Practicing Washing One Another's Feet
Hello! Happy Fall (or should I say winter, it’s so cold outside)!
I hope that each of you is doing well and that you have been attuned to seeing and hearing from God this month. Ministry has been going well, I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
This month, our outreach team came up with the idea of offering free shoe cleaning to students walking by on campus as a way to imitate the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet (John 13). Several of our FOCUS students came and took part in the experience and from conversations that I had with several of them, they each left our time together with something to think about. The reactions from students walking by ranged from being a little bit embarrassed/nervous, to confused, intrigued, to thankful. Some students laughed, others were offended, others ignored us. Some walked right by us and then came back and asked why we were doing this. It really brought this biblical story to life and left us wondering how each of the people in the story felt and thought. The students who did accept a shoe cleaning got to have some pretty neat conversations with those serving them, including the opportunity to hear about the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet and what that meant for the disciples and for us as followers of Christ. One of our student leaders even had the opportunity to clean his professor’s shoes! How awesome is that?!
We hope to have more opportunities like this, where we not only tell our students about who Jesus is, but that we can also show them what it looks like!
I have absolutely loved studying the Bible with each of my students, it has been a blast! Each girl is so different and brings a different perspective to the Scriptures that we read, it reminds me that the “word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). However, studying the Bible with students is also one of the toughest things that I get to do. It takes a lot of prayer and seeking wisdom and discernment to respond to students’ needs and to point them to Jesus in everything, even if it means challenging them in areas that are uncomfortable for the both of us. I spent some time last week talking to God and asking him to reveal the things that He wanted me to show each of the girls in our time together. One of the passages that has been on my mind this semester that I keep coming back to comes from Colossians 1 where the apostle Paul says,
“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
This has been my sincere prayer for each of my girls. That they would seek God, love him and honor him, and that their lives would reflect Jesus to those around them. Please join me in praying for them and our times together this year, I could definitely use some prayer!
This month, our FOCUS staff has been reading through the book “Cuckoos In Our Nest: Truth and Lies About Being Human” by Iain Provan. Iain is coming to visit us this coming weekend to speak to all of our FOCUS students about what it means to be truly human. In reading this book, Iain points out many lies that we as Christians can fall into believing about who God is and who we are as human beings.
Throughout our time in the book, I have grown attuned to noticing some of the lies that present themselves in social media, on television, in daily conversations that are not at all in line with Christ, but that often disguise themselves as truth. In my conversations with students, I have noticed that they too often believe lies about who God is, which then impacts how they live their lives. Especially in university, where students are presented with many new ideas and ways of thinking and are faced with a plethora of ways to spend their time, energy, and money, I believe this topic is as relevant as ever. I am super excited for Iain to come and speak to our students this weekend. Would you be praying that each of their hearts would be receptive to what God wants to say to them through Iain? Thank you!
Two things that I want to invite you to include the following:
Our annual KFG (Keep FOCUS Growing) is coming up at the end of November, woohoo! This is a time where we as a ministry raise money to cover organizational expenses and to keep our ministry growing as we hope to spread to other campuses! Make sure to save the date and if you would like to contribute to our matching funds, please email me or our administrator Paul (paul@anyfocus.org). Any little bit will help us towards our goal this year!
We are having an UTD FOCUS Alumni Night on November 17! Please mark your calendars, I would love to see as many of you there as possible, it’s going to be awesome!
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Thank you so much for reading! See you next month!
Andrea Sierra
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I hope that each of you is doing well and that you have been attuned to seeing and hearing from God this month. Ministry has been going well, I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
This month, our outreach team came up with the idea of offering free shoe cleaning to students walking by on campus as a way to imitate the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet (John 13). Several of our FOCUS students came and took part in the experience and from conversations that I had with several of them, they each left our time together with something to think about. The reactions from students walking by ranged from being a little bit embarrassed/nervous, to confused, intrigued, to thankful. Some students laughed, others were offended, others ignored us. Some walked right by us and then came back and asked why we were doing this. It really brought this biblical story to life and left us wondering how each of the people in the story felt and thought. The students who did accept a shoe cleaning got to have some pretty neat conversations with those serving them, including the opportunity to hear about the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet and what that meant for the disciples and for us as followers of Christ. One of our student leaders even had the opportunity to clean his professor’s shoes! How awesome is that?!We hope to have more opportunities like this, where we not only tell our students about who Jesus is, but that we can also show them what it looks like!
I have absolutely loved studying the Bible with each of my students, it has been a blast! Each girl is so different and brings a different perspective to the Scriptures that we read, it reminds me that the “word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). However, studying the Bible with students is also one of the toughest things that I get to do. It takes a lot of prayer and seeking wisdom and discernment to respond to students’ needs and to point them to Jesus in everything, even if it means challenging them in areas that are uncomfortable for the both of us. I spent some time last week talking to God and asking him to reveal the things that He wanted me to show each of the girls in our time together. One of the passages that has been on my mind this semester that I keep coming back to comes from Colossians 1 where the apostle Paul says,“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
This has been my sincere prayer for each of my girls. That they would seek God, love him and honor him, and that their lives would reflect Jesus to those around them. Please join me in praying for them and our times together this year, I could definitely use some prayer!
This month, our FOCUS staff has been reading through the book “Cuckoos In Our Nest: Truth and Lies About Being Human” by Iain Provan. Iain is coming to visit us this coming weekend to speak to all of our FOCUS students about what it means to be truly human. In reading this book, Iain points out many lies that we as Christians can fall into believing about who God is and who we are as human beings.Throughout our time in the book, I have grown attuned to noticing some of the lies that present themselves in social media, on television, in daily conversations that are not at all in line with Christ, but that often disguise themselves as truth. In my conversations with students, I have noticed that they too often believe lies about who God is, which then impacts how they live their lives. Especially in university, where students are presented with many new ideas and ways of thinking and are faced with a plethora of ways to spend their time, energy, and money, I believe this topic is as relevant as ever. I am super excited for Iain to come and speak to our students this weekend. Would you be praying that each of their hearts would be receptive to what God wants to say to them through Iain? Thank you!
Two things that I want to invite you to include the following:Our annual KFG (Keep FOCUS Growing) is coming up at the end of November, woohoo! This is a time where we as a ministry raise money to cover organizational expenses and to keep our ministry growing as we hope to spread to other campuses! Make sure to save the date and if you would like to contribute to our matching funds, please email me or our administrator Paul (paul@anyfocus.org). Any little bit will help us towards our goal this year!
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Thank you so much for reading! See you next month!
Andrea Sierra
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