God is on the move!

 

Good morning to each of you! I hope you are all enjoying the beginning of the summer. This month felt like a whirlwind, so much has happened and I am feeling pretty tired but SO filled with joy and encouragement.

This month we wrapped up the semester with several end of year activities. We had our end of year party where students came and had so much fun together one last time. Each core brought a poster showcasing the members of their core, it’s always so fun getting to see the niche inside jokes that each core comes up with. We also had our parking lot graduation where we cheer on our graduating seniors as they walk across the “stage” (UTD parking lot). It’s one of my favorite events every year! This semester, we also started a Scripture Smackdown competition to see whether men or women would read the most Scripture by the end of the year. In order to enter for points, the students had to complete entire books of the Bible–longer books counted for more points, smaller books counted for fewer points. Each week at the Grove, we would announce whether the men or women were in the lead and it was always the men. To our surprise, on the very last week of school the women pulled it together and we ended up WINNING the whole competition, which meant we got to hold up the Scripture Smackdown belt of champions. It really was glorious! In total between men and women, we read over 2500 hours of Scripture, isn’t that just incredible?

Halfway through the month, we headed out to Washington state for SICM and it was INCREDIBLE! Each year we send a group of students to Washington who we notice their love for God and for people who we believe could be the next generation of leaders in not just our ministry but in the larger Church. This year I got to attend SICM and it was a time of true joy as I watched God meet every single student with his love and mercy and watched them be filled and empowered by the Spirit. Several students from my core and from Mi Gente attended SICM this year–Ella, Nyellie, Andrea, Priscilla, Omar, Diego, Juan, and Marlon. It was so sweet getting to hear from them every day what they were learning and taking away from the sessions. While there, Arianna (a fellow staff member at UTD and my current roommate) and I got to spend the week with a host couple, Kathy and Steve, along with 11 UTD girls. The whole week felt like heaven on earth and I kept thinking to myself that I couldn’t believe this is what I get to be a part of.

Every day, we started with some time of singing worship and praise to our God, followed by classes on evangelism, how to write a small group study, how to study Scripture, and many more. Throughout the week we had two students get baptized and many more re-experience God in a new way. In several conversations I’ve had post-SICM, each student has been fired up about stepping onto campus in the fall and showing the love of Christ to their classmates, roommates, and professors. Please be in prayer over this summer as students go home, that they would continue to invest in their relationship with God and that He would continue to show them where He wants them to show his love.

As we enter the summer, it’s officially fundraising season!!! Can you believe it? Thank you SO much to each of you for praying in me and investing in what God is doing on our campuses across DFW. I am currently looking for more people to ask to partner with me in ministry, so I will likely reach out to each of you to ask if you know of anyone who might be encouraged to hear about all of the amazing stories God has been writing and to invite people to be a part of those he will continue to write! I love you each dearly and can’t wait to reconnect with you this summer! Love, Andrea