December 2021

Hey, everyone! 

I have lots to share. First I want to say thank you for praying and giving to Keep FOCUS Growing. God is so generous to work through people and their self-giving generosity. Here is a graphic of the goal!



Also here is our student testimony update. Stories like hers are why we do things like Keep FOCUS Growing! 


Here are some picture updates of the last month! 

Grant and I dog sat for my sister-in-law. The doggos were a big hit with just about everyone. This is Katherine, getting some good time with Merry the Malamute. 


Arianna and Pippin looking like they tolerate each other and that's just about it 

Becca enjoying giving these pups their early morning belly rubs! 

Keanna and Veronica resting next to the pups. A real Christmas miracle that they were tired! The dogs, not the humans. 

Garrett from Collin FOCUS holding Sarah (UTD FOCUS) and Laurence's (SMU FOCUS) sweet newborn Evelyn. We finally got to meet her and hold her finally! This was taken at our big staff meeting where all the campus teams get together. 
 

The Fortnight Before Christmas Party! We rented the Senior Center and had each of our small groups (cores) compete against each other to win a prize in a fort-night building competition. There was a lot of creativity and so many good themes. There were also some weird themes. One core made a giant foil fork at their theme. 

The manger Fort 
Indoor camping fort 
Shrek's Christmas Swamp

A more aerial view of the Christmas Chaos 

A student totally stoked after winning brownies. We had our students sign up for Winter Camp that night with the incentive to win brownies. The crowd went wild. Side note: please be praying that students would come to winter camp and for protection against serious illness. We very much need Winter Camp after not having it for two years! This year's is gonna be so good! 


Aaron, an alumni of FOCUS and a friend. Here he was ministering to our students on the topic of creativity and expressing how he connects with God through making art. 


Our last musical worship until the new year! Please be praying over these guys and gals as breaks can be hard for students for a multitude of reasons. 



Thank y'all for everything! 

Shayla 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 2020 update

Image
Happy summer! Man did it get HOT all of sudden. I honestly don't mind the scorching heat, I would pick that over the cold dead of winter any time. I'm excited to update y'all, it's been a while. I want to start off with our May and June student testimonies. The May student testimony is actually really sweet to me for a couple of reasons. Markia is the younger sister of my friend Cierra. I met Cierra in FOCUS in 2013 when we were both students at UNT. When I found out Markia was going to TWU, I knew I wanted to study the bible with her and befriend her. She has been a consistent blessing to me and the people around her at TWU! When Markia and I were studying the bible together, I remembered the summer of 2015 I volunteered with our church family's Teen Camp. I remembered that Markia and I actually did a walk and talk and prayed for each other at that time about friendships and the future. When we both remembered, we were both like "Whoah!". How cool is ...
Read more

March 2024 update

Image
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 ...
Read more

April 2024 update

Image
Hey, all!  I'm excited to update y'all on the last month. First up is our student testimony from UTD. Take a peak and read Darreyl's story.  2nd to last peer team meeting in early April! I took these pictures as we had to "seek shelter" when the tornado siren went off. Luckily, the siren was short lived. Peer team is when Reagann and I come up with spiritual enrichment and development for the student leaders we meet with. We were reading through an article by Lewis Smedes on the Power of Promising. We were also laughing a lot together.  Our last peer team meeting ended with a prayer and group hug! What a sweet group of girls God gave us to faithfully lead and love like Jesus this year. They made such a special impact on our community and campuses.  Playing disc-golf with my homie Grace. She and I have facilitated core together this semester. I've loved us getting to be friends! She's done a fantastic job handling lots of challenges this year and remaining ...
Read more