September Update!

Hey everyone! I am so excited to update you all on another month full of God's affection and power. There is a lot to catch you up on but I actually want to start by talking about the end of the month first. This past weekend we were able to attend fall camp which is a community wide 24-hour retreat we host every fall semester. This was particularly special because we have not been able to host fall camp since 2019. In the picture above is most of our students and campus pastors from UTA that attended, we had over 80 people come!

Fall camp is such an exciting and meaningful time because it really kickstarts a lot of new friendships within our cores (small groups). 24 hours together is about equivalent to the amount of time they would spend with each other if they attended core weekly for an entire semester! Watching new friendships flourish after fall camp is one of my favorite things about this semester. Also, for a lot of people, fall camp is the first time they are around other members of our community other than people in their core. This allows them to see that they are a part of something much bigger than just the 6-10 people they meet with every week in core. I think this really helps excite our students about what Jesus is doing on UTA's campus beyond themselves and even beyond our ministry. Our God is a communal God and times like this can challenge the 'It's just me and God' individualistic attitude we often encounter in Christian culture. Besides all this, fall camp is also just so fun, we get to play games, hang out, worship God together, and learn from some of our campus pastors and students! The picture above is from one of our teaching times with Jalen, one of our campus pastors at UTA, and I’ve attached some other fun pictures from fall camp below!

The girls in my core who attended fall camp: Joselyn, Cassidy, Lizzy, Me, Ashlie, and Jazlyn (L to R). Be praying for these girls, and the ones who aren't here, as Lizzy and I continue to lead them this year!

This is Lizzy my cofa talking to our students about how community has brought her life! Which is a great transition to what I wanted to talk about next. I want to introduce you to several students in my life right now, as they are a big portion of my time and the reason both you and I are here.

I want to start with Lizzy! I have mentioned her a couple times but have not taken the time to really introduce her. Lizzy is a sophomore and first time corefa (small group leader) this year and I am so thankful we get to lead a core together!! Lizzy is thoughtful, inquisitive, humble, and seriously SO much fun, she has quickly become a good friend of mine. Often my favorite parts of the week are when I get to hang out with her like in the picture above. Even if it’s just to plan core we usually have way too much fun together. I love her a lot, join me in praying for her as she navigates stepping into spiritual leadership for the first time while balancing school, community, work, and friendships.

Next is Alisa! She is a sophomore transfer student at UTA this year. I have the privilege of getting to meet with her every week and study the bible together. This picture is from one of those times a couple weeks ago! Alisa has also quickly become one of my good friends, she is so affectionate, committed, and has such contagious laugh it's impossible to not love her. Pray for her that God would reveal himself and his love for her in new and meaningful ways as we continue to study scripture together and as she continues to become involved with our community. Fun fact Lizzy and Alisa have the same birthday!

The last student I want to leave you with is McKendry! McKendry is in my core and she a junior in her first semester of nursing school and I get the sweet gift of meeting with her regularly. She is such a hard worker, loves people fiercely, and she has been one of the biggest servants despite being in one of the hardest semesters of her college career. For these reasons I consider her just as much of a leader in our core as Lizzy or I. I cannot express how thankful I am for her friendship and her example to the girls in our core. Be praying for her as she tackles nursing school and helps Lizzy and I shepherd our core.

Here is another picture of my core hanging out after core this week! Thank you never goes without saying, thank you, thank you, thank you all for your generous support and thoughtful prayers. I can't tell you how many times since August I have been so amazed that this is my job! Myself and all these students I talked about and showed pictures of (and more!) are actively being impacted by your support day in and day out. I am so thankful for all of you!