August Update!

Hey everyone! I am excited to share what God has been doing this past month. 

I wanted to thank you guys for your prayers towards winter camp. I hope I can encourage you with what I am about to report. 

Here's a photo of the large FOCUS community (All eleven campuses) and the UTD FOCUS community.

Winter camp is where all the FOCUS communities come together to get energized for the new semester. This is done through having time to be with the other FOCUS campuses and by having relevant sessions. Our speaker, John Stackhouse, spoke on confronting culture changing. It was exciting to see what God is doing across the metroplex; for three days, we were surrounded by students who want to see Jesus at their colleges. I want to share two moments from winter camp.

Winter camp is set up with sessions in the morning and at night. So the afternoons are open for us roam and hang out. Some of that time we spent playing board games or playing ping pong. One day our group went on a zip line and we did a giant swing. Believe it or not, the lake was open for us to canoe on despite it being winter time. My first moment to share is when my core decided to check out the lake. It was special getting to bond doing something we would typically never do. We held our boats together and created our own small group while on the water.

I had asked for you guys to pray for one of my girls and her experience this weekend. My second moment is from one of our late night sessions and a conversation with her. We had a moving worship night where people reflected on hard situations in their life. One guy got up and spoke about his mother passing away in the past year. He read his thoughts and emotions from a journal he had kept. He talked about all the life his mother wouldn’t see like his graduation or even his marriage. It was a raw reading that led to the powerful truth of the hope we have in the risen Christ. I had noticed my girl shifting beside me, wiping tears from her eyes. I asked her what part had moved her. She began talking through the idea of Jesus actually defeating death. That moment seemingly ended as another speaker came up, but I trust that moment is a part something much bigger. Keep praying for this girl and for her to come to know Jesus.

Thank you guys so much for your prayer and support. Be praying for me as I continue to study with different girls on campus. Pray for me to trust God and his timing. Lastly, pray for me as I consider what to do next year between going on with grad school or possibly doing another year with FOCUS.