Isaiah 43:19 New International Version (NIV)
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
February has flown by! It felt like such a short month, but it was a jam packed adventure! Thanks be to God for the work He is doing at Richland and the other campuses.
We have spent this month looking ahead and seeing what students could be potential leaders for the next school year. We have also spent time thinking about what students we can invite to SICM (Student Institute of Campus Ministry). Campus ministry is works in seasons and we are in this time where we are shaping conversations and asking questions! Please continue to pray as we think ahead!
I have written about him before, but I just want to talk about Simon. I meet up with him weekly to study FOJ and he attends my core. Winter Camp was such a game changer for him. He really caught a vision for what community could be. He is naturally upbeat and is humorous. He is life-giving and it has been such a blessing spending time with him.
Valentine's Day Party
Our student leaders wanted to plan the Valentine's Day Party and it was an adventure. I was tasked with following up with them and ensuring everything was set for Thursday. They planned it all and even managed to get free food from Chiloso. Now, that is definitely a blessing to us. We played games and ate food. We had such a good time as a community.
Campus Connect
We have set up a free advice table and we have had mixed results! We have stories where students come talk to us about things going on in their life! We were placed in a new building one week and it was a blessing to be there since we had never been there! That building had less foot traffic than El Paso. El Paso is the cafeteria/student life type of building. We actually had someone sign up to come to core because she remembered we gave her advice and thought it was cool! One week we spoke to school staff about some of their feelings and frustrations with their job roles. I think we have been connecting with our campus and it has been so cool to do so!
These cookies are from a Wednesday we offered free life advice and cookies!
Thursday Night Thunder
Thursday Nights are so much fun! We had a student begin to help lead and play guitar this past month. I also get to spend time with him studying FOJ. Having Jonathan play has been helpful. (Also, we have three guys that help with worship team named Jonathan. How confusing/rare!)
I had the opportunity to preach one week. Our sermon series is Do Hard Things. I had the opportunity to preach over Do Hard Things: Seek Advice. It was such a great experience and God spoke to me throughout the entire process.
Richland was closed a Thursday for staff development and instead of cancelling, we merged with SMU FOCUS for the night. It was a change of scenery and we started a little later. Laurence, (who leads SMU and is my New Testament class teacher) and a student named Ruth helped with the music! We had a surprising turn out from Richland since it was off campus. The students were able to mingle well and we even had some SMU students join us for an unofficial after event. I think it was a great experience. Amber, who is on staff at SMU, preached about solitude and had an activity that gave students time to be in silence with God.
Showcase
Showcase is our annual fundraiser that supports our students going to SICM. There is a showcase of music and comedy. In between the shows, there is an art sale that varies in content. One of our students, Reni, performed! It was so much fun getting to see the entire FOCUS community, alumni, and families come together for this event! Dayo and Simon were invited to SICM and they were there helping work the event.
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| Sirak, Howard, Dayo, Reni, Simon, Josh |
Looking Ahead
I am so thankful for supporting me with prayer and financial support. I am so grateful. I am literally overflowing with thanksgiving. I am so thankful I get to do this and so thankful I have your support. As we look ahead, I ask that you continue to pray for me and pray for guidance as I look to see what finishing the apprenticeship well looks like. I ask that you would pray for our students and the one-on-one bible studies I am leading with students. Please pray for COVID-19, and its containment. We are expecting students from Washington state to come help with outreach in March and we want to ensure they are healthy and safe before coming. Thank you so much!I hope the LORD continues to bless you! Love y'all!
Josh
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