Good Gifts

Hello again! It’s time for your ministry update. I have to start by thanking you for your prayers and support. This specific update is full special moments I got to have while doing ministry. God is kind to provide the way for me to work in ministry full time. Thank from the bottom of my heart.

Since we last spoke, I went with our students to SICM. This is our annual leadership training up in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. This trip was such a fun change of pace from the end of the year. I know I’ve been honest on these updates about how tired I felt from this semester ending. It was a tough semester for me, so this trip felt like a gift because it let me relax and get to know our students better. It is a blessing taking students who have never flown or been out of the state before to Washington. I loved seeing this trip through their eyes. A sweet moment was when one of our TCC students ran up to me and exclaimed, “You have to go to Pike’s Market!” At first, I wanted to say that I had been there before and that it’s a great place. But, seeing his excitement over the new environment reminded me that he had never been out of the state before. I just asked him what he liked and said I’m excited to visit too.

Moments like these remind me of how good our God is. James 1:17 comes to mind: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. God is the ultimate gift giver. Whether it is seeing beautiful mountains or the gift of exploring a new city, these are both gifts from God. The SICM trip reminds me of this truth. Many of our students fundraised to go on the trip. God blew me away with how many people were excited and willing to partner with them; it's not an inexpensive trip. But, our God is incredibility generous. Another gift that comes to mind is the awesome food we had up there. That may seem small, but tastebuds are a blessing! I personally do not have a taste for fish, but many students ate fresh seafood for the first time ever. That is a kindness in my eyes. Lastly, being around God's people was a gift to me. I got to connect with different staff and church members while in Washington. Our family of believers is so much bigger than our town or states. This verse in James reminds me to thank God because his good gifts are all around.

Speaking of good gifts, Graham got the opportunity to baptize a friend who he studied the bible with years ago. Their friendship and story reminds me that everything happens in God's timing.

I want to take that mindset into the summer. Anything that is praiseworthy or good is a gift from God. I hope you guys too can look for God’s goodness this month. Pray for us as we fundraise this summer. Pray for our students as they are back home. We know that not every student goes back to the best situation. Pray that the summer will not be a stagnant time in the students' faith.

Pray for the orientations we will be working this summer.

Highlights from May:

This was our first day in Bellingham. We explored the rocky beach before the beginning of SICM.

This is a photo with a friend of mine, Mia. She is amazing. We did our one on one bible study together. It was cool seeing her get the training to reaching out on campus!

This is a mix of our UTA/TCC ladies.

Later that same day, we spotted this beautiful bush and took a photo.

It's unfair how beautiful these flowers are.

Here's a creeper shot of some students during a worship service.

It was too wholesome not to capture.

Here is a glimpse of the delectable food we had with our amazing host family. That's homemade pasta. Shoutout to Wendy.

One of my favorite parts of the trip is connecting with our host families. We laughed a lot and we were so blessed to stay there. This is a glimpse of us teaching/ showing our host dad some memes.