February Wrap Up!

 How is it already March? It feels like February just blew right by. Even though time is flying, it is so evident that God is working at UT Dallas! Before I get into the details, I'm going to start with sharing some good news! 

Good News:

-My Core is going really well! We have been doing topical studies over different things we tend to idolize. This has started some great discussions and has brought us all closer together! 

-The girls in my core have become really sweet friends with one another. One of my prayers for them was that they would see each other as friends and I can see God answering that so clearly! 

-I got to give a talk on Spiritual Friendships for our students! This went really well and I am praying that it will cast a vision for them to dive deeper in their friendships.

-UTD announced they will be opening the campus up next semester! This means FOCUS can operate in a normal capacity and we can meet with students freely on campus. Praise God!

-I get to stay on staff at UTD for one more year!! I am so excited to continue doing ministry with these students for another year!

Now I can get into all of the other things we've been doing in February!

Speed Friending

Speed Friending is an online event that our outreach team came up with in order to encourage our students to become friends with people they are in classes with, live near in the dorms, etc. While only a few new people actually ended up joining us for Speed Friending, it was still a huge hit amongst the students in our community! We discovered that this event was great for community building. Because of the nature of this year and all of the regulations that the university has put in place, it has been hard for the people in our community to actually get to know one another. Speed Friending was a great opportunity for our students to get to know other people in FOCUS outside of their core. During the event, people hop on to a zoom call with other people in the community. Then we send the students to breakout rooms and give them the chance to get to know one another on a more personal level. After our first Speed Friending event, Rachel, one of the girls in my core, shared that she is so thankful to be a part of a community that has welcomed her with open arms. This is the first time she has felt so loved and accepted in college! Please pray that our students will continue to be outreaching and be able to bring other UTD students into our community!

Here are some of the students that joined us for Speed Friending!

Core

As I mentioned above in Good News, Core has been going really well! We have discussed different things we tend to idolize, such as relationships, entertainment, and beauty. We have also spent some time studying the importance of generosity and being an outreaching person. God gave us a really neat group of girls that are all in similar stages in their walk with Jesus. They have been following Jesus for a while, but are just now being challenged to pursue Him on a deeper level. There are girls in our core that are new to the ministry: Rachel and Sarah. Both of these girls have really jumped into FOCUS with no hesitations and are potential leaders for next year! Please pray that God will continue to develop them as disciples and leaders and that they will grow a heart for discipleship.

Here are a couple of our Core girls celebrating Rachel's birthday! 

Class

Right now, I am only taking three classes. Those classes are Spiritual Leadership, Spiritual Maturity, and New Testament Foundations. All three of them are going really well. Spiritual Leadership and Spiritual Maturity are both classes that we have been taking the entire Apprenticeship. These have helped enrich my personal walk with Jesus and my leadership skills. New Testament Foundations has been incredible. Each week we read a few books of the New Testament, listen to a lecture from Regent College, and read a textbook written by N.T. Wright. The part of the New Testament class that has impacted me the most was reading the four gospels and learning more about the life of Jesus. Understanding Jesus in the right context has changed so much for me. Jesus is someone that was so unexpected by the first century Jews. He is powerful, mysterious, and someone that speaks with authority. He is also someone that is gentle, loving, and brings freedom to His people. It has been so neat to learn about the "upside-down" nature of the Kingdom of God from taking a closer look at the life and ministry of Jesus. Please be praying that God will continue to reveal more of Himself to me as I take these classes. 

Thank you guys for making this Apprenticeship possible for me. I have learned so much about myself, ministry, and our God! As always, I want to be praying for you, too! Your support and love mean the world to me! 

Here is our student testimony for the month of March!