April 2023

I'm coming up to the end of my third year with FOCUS! It's wild to think of the circumstances that led me here — from Indiana, to Washington, down to California, and finally settling in Texas. From never even thinking of campus ministry as a career to feeling called to join FOCUS as its administrator. None of this seems possible except through God's hand working in my life and in y'all's as you partner with me in ministry! So thank you, thank you for your trust in me and FOCUS, as we do our best to cultivate Jesus-loving communities on college campuses in DFW.

With the end of the year, comes SICM, Student Institute of Campus Ministry. A week-long conference that FOCUS has been attending for a decade-plus up in Bellingham, WA. This year we have our largest group yet. 100 students are registered to attend this year to receive training to be witnesses on their campus. Please join me in praying for them to be open and receptive to what God may be doing in them and through them. I went to SICM for the first time last year and (though I was also preoccupied with the logistics of the trip) I had a really hard time getting everything that was being taught. Many people who attend describe it as a fire hydrant of information — but the bits that you can contain take you far and the rest is recalled as you gain experience. 

In personal news, my eye continues to heal. The double-vision persists when looking towards my right on things that are at a mid-distance away (if that makes any sense). I'm also trying to get a sleep study done this week 'cause Steph thinks I may have sleep apnea. If so, I would need to get a CPAP machine that covers my mouth because apparently I sleep with my mouth wide open. (The doctor also said we could get a machine that only covers the nose and I could wear a chin strap separately... but that doesn't seem very stylish.) 

Me and Steph are also starting to look at purchasing a house in the Plano/Richardson/Garland area. Due to the area, it's going to be a bit of a fixer-upper, but we want it to be a resource for our friends and community. Please pray for us as we try to discern where God wants us to be and pray for peace as this can be a big decision!

Some good news! Wedding season is upon us! I just got back from a trip to St. Louis to visit a high school friend that got married after almost a decade of dating. A couple of good friends also got engaged in the past month! The baby boom is also here to stay — last year our church had a baby dedication ceremony and I think around 13 babies were dedicated! Currently, I know of at least 5 soon-to-be first-time moms. In this joyous season, I'm praying for Godly marriages and healthy moms and babies.

Again, I want to profusely thank each and every one of you for your partnership in ministry.

I attempted to make some Baozi. On one side are the ones that I rolled out and shaped with only my hands and the other side I rolled out and shaped with a rolling pin. Can you tell which is which? 

My brother got a third dog, you heard that right. Hallie (who takes her name from The Parent Trap) is a sweet pup who is a Labradoodle mix.

I visited my friend, Dave, in Austin because he had some tickets to the Austin FC game that he got from work. Austin FC was facing the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. I'm not the biggest fan of soccer (football) and the score ended in 0-0, which is part of the reason why I'm not a huge fan. Afterwards we went to Pluckers where a huge cockroach was crawling on the booth and almost touched me. I'm scarred for life.

Did you really visit St. Louis if you don't go and see The Gateway Arch? It's so much bigger when you stand at the base and look up (Steph for scale).

This is my friend who got married! Back in high school, me and Emma used to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender together and get into the most random trouble. We even produced some (very amateur) stop-motion short films for a time. Starting then and to this day, we're pen pals and exchange letters from time to time.