What Month Is It Again?

 It feels like it's been forever since I last had the chance to update y'all! I meant to get this blog post out sooner..

Personal Updates:

...but some things got in the way. The craziest thing that has happened to me in recent memory was that I had to go to the emergency room on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. Before I keep going, I'll let y'all know that I feel fine! I have a number of people checking up on me and making sure that I'm recovering without issue. Thank you for all the prayers! They're not exactly sure what happened, so I'm trying to visit a neurologist this coming week just to make sure that I get a thorough second opinion.

Ministry Updates:

The school year is underway! All of our ministers have had to think of creative ways to engage with the student body, given that some campuses are only online, some schools are not allowing physical gatherings of any kind on campus, while others are doing their best to accommodate for student life in this time. Continued prayers for our students and ministers as they reach out to the incoming freshman and students who are desperately in need of a community!

If you would, please pray about the following:

- That at the end of this ordeal, I can feel healthy and 100% again! It's been a wild ride since that fateful Saturday.

- That all of our students and ministers can continue to reach out despite the setbacks of this year. That the students attending these campuses will be open to Jesus-loving communities and friendships.

A socially-distanced, masks-required outreach at UTD. Many students were wandering around campus just 'looking for something to do.' All of our games allowed for space between the students, including Cornhole and four square.

Richland is one of our online-only campuses. This was their first physical meeting of the year at a local park to ensure their students were ready and engaged for the coming school year. Having an online-only campus presents challenges that we will need to think through!

This isn't a part of FOCUS, but I wanted to highlight ministry in all forms! My roommate has been using his Saturdays since the end of summer to coordinate outreach out to the homeless in our community. He has assembled a host of students to put together care packages, including food, water, socks, and toiletries to hand out and to speak life to this community. All of the care packages are put together through donations! If you are interested in learning more about this, please let me know and I can connect you!