Shayla's Ministry Blog

Hey, everyone!  This month, I want to feature one of my ministry partners and FOCUS alumni, Adam Chaibainou.  Adam was a freshman at Collin College the first year I started working with FOCUS full time back in 2016. He went onto UTD, did the FOCUS Apprenticeship, and is now a high school English teacher. He and his wife Clarissa are good friends of Grant and I as well and they've partnered with me in ministry, just like you.  Last year, Adam released a self-published book called I am a Child of God . He's also teaching in the public school system and the school administration decided to use his book for recommended reading. In his book he shares his deep grief, pain, and God meeting him through other people like his grandmother, his friends and mentors in high school, and college ministry (FOCUS).  In his own words:  "A few years ago, I transitioned off of Focus staff as an Apprentice and into the world of education. Since then, I've worked as an English teacher at R.

Howdy, all!  Happy almost-Spring. First up, we have our student testimony from February. Please take a moment to read Christophe's testimony.  Below you'll find my ministry letter for the month where I talk about a couple of events we had going on this last month. We were busy-busy but the students have been blessed by them and are in turn a blessing to others. Take a look: Thank you guys for your generous prayers and support! We are seeing renewal in Denton. Please keep praying for that and praying for courage to overcome the tension points that present as these students try to get closer to Jesus!  Bonus pictures:  Aaron and I after I saw his show! Aaron and his wife Tate are good friends of Grant and I's and they're ministry partners with me. I love these people. They're gifts from God!  Allison, one of my lil homies and a corefa (student leader) acting up at student leader meeting. This is Shay! I love her. I study scripture with her (FOJ), and we do cool things

 

Hello, all!  Thank You! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am very grateful for each of you and your contributions to campus ministry and ultimately to God's kingdom. Your donations and prayer have a far wider reach than you even know. So, thank you. "Do not grow weary in doing good" - St. Paul, Galatians 6:9 Student Testimony Please take a moment to read this touching story from Gordon at UTD! Some photos: Students at the Survivor Season finale night at my house! From left to right: Samantha, Madisyn, Allison, Grace, Jenna, Hayden. Survivor night continued: Azael, Leo, Hayden, and poor Ella having to put up with those dudes. A few scenes from our Winter Formal Christmas party! We started the night off with some advent songs led by Becca, Manuel, and Audrey. Then we had a reading from Ayaeme. They did a wonderful job. Then Steven led us in Christmas trivia, then we had some line dancing. A wonderful way to end the semester with our students. Pictured is our staff pic t

Hey everyone! Some exciting stuff to read ahead. But first, our student testimony. Please read Rian's story. She's one of our Denton gals who has been a huge blessing at TWU. Your partnership directly impacts people like Rian.  Our annual fundraiser is happening in two days. Thank you for all the years of partnership, prayer, and giving. Here's a graphic that explains more. Some pictures from the month:  My little sister-in-law, Caroline, holding Merry. Merry belongs to Caroline's older sister and gets lots of love and attention around the holidays. Caroline actually serves as student leader at UTD, bonus: she's also a graduate student!  My husband, Grant, giving a sermon at church on questions about prayer. If you're interested in listening, let me know and I'll send you a link.  A very candid pic from our core friendsgiving. My core (small group) paired with Jackson and Chukwu's small group and we came together, ate, laughed, did a scavenger hunt toget

Hey, everyone!  I'm excited to share what's been going on around here. First up, we have our student testimony from Devereaux over at Richland college. She has a such a sweet presence, please take a moment to read her story.  The most recent big thing we had recently going on was Fall Retreat! We wanted to do a couple things differently this year. The first thing is that we had Ronnie Worsham come talk to our students on Sunday morning. It's hard to describe succinctly what he talked about, but I think what he shared ministered deeply to all of us. The best I can describe his talk is this way: living a life of faithfulness makes you a person that is God's love to people, and that is life-changing. It was inspiring and I think helped us all grow up a little bit.  The other thing we decided to do differently was to have our first ever Camp Cup, where the winners get a limited edition camp shirt and a free meal at Hawaiian Bros or Torchy's. This allowed people to know