Big News at the Bottom.

Happy New Year!

The photo above is of some of us at Inks Lake State Park during our staff retreat.

We made it to the new year! I hope you all had some time of rest during Christmas time. Since you last heard from me, our semester ended and students went home. At UTA, We did a Christmas devotional service and then ended with a party. At TCC, we went to Chick-fil-a and all got free sandwiches. I love the rhythms of ministry. We always end with parties and food.

Over our break, we rested. We read our assigned reading for the break; a fabulous book called To Love as God Loves by Roberta Bondi. If I could surmise what I learned, it would be that many things i.e. our sin and our lack of humility get in the way of loving those around us. The book looked at how monastic church mothers and fathers tackled this common issue with prayer and seeking God. This book was what our retreat centered around. Graham preached the chapter about love. Also, We went to Houston to visit one of Graham's small group members, Garrett, during our break. The plan of this trip started off as Graham joking we could come. The next time they met up, Garrett had already asked his parents and they picked a date. Connecting with families is one of my favorite parts of working with college students. We ate awesome food and met many family friends of Garrett's family. I hit it off with his dogs, Sadie and Bella. I hope that becomes a really special memory for Garrett and his time in college.

There are many things I am looking forward to this next year. Be praying for our students and pray that we can meet new ones. Pray for God's hand as we consider outreach and how to best serve on our campus. The biggest news I have is that Graham and I are pregnant. We are expecting a little girl in July of 2024. Pray for me and the baby I'm now carrying. So far, everything is progressing and the baby is healthy. Pray for supernatural energy and strength. Finishing the last semester as a newly pregnant woman was challenging, but I am optimistic I'll do way better this semester. I found myself wanting to nap... every day. My new super sense of smell was not helpful in the mornings paired with my nausea. We are ecstatic to be sharing new life with our students, community and you too!

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August 2023: Is Bucee Going to FOCUS?

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This update is full of prayer requests and news! Let’s get started. I just got back from our summer staff retreat with our entire staff team. One of the key parts I want to underline is: we have not had our entire staff together on a retreat since my apprentice year. Our staff has boomed in size because we are taking on nineteen apprentices this year. Nineteen. It’s exciting to experience a surge of new people and to see our team grow. I had a strange moment during the retreat where I realized some of these apprentices were students when I started back in 2018. Now, I get to partner with them in reaching our campuses this fall. I guess that’s what happens the longer you work at a place. One of the most exciting updates I have is that we will be pioneering five new campuses this fall. Each team is focusing on a different campus. One thing that has blown me away during my time in FOCUS is how the Lord has worked on community college campuses. I remember visiting a Collin College serv

Emily's Ministry Updates

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