Fall is here!

Fall is here, ministry partners! I’m so thankful for the cooler weather and for each of you. This month has been pretty great, I can’t wait to tell you about it!

This month I have been diving deeper into FOJs with the girls in my core. FOJ stands for Focus on Jesus and is a Bible study that we try to do with every student who is new to our ministry. When I was a sophomore, a girl named Katey studied with me. We learned a lot about God and Jesus together and through that study I made my faith my own and decided to make Jesus lord over my life. This year, I have the privilege of studying with 8 of the girls in my core, and while it is a handful, it is so much fun!! I have loved getting to know the girls in my core on a deeper level, and I have learned so much about the Bible through them already. Please continue to pray for my girls as we explore God through the Bible this year. That God would guide our questions and our discussions to glorify him and honor one another.

We have been setting up outreach on campus twice a month this semester! In doing outreach, we have been playing volleyball and many students have come by and joined us! It makes for a great activity to do while also getting to chat with them and introduce them to our ministry! I remember last year doing outreach was really tough because students were pretty concerned with getting too close to people, but this year a lot of that has changed, praise God!

My dear friend Angela got baptized by her brother Peter this past month, and I got to host them! Peter got involved in FOCUS when he was a student at UTD, and has somehow convinced two of his siblings (Paul and Angela) to move to Texas, and all three of them work with FOCUS now! I’m so blessed to know the Uengs.

UTD FOCUS had a Family Night, and my family got to come and be a part of it! I took them to a state park because they love nature, and it was so great to catch up with my family. I also got to meet the families of several of my core girls. I was grateful that they took some time from their weekend to see what their students are involved in here on campus.

I got to preach in front of our student body this month for the first time!! I spoke on Luke 14:25-33 on the cost of being a disciple, and through the process of writing my sermon, God ministered to me pretty strongly. Throughout my sermon, I had the students think through what are some of the things that are harder to leave behind in order to follow Jesus. At the end, we did a sharing activity where students could come up to the microphone and share their response to the statement “I struggle to leave behind ____________, but I am choosing to follow Jesus”. I would encourage you to reflect on that statement and pray about it as well! (And if you would like to listen to my sermon, here is the link to the audio: https://anyfocus.org/mediaplayer/?media_id=64033&vid_url=//anyfocus.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/thecostofdiscipleship.mp3)

Here are some testimonies from girls in my core!

Miriam:

Hello! My name is Miriam Torres, I’m a Junior at UT Dallas and I’m from Marshall, TX, which is deep in rural East Texas.

My freshman year at UTD impacted me in many different ways. I was able to grow my relationship with God and build relationships with some very sweet girls, including Andrea who has deeply impacted my life. My college experience has sincerely transformed me and I’m so grateful to be sharing this experience every year with a group of God-loving girls who I love very much!

Core has brought out so many heartwarming stories and has helped me understand the lives of my fellow core girls. Core has impacted my relationship with God by helping my relationship flourish. My prayer request would be that God continues to fill the lives of my core and myself with grace, patience, and love for one another during this season of the pandemic. I’ve grown to become very good friends with Andrea for the past two years and I pray God continues blessing us throughout our time together.

Katie:

Hey I’m Katie! I’m from Rowlett, Texas and I’m a Junior majoring in ATEC. Transferring from Collin College to UTD in the middle of a pandemic was a pretty strange experience. With everything online, it’s been difficult to make friends on campus. Being in Andrea’s core has given me a great group of friends who are constantly in pursuit of becoming more like Christ.

My prayer request is that I wouldn’t worry so much about graduating and finding a job afterwards. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure in ATEC to be the best of the best or you won’t make it. I definitely have some anxiety because of that and I need to remember that God has a plan for my life.