Emily's Ministry Updates

It's time for another update.  My small group (Core) is winding down. The photo above was from our second-to-last meeting. We had cake and talked about thankfulness. I'm pretty amazed at how God has grown our group over these past months. We've had movies nights, gone to the fair, made tie-dye t-shirts and most importantly, been studying the bible since August. My favorite study we've done so far has been a six-week study on Philippians. That book might be just four chapters, but I felt like every chapter had so many takeaways.  The overall FOCUS community has been empowering students to get into the Bible more. I, along with my fellow apprentices, was challenged to host groups and read scripture out loud. I read Jonah with some girls from my small group for my first attempt. The book of Jonah led us into some challenging conversation on how we can be like him. My second go at reading scripture aloud was during one of my one-on-ones. This girl has n...

Hey everyone!  Here we are again: the end of another month. November means cooler temperatures and that this semester is close to the end. God has been so good as I reflect on this past month. I survived the rain, finished reading the Old Testament, and made some fun memories with my core. What a blessing it is to be at UTD! Thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to me.  One of my favorite memories from October is going to the State Fair with my core. We got eight free tickets from my girl Emma's mom. Her mom is a teacher, so that's why we got such a deal. Can you believe the state just hands out free tickets to students? It's amazing. The money we saved from the free ticket was put towards tasty fried food. Our plan was to each get some sort of fried food so everyone could sample. Everyone loved these little doughnut balls filled with Nutella and strawberries. We even went back to buy more before the Fair shut down for the night. Another f...

Happy Fall! I don't know about you, but September flew by. My time was spent hanging out with girls and prepping for FOCUS's fall retreat. Fall retreat was a success. Its purpose was to create time where people's small groups were able to grow closer together. There was board games, crafts, and ultimate frisbee. Almost all of my core girls were able to come. Nothing bonds people together like staying in a cabin.  I want to share two moments from fall retreat. First, during the afternoon, some girls and I made homemade cookies. It was a fun moment because one of my girls was able to show off her talent. She is from South Carolina and is a fantastic baker. Her specialty is cakes and decorating them. She made a recipe for buttery shortbread cookies. She was in charge of the mixer and while everyone else searched the kitchen for ingredients. We had fun goofing around as the cookies baked. The cookies ended up a little overdone, but I feel that it is in simple momen...

Greetings! I survived the first month of my apprenticeship, but more importantly, I survived UTD's weeks of welcome! Since August 14th, we have been on-campus meeting students. I have met students through our FOCUS games nights and through university-sponsored events like the Big Howdy. The game nights were simple to execute; we would meet in a residence hall and invite newly moved-in students to play games. The second event I mentioned, Big Howdy, welcomed international students to campus. The turnout was about 1400 students from all over the globe. It was amazing! The atmosphere was lively as live music played and students bustled from table to table, trying to complete a checklist. We were able to tell so many students about our ministry because visiting the FOCUS booth was one of the checks. During this event, I met a sweet grad student named Ellie.  Ellie is from China and is at UTD for a masters in accounting. She is super trendy and easy to talk to. We e...

Hey Friends!  I survived my orientation and my first staff retreat. Our retreat was at a beautiful ranch in Whitewright, Texas. Whitewright is not necessarily known for its scenery, but I was pleasantly surprised. I say this because my high school is just fourteen miles down the road in Leonard. It was fun to share small-town Texas with my metroplex companions. My retreat consisted of playing board games, worshiping and encouraging each other before the semester begins. I left feeling refreshed and ready to work. My apprentice team at orientation. This is a photo from an impromptu trip for snowcones on the retreat. August is packed with reading the Old Testament. The apprentices and I will spend eight hours Monday through Friday reading, along with taking an online class. I am ready to immerse myself in God's Word like never before. One of my goals throughout this apprenticeship is to become more scripturally literate. After almost two weeks of s...