prayers as we continue on.

Some of our friends we made at our Richland Outreach event. 

UTD Outreach:

Welcome week events were a blast and it was encouraging getting to talk to so many students and getting them involved in FOCUS. It was great seeing our student leaders take initiative and be inviting to those around them. They did an amazing job following up with people, and getting them plugged in to FOCUS. We had such great turn outs at the events and at our first FNF (Friday Night FOCUS) of the year. God is definitely working on this campus and its such a great experience getting to join him in action, all thanks to the love and support I have received from you guys! Know that you, our supporters, are a big, big part of this and have a great effect on our ministry :)

Block Party: Getting to hang out with some of the international students!

Prayer:

Some things that I wanted you guys to be praying about that have been on my heart:
- Please be praying for the people that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey that they may be able to recover from this and that people may just continue to come together in helping them out.
- Pray for Florida as Hurricane Irma, as it is one of the strongest hurricanes recorded. Pray that people may be able to take cover and be prepared for this event.
- Be praying for all the people under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA initiative. Pray for the decisions by congress and the impact that it will have on these people and their families. It is such a saddening time and we should let them know that we stand with them and are there to fight alongside them and pray over them.

Our student testimony for this month