An Exciting New Season

 Hello to all my ministry partners!!

As of the 1st, I officially started my apprenticeship with the Fellowship of Christian University Students, otherwise known as FOCUS! I'm so excited to be a part of this staff for the next 10 months! Me and 18 others will be taking time to love on students at the campuses we've been assigned to while also taking classes with senior staff members teaching us and guiding us through the Bible and other theological topics. So, be expecting updates from that as the year go on!

Here are the apprentices I get to work along side with this year! They are all such sweet, goofy, God-loving weirdos, and I'm so excited to get to experience this year with them! On the 1st, we committed to loving on students and serving this ministry well as pastoral apprentices while other staff also recommitted for a set number of years. 

Within the time between starting the apprenticeship and now, the entire staff went out to Bridgeport for a staff retreat, which was such a sweet and refreshing time! The senior staff were so welcoming and loving to us incoming apprentices, and sought out to remind us over and over again that they 100% had our backs and wanted to help us succeed this year. Brandon, one of our directors, kept pointing us back to the scripture Galatians 2:20 as a reminder for us as a staff going into the school year. 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."-Galatians 2:20

As a staff, we kept pondering to what God was calling us to die to ourselves in so that he might be magnified more. To me, this meant putting to death the idea that I have to be 'good enough'. I simply will never be, I'm not Jesus. However, I can strive to look more like him, and in doing so, accept the grace God gives me and keep boasting in my weaknesses so that he might be glorified. If I got anything out of this week, it's that!

This year I'll get to be working on the Collin team! During the retreat, we were able to meet with our campus specific teams to get to know each other, how to work well as a team, and also prep for Welcome Week! That week is going to be pivotal in getting to know students and inviting into the ministry, especially after a school year majorly affected by COVID.

One night we celebrated everyone on staff who had a birthday during July and August! This was such a goofy and fun experience, especially as they had the do a dance while we sang 'Happy Birthday'.

Here are the women I'll be working with on the Collin team! From left to right is Dani, Alex, me, Adriana, and Jacy. I'm so excited to be working with them this year!

We also started our Old Testament class this week, which was so fun! In this class, we each are going to be going through the entire Old Testament while also learning about its significance and even misconceptions people have about it. I'm so excited to be going through scripture in this way and to deepen my understanding of God and how the Israelites used these texts to relate to God and find hope. 

Here are some of my closest friends Emily (left) and Becca (right)! Fun fact: me and Emily were roommates and Becca was our next door neighbor last year! I've had the pleasure to go through college with these two gals, and I'm so excited to be going through the apprenticeship with them too! Becca will be staying in Denton and Emily will be working at UTA! Though we're not geographically as close as we use to be, I'm so excited to see how God grows these two and to be able to find ways to be intentional and purposeful with our friendship.

Prayer Requests:

• SICM is coming up this next week! This is going to be a week long retreat/conference for students to learn more about what it means to do campus ministry and be a student leader on their own campus. So, prayers for safe travels and for staff and students to have open hearts and minds for what God is wanting to communicate to them during this time. 
• Welcome Week and that staff and our student leaders across all our campus are able to have the energy and fire to love on students and welcome them into our ministry and befriend them. 
• Our apprentice classes as I and others settle into them. 

Again, thank you so much for all your support, and I'm so excited to be sharing with you what God is doing at Collin college this upcoming year! Also, if you feel led, definitely let me know how I can be praying for you as well!

-Orion Childers