Thursday, January 11, 2018

January Prayer Requests

Hello friends,

I hope you had a restful break with your families! Laurence and I certainly did. We were able to spend a good chunk of time with both of our families for the holiday which was a lot of fun. Now we're both ready and excited to begin a new semester!

I have a few things I'd like you to be praying for this month. 

1. We're in the process of deciding who we'll be sending to Student Institute of Campus Ministry or SICM this year. If you don't know, this is week long campus ministry/discipleship conference in Washington we take potential leaders to. This is always a really impactful experience for our students, but as our ministry grows we can't take all the students. We've had to become a little bit more selective and there is always a danger in that. We just ask that you be praying for wisdom for us in this decision making process. 

2. We're gearing up to leave for Winter Camp on Friday, so please be praying for that event. This is also a game changing experience for our students. This camp tends to fire up and draw in students that were otherwise on the outskirts of community. Brief aside, I found out yesterday that two TWU Dallas students are coming to this! That doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm honestly a little shocked that that many are coming. This year we've really struggled building community over there. The nursing students are so overwhelmed by school, clinicals, and work that they won't commit to very much. So having two of them come for an entire weekend is a really awesome sign. I'm sure I'll have more to report on camp after the fact. 

3. We could really use prayers for getting into the swing of the semester. Beginning a new semester can be a bit of a shock. It's hard to switch from break brain to school brain, but we don't have very much time for transition. Our UTD students really have to hit the ground running. 

Lastly before I get to the student testimony I just wanted to let you know our Keep FOCUS Growing Fundraiser was a huge success! Thank you to all of you who participated and spread the word. We have such generous and passionate donors! 


Student Testimony

Graham Spencer
Collin College, Spring Creek
Illustration
Sophomore
"FOCUS showed me what a real relationship with God is. Coming from a Christian private school, I thought I understood God pretty well but I didn't have a relationship with him at all. Through the example of my Corefas, staff members, and just so many other students, I saw what it means to earnestly seek God. One of my favorite moments from freshman year was a talk with my friend, Pedro. We were good friends at this point in the year, and I had become pretty vulnerable with him. We got into a serious conversation about our current walks with God, what that looks like, and why. After poorly answering how my relationship with God was "pretty good", Pedro really pushed my ideas of why I was Christian. I ended up realizing most of my faith was blindly following the laws God had given us, and not really seeking him out. Pedro then opened up to me that he had struggled with the same problem early on in his faith. I'm beyond thankful for Pedro and so many other friends like him who have spurred me on in love. Before FOCUS, this community, I was living half the life I am now. Now, I am living life with God, not just for him."