Prayerfully anticipating the school year!

It's the start of a new school year! I'm so excited to jump into this year and see what God has in store for us and these campuses. But first, here's a little bit about my summer! 

What a summer it's been! At the end of the school year, we took about a hundred students on a trip to Washington to attend SICM (Student Institute of Campus Ministry). We spent a couple of days exploring Seattle before heading up to Bellingham for the conference put on by our friends at another campus ministry up there. 

The gum wall at Pike Place market is disgusting but somehow pretty at the same time - go figure.

I could not get enough of this view!

The last time we were able to have SICM in Washington was at the end of my apprenticeship in 2019. The left picture is of me and the other apprentices from the same class and the right picture is us going back this year!

I love getting to hang with Darby and Shayla. Working with them in Denton has allowed us to form close friendships and it's one of the sweetest things about my work to me.

I think these students were so blessed and challenged by the conference, I know I was. I was reminded of how big God's mission is. He is working worldwide and we get to partner with him wherever we find ourselves. I've been encouraged more to pray for the world and world missions! 

Honestly, the whole trip was a big reminder of how much more I have to grow in prayer specifically. I often feel a pressure to cover more ground in my prayers - to pray for more people and situations, not forgetting anything. But the truth is that having a relationship with God means moving beyond my prayer list and letting the Spirit lead me in how I pray. It's comforting to know that I can trust Him to develop our relationship, that burden isn't solely mine. What a good God!

Jon and I celebrated 3 years of marriage in July! We made a plant terrarium at my favorite plant shop.

I got to visit my grandma too!! I haven't been able to see her in the pandemic so I loved getting to be there.

A few girls from my core got together for brunch in Fort Worth!

I wanted to say a big thank you to those who have prayed and contributed to my fundraising season this summer! This was probably my most encouraging fundraising round and it's because the people I've gotten to talk to have been so kind and encouraging. I ended up at around 94% of my goal, which I'm really content with! I plan on fundraising some into the semester but I just feel so blessed by God providing for me. Whether you yourself were able to give financially or not, I very much appreciate you being a part of this mission with me. 

Looking forward

Our staff has also been spending a lot of time planning for the school year. One of the things I'm most excited about is some plans we have for TWU. The last few years, we've mixed the UNT and TWU corefas (student small group leaders) so that each pastor meets with both UNT and TWU students. This year we're changing it up and making a TWU peer team (group of corefas that get regular time with a certain staff person). And I'll get to head that up! The corefas for TWU we have this year have all been corefas before so we have some real momentum there we want to capitalize on. Our goal is to build up a new generation of leaders and really emphasize disciples making disciples. You might have heard that a church can disappear in one generation and that's even more true for college ministry where we get barely four years with a student. So if we don't pour into people now, we would struggle in the coming years. As I write that, I realize that sounds daunting but I'm really not worried. I am confident that the Lord has made a way for his kingdom to grow at TWU. I'm really looking forward to getting integrated over there and getting to love that campus more!

Ways to pray

- Would you pray for TWU? For me and the corefas to be faithful and love that campus so well. For students there to find community and friendship and ultimately the Lord.

- Pray for our corefa team and other leaders in our community to serve the Lord wholeheartedly this year. 

- Pray for our community to root their identity in the Lord and to find their security, comfort, and purpose in Him. This is the prayer our staff has been praying and we'd love for you to join us in that.

Love you guys! As always, feel free to reach out at any time to chat or ask for prayer!

Kindly,