Emily's Ministry Updates

Our annual winter retreat is over! Above is our students from TCC. We had a blast. God has really blessed our small group with friendship and cohesion. We are reaping all the benefits of this. Camp really accelerates friendship. It must been the staying in bunks and have tons of free time. Pray for our TCC ministry and that new people come around. Pray that the visitors that come by feel welcomed.  Of course, it was Bonnie's first retreat too. I want to say to any parents that read this: I respect all that you do. Bringing a kid on a trip is no joke. Tell me why babies don't sleep great in new spaces? It's all a mystery to me, but we made it through. It was worth it being able to share Bonnie with our students and make these memories. She was a little celebrity with so many people asking to hold her. I don't think she touched the ground that whole weekend.  I am excited to say I started a new one-on-one study with a freshman. She is eager and wants to grow in her knowle...

Happy New Year! We are back! Students are on school and we are preparing for our annual winter retreat. I hope yall had a restful Christmas season. Ours was made sweeter by having little Bonnie around. I found myself looking forward for future Christmases as Bonnie grows and becomes more aware. It is so exciting to think of the ways we will get to point our little girl towards Jesus using the excitement and truth of Christmas.  Anyways, our last semester ended with a bang. We threw an awesome formal for our students. It is special getting to plan these events that make college so memorable for them. Below is a photo of our TCC students. I was blown away by how close these students have gotten over the year. It can be hard getting people to buy into being friends. TCC has really grown close and it's always the highlight of my week meeting with them. Pray that we will use our community on TCC's campus to be a light to students who don't know Christ. Pray for new students to g...

Happy Thanksgiving!  I thought I would include a glimpse of our Halloween party last month. I love getting to wear goofy outfits for Jesus.  Above is a photo from our TCC core. God has been kind to us this semester. We have a really great group of people. This is us playing uno after our lesson was over. Our students hang out each week after our core. The sense of community among these students has been ministering to me. TCC has gone through many changes. This is sort of the typical experience for a community college. Students leave after a semester or a year. This can lead to a culture of students not wanting to invest in organization since they don't plan on being around for long. I have been so encouraged that these students want to spend that extra time together. I am also excited that several of these students want to transfer to UTA next year. I thank God for this. The whole goal of being at TCC is that we can be a bridge for students to have instant community at their ...

 Fall Camp 2024! We are back! Well, I've finished my first, full month back to work. A consistent thought that has passed my mind is how do people do this without support? I have found myself praying for those people because my eyes are now open to all that comes with having a new baby. We are so lucky to have the support we have. We have amazing babysitters and our families have been great. I have been humbled by the new limits I have. Who would've known a baby would assert herself so quickly? Apparently, she can't just nap everywhere. I now have the opportunity to invite students and friends into these sacred spaces. The spaces where all I have is the energy God has generously given.  October was overall great. We had our annual fall camp. We worshiped and we grilled. We threw a neon dance party the Saturday night of camp. Students had a blast. During camp, we always have the planned times for students to get to know each other. We call them "walk and talks". I ...