May 2024!

Our apprentice cohort from this year with one of our teachers, Ronnie Worsham! 5 of them were at Collin College, 2 were at University of North Texas, 2 were at University of Texas at Dallas, and I was at Dallas College!

 Hello friends!!

    Thank you guys so much for your support - your prayers, your encouragement, and your wisdom means so much to me. I am thankful for how you guys have been by my side and following along with all the updates along the way.

With the school year coming to a close, this summer is full of fundraising for the upcoming school year, planning our weekly services, and spending time with the students who are still in town.

I have been reflecting on this first year of ministry and wanted to share some of the things God has taught me:

• Finding God involves our WHOLE selves - all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The apprenticeship has involved me taking a lot of classes including Old Testament, New Testament, Evangelism, Spiritual Leadership, Eschatology, and Ministry Essentials. It has engaged my mind and heart in ways I had not before, getting me to see God in new ways. At times, that was an overwhelming and confusing experience - trying to reconcile what I was learning with what I grew up believing about God; but through the wrestling, God has brought me to a deeper knowledge of who He is.
• God promises in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” 
• I am small, but God’s grace is HUGE. Where do we start when it comes to trying to get to know the Creator of the Heavens and earth? When I seriously stop and think about God, I feel so tiny. My coworker Sirak told me an analogy that has helped me come to peace with my own limitations as a human and marvel at God's vastness. God is like the ocean and we are like a cup, scooping up ocean water. On one hand, you can say "This cup contains the ocean!" and you would be correct. But you would be completely misguided to not recognize how partial and small that is. As a mere cup, I have limlited capacity to know the depths of God, but I am thankful for the glimpses He has given us.
• Psalm 25:9 - “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”
• God honors earnest and humble hearts. I don’t need to have all the answers.
• God works through the unexpected. We expect that God would use the most capable, strong, and impressive things to do his work. Shockingly, He uses the “foolish things of the world to shame the wise” and “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Being new to being a collge minister, I often feel unimpressive; I am aware of the ways I fall short and am inadequate. BUT I am not here because I am good, I am here because God is good. My weaknesses point to His sufficiency and His goodness!
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in weakness."

God has taught me so much this year about who He is and who I am in light of Him. Thank you guys for your generosity and love that enabled me to get to do this full-time. I could not have done it without you guys!

Prayer Requests:

• Fundraising provision - I am about $900/month away from my being fully fundraised. Please be praying for God to open up doors for that need to be met!
• Students over the summer - Summer can be a time that is lonely and difficult for students, especially when all their typical routines are taken away. Some of them are returning to difficult family situations and they are not getting the same amount of regular time with their faith community. Please be praying for endurance and that their faith would flourish, not diminish, over the summer.

Thank you guys!! Love you!

Veronica

Photos from students at at our leadership conference in Bellingham, Washington. From all of the FOCUS ministries across the DFW campuses, over 150 students were sent who will be leaders on their campuses starting in the fall!

My sibling Max graduated from UNT this month and my grandma flew down to be there - it was her first time flying alone, I am so proud of her! We had some great family time together over Mother’s Day weekend!