May Update!

How are we at the end of this year? April flew by. We have reached the point of the semester where all my pictures will be of students dressed up for our many parties.

 There is a lot to celebrate this year. I cannot believe how different this year is ending from last year. Last year, I was about to be getting married. Last year, I had no idea how involved at TCC I would be and how I would make such amazing connections at that campus. I had not yet met the many of the people who would make my weeks feel so full in the months to come. I am the sort of person who loves rhythms and schedules. This year many new friends were woven into the thing that is my week. They became the structures on which I would plan the rest of my time.  I love all the people I was able to meet up with this year. I am thankful for what I have been able to do. Thank you for your support of this ministry. You guys have really been so encouraging to me. I'm feeling sappy, ya know? 

I want to share a highlight about each of the three groups I attend. I'll end by giving an update on what I'm looking forward to in the summer!

Tcc Core

Here is a glimpse of our TCC meeting. We were playing charades and were honestly doing a pretty chaotic job at it. We were supposed to act out the word but ended up yelling clues at the person. This was before our encouragement core. Most of our small groups do some sort of encouragement lesson to wrap up the semester. I have, in the past, been slow to facilitate these because I am always nervous that people will get overlooked. I am now convinced this fear has robbed my past groups of an incredibly special experience. 

All sixteen of our students had something wonderful to say about their experience in FOCUS. Our conversation was simple. We asked two questions, "How have you been affected by this group" and "Who has been like Jesus to you in this group". I was completely blown away at how our students built each other up. I was also taken aback by how many of the people in our group thought they were not going to make friends this year. Many students shared how they felt welcomed and how they felt they had found their place. Praise God for that! God has been consistently showing me how powerfully he is working at this campus. 

Thursday Night Fellowship

Here is a glimpse of our service on Thursday night. This weekly event has been a staple in my schedule from the beginning. Our sermon series for the last month of the year was addressing a theological survey we send out. We targeted several questions that our students had mixed responses to. The format of the survey was students would read a statement about orthodox Christianity and decide to what extent they agree or disagree. I feel like these sermons have been so meaningful. An example of a sermon we had was one based on the statement, " Jesus was not fully human". While our students could get behind Jesus being fully God, there was discomfort with Jesus being human. Our responses showed this discomfort. They ranged from slight agreement to people choosing they did not have fully developed thoughts. 

I love that we were able to be pastoral to what our community needed. I feel like these last sermons were some of the best I've sat through. Each pastor made the sermons personal. 

Sunday Night Core

Here we are! This group met every Sunday at 6:30pm. I think since my own college days, I have had a fondness for meeting on Sunday evenings (Shoutout Sunday night dinners!!! Thank you TnB!!) We did not share a delicious meal, but we did have a ton of fun. My cofa Sam said her roommates often said we sounded like we were having a blast. 

This semester we read Mark together. I love Mark's gospel; it's quick and action-packed. My core was incredibly thoughtful as we worked our way through this book. Sam and I would prepare questions but found ourselves following the questions that came from the text. We tried to be creative with activities to engage everyone. My personal favorite was we read two chapters from Mark and made everyone go off to have a quiet time in response. Everyone was able to focus in on what they thought God was pointing out to them. We later came back and shared how it was spending time with God. In ministry and in life, I find many people wish they could spend more time with God. We thought this would be a great way to show how simple and easy a quiet time can be. 

The first photo I put has Sam wearing a cowboy hat. We wrapped up the semester by doing encouragements and it was so special. We made the person being encouraged to wear a hat. Yes, it was silly, but I find many people are uncomfortable with being complimented. The hat is a great way to lighten the mood and help people loosen up. That's some free advice: Make people wear a silly hat, they loosen up!

We ended our time by praying over my dear coda Sam. She graduated in December. She is going off into the adulthood world. She will be such a light wherever she goes! 

Looking forward to Summer

Graham is staying on staff with FOCUS! We will both be fundraising and meeting up with students over the summer. I plan to finish up some one-on-one bible studies that I started later this semester. Graham will be doing the same. He has about four studies and I have two! Graham and I have the amazing opportunity to go to Italy (Shoutout to my dear friend Sarah who hooked us up!!) We are looking into doing a tour of Christian historical sites, going to Pompeii, and eating tons of pasta. And yes, I have done one lesson on Italian on Duolingo. I can shout if someone is a man or a woman. 

Pray for us as entering into this season. Pray for rest and for God's provision. Thank you so much again for supporting me in ministry. God shows me His love through your prayers and your love for the campuses I serve at. You guys amaze and encourage me. This quote from Philippians is my heart towards y'all. 

Philippians 1:3-6

 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.