What time is it? Summer time!

Hello donors, it’s officially summer time! I hope that throughout this past month you have had the opportunity to enjoy these sunny days. Since most students decide to go home for the summer or go on vacations, this month has been a lot slower in pace than during the school year. That being said, get ready for lots of photos!

One of the apprentices, Taylor (she’s the one in the white dress) got married this month!

Every week, a group of students gets together to celebrate Taco Tuesday. This past week was my turn to host, it was a blast!

At the beginning of the month, I was able to go home to San Antonio. I had some days to spend with my family and had the sweet opportunity to visit my parent’s church there. I was so joyous to be able to spend some time with some of you there, and I was so encouraged by how sweetly you welcomed me, thank you! While in San Antonio, I spent some time with one of the teens at my church and I was really thankful to have gone through this year of practicing some ministry skills, because I was able to use some of those skills in my interactions with her. I was able to listen, comfort, and encourage her in ways that I would not have been bold enough to do before. I’m really grateful to God and to each of you for supporting me throughout this past year, it is a true honor.

Me and one of my donors, Sarah!

One of my dear friends and roommates got into UTD’s graduate program for art. I’m so proud of her!

This month the women on the UTD FOCUS staff took a trip to Colorado for a few days, and it was so incredible! It was my first time seeing the Rocky Mountains, and they absolutely took my breath away. I couldn’t help but praise God for the beautiful and grandiose ways he demonstrates his power. When I came back to Texas, I stopped by a nursery and found this plant that I have been looking for for a long time (picture below)! It makes me laugh and smile to think that the same God who created those giant majestic mountains also made such a small and quirky plant. As you take in this next week, what are some things that you notice about God’s character through the things or people around you?

Some photos of things in Colorado that made me be in awe of God

My funny plant. The name of this plant is “Frizzle Sizzle”, haha!

This summer, FOCUS has been hosting weekly fellowship nights at a church just down the road from UTD. All of our students from across the DFW area will drive over to Richardson to take part in our summer series where we have been learning to deepen our love for Jesus by taking stories from the New Testament and incorporating an image, story, or another creative element. These sermons have really been touching the hearts of our students and staff, and the messages have served to remind us each about who God is and how he wants us to respond. 

An overall theme present in all of the sermons so far is that Jesus sees us and loves us. I think it can be easy for me to believe this whenever I am doing pretty good, but this summer I have been trying to remind myself of this whenever I am not. In turn, it has challenged me to view others the way that Jesus sees them: full of love, compassion, grace, and dignity. I challenge you to think of all of the ways that Jesus has shown you love and how you can show that same love to those around you.

The women staff took a bonding trip to an arcade! I love these ladies.

Prayer Requests:

• Intimacy with God, both for me and our students. The summer can be a time of rest for many people, but it can also lead to complacency in our relationship with God. Please pray that throughout the summer, we would stay reliant on God!

• The rest of summer FOCUS! Please pray that as we continue our series, that students' hearts will be touched, healed, and changed. That it would ignite a passion for reaching others for Christ.

• My fundraising! I would really like to reach my fundraising goal by the end of this month. Right now I am about 70% towards my goal, but I still need that last final push! Please pray for perseverance and gratitude as I try and finish out the fundraising season well.

As always, I leave you with the student testimony!