June Update

 

Watching a sunset with some students in Bellingham

Happy (almost) June! 

Hard to believe 2026 is about halfway over, CRAZY!! This has been such a special year at UTA and I'm so thankful you have been a part of it. Every year God keeps blowing my mind with how many students we are able to reach, this was our biggest year yet in terms of just about everything. However, even if we had only reached one student, just one life changed, that would be worth it & heaven would rejoice with us. Thank you for allowing me to be present on campus as a missionary to these precious students. 

SICM

If you have been with me for more than a year you know that in May we send potential student leaders up to a conference in Bellingham Washington called SICM. SICM or Student Institute of Campus Ministry is a 10 day conference that is designed to equip students to be missionaries to their peers when they return to campus in the fall. We send our most faithful, teachable & captured by Jesus students up to Bellingham each year in hopes they will help us further our reach to make disciples on campus in the next school year. 

We took about 25 students from UTA to SICM & today I want to introduce you to four of them specifically. Please join me in praying for them! Nothing is more exciting to me than watching disciple makers be formed right in front of me, this really is how the world will change- I hope 'meeting' them is just as exciting to you as it is to me :)

L:R- Olivia, Ella, Salome, & Gabby

These four are just the best! I got to stay with all of them in a host home for the duration of SICM so I got the closest view into their lives. Olivia, Ella, & Gabby all just finished their freshman year at UTA and are some of the brightest & sweetest young women I have ever had the privilege of getting to know. Please be praying for them as they return in the fall ready to make disciples. Salome is also one of the brightest and sweetest young women I know, however she is a sophomore transferring from community college to UTA in the fall. I wanted to make a special ask for you to pray for her transition to Arlington! All four are such gifts to our community & campus- I'm convinced God will do wonderful things through them. 

I won't name all of these students but this is about half our UTA crew; a few of them just became christians in the fall. They are meaningful reminders to me that this work is so important, even if just one of their lives was changed by knowing God it's worth it. A lot of rejoicing in heaven over this group :) 

Here are some other pictures from SICM: 

A pic with Ella and Dani (students) and Bailey, my coworker (behind me). 

Jumping for joy at the Washington beauty haha

Some student take aways from SICM

I hope my fly over of the last few weeks is as encouraging to you as it was to me- at the very least I hope this is a meaningful reminder to you that God is truly at work on the college campus & it's a gift to get to be a part of it. Every year I'm reminded that you can't out give God, getting to be in these students' lives is a richer blessing than I'll ever deserve. Thank you again for making this life changing message of the Gospel accessible to students at UTA- they are blessed by you more than they'll ever know. 

Until next month, 

Sophie 

PS- check out Olivia's testimony below :)