September 2023 update:

 Howdy, all! 

This month's student testimony is special as it comes from one of our guys from UNT, Azael. I've gotten to know him over the last 6 months and his story is truly heartwarming. He's a humble guy who has been changed by Jesus and Jesus' people believing in him. Check it out: 


Prayer requests: 

- please pray over our staff! Reagann is a new mom navigating ministry, Darby and Drew are within a month of giving birth to their son, Ryan and his wife Nicole are expecting their second, and please pray for all of our immune systems! 

- pray for UNT and TWU to be changed by Jesus

- pray for sustained energy for our corefa team (our student leaders)

- pray for Fall Retreat, our upcoming retreat where so many new friendships are bonded! Please pray that students will desire to go and that it would a nourishing and life-giving time to them 


Some photos I took the last month:

I had the honor of hosting a birthday party for Allison, one of our sweet gals who is a huge blessing to our ministry! 

Cheering on one of our student flag football games! Kinda hard to tell what's going on, but the important thing is that our students won :)

Becca, one of our staff with Victoria, one of our student leaders at TWU! This picture is from our time of development for our female leaders. We all got together, ate pasta, and then had some time of development. Shoutout to my sweet husband, Grant, for helping me make dinner for these gals. 

Latin Jazz night! One our seniors, Isaac, is part of the Jazz Program at UNT. He performs in a couple different bands on the drums, one fo them being the Latin Jazz band. They had a concert one night in the student union and so man of our students from FOCUS came to listen and support him. A very special evening! 


Grant and I were able to host a Labor Day cookout for students who were still in town. Anna, pictured on the left in the red dress, is from England! She had a very American time which according to her is a good thing :) 



Thank you guys for everything! 

Shayla 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

August update

Image
Happy August, all!  As summer winds down and the school year gears up, I just want to say thank you to those who continue to support me, and to those who are new who joined my team! The longer I do campus ministry, the more aware I become of the need for partnership in prayer, financial generosity, and relationship for the campuses. It's such a diverse place to be and an exciting arena to tell people about Jesus. As we enter the school year, please take time to ask God to soften hearts, and for boldness in all the campus ministries to tell people about Jesus and be friends with whom are willing.  And now for my favorite part: an update! This time it's from an alumnae, Chelsea Davis. I was actually in FOCUS at the same time as Chelsea at UNT, and over time we have formed a neat relationship. Please take time to read her story. She is a smart girl who loves God and loves people.  Welcome Week: Okay, those of you who have been with me for a long time know that W
Read more

I lean not on my own understanding

Image
Cowabunga! This is my first blog post as an Apprentice for FOCUS! First, I want to say a BIG Thank You to my prayer and financial support team. I am able to pursue this coming year of mission because of your belief in college ministry. I am 76% fundraised, which is bonkers to me (in a good way). Seriously, the process of fundraising has brought an unfamiliar depth to my relationship with God. The process of fundraising is exciting, exhausting, and revealing. Fundraising has revealed different ways I struggle in trusting God, yet, He has been faithful and provided the means for me to be able to do ministry. I still have 24% ! If you know anyone who would be interested in hearing about my mission, please send me their number! I would love to talk with them. Thank y'all x1000. I wish I could hug all of you at this very moment, however, an e-hug will have to suffice *hug*. If you haven't set up your online giving yet, now is the time to do so! Follow this Donation link!
Read more

February

Image
Hello, all! January has whooshed on by, and that has a lot to do with the momentum from Winter Camp. Winter Camp is a special, annual event that happens over a weekend every January. During this time, students from all of our campuses get together to worship, listen to sermons, and to spend time growing in community via friendship. It's not hard to grow in community when you are stuffed into cabins and forced to share small bathroom spaces. Honestly, some of the funniest memories I have from my 5 years of Winter Camp have happened because of small spaces. There is a lot of snoring, sleep talking, and dancing that happen. Winter camp is an enjoyable, yet stretching kickoff for our students. Though it rained the entire weekend, it was still an amazing experience. We had over 600 students from all of campuses attend Winter Camp. My first year at Winter Camp, there were only 300 students. WOW! This was the first time at Winter Camp where I truly didn't see certain people for hour
Read more