Sickness and Sentiments

Hi guys!

Wow wow wow, can we just take a moment to think about it already becoming November? It's crazy to me just how quickly this school year is going by, but, I think, that kinda goes to show just how much I've enjoyed ministry this year. At this point in time, students are in their finals week for school-which means a final TNF (our weekly worship meetings), a final core (small group), final leader meeting, and a final routine to a normal semester. However, that's just until we get back to the swing of things in January. In the meantime, us staff will still meet with students and create spaces for them to keep investing into community. 

What I think is so special about working at a community college is that these students won't be going away to go home, since a lot of them still live at home. So, this provides a HUGE opportunity to still keep up with them and spend time in person with as many as I can. The reason I love this is because I know that holidays can be hard for students, whether it be because of family issues, isolation, the weather, etc. So, being able to spend time with them and physically seeing how they're doing means a lot to me as a minister and friend to these students.

As you may notice, there's not a lot of photos for this blog. That's because I was sick for the majority of the month, which was wild! The first week of November, I came down with a cold, and then two weeks later, the flu! This time forced me to not only rest with God, but also take a look at my own insecurities and desire for worth in my work. It wasn't fun, and in no way does it mean I've completely internalized these lessons. However, it's cool getting to see God slowly chip away at the hardness of my heart when it comes to understanding his grace and mercy for me.

Hopefully you enjoy these photos and the stories with them! Despite me being sick, I trust that God has still been at work, and even more so, I think this past month has been one of the more encouraging months despite the hardships and chaos of life in it all. It's almost like at our lows do we really get to see the work God is doing in our lives more-a true reminder that he really is constant despite the circumstances in our life.

1) This is an outreach event that David came up with for Halloween! He had the idea of getting a door and having students knock on it to create a reverse "Trick or Treat". When a student knocked, he would give them a piece of candy. While this was wild, it was really sweet seeing something so silly really make students' day. You could tell that this gave them a laugh and lifted their spirits-especially during mid-term season. Getting to bless this campus has been a huge treat to David and I, especially as we've been prayerfully thinking through how to best engage these students as time goes on.

2) This is some art a student did on campus! I just thought this was beautiful, but also, really showcases the creativity of the professors. I think it really is a blessing that this campus has teachers that really want to push their students creatively but also give them the opportunity to engage in projects like this. For those who don't know, the Wylie Collin campus has a lot of specialized classes for art, nursing, and vet tech. So, a lot of the students we see on campus are wanting to go to school for these things.

3) This is our Fall Pizza Theology! This event is FOCUS wide, which means all the FOCUS ministries have access to attending this event. Pizza Theology is a lecture event we put on every semester to engage students with college level theology. The point of this event isn't to tell students what to think, but how to think. While we may give students information on a topic, we much rather them go home and ask critical questions than just take what we say as the end all be all. This semester, we talked about the book Revelation, and addressed questions our students have about this book. What I think was so encouraging was getting to see so many girls from Laiya and I's core attend and really enjoy it!

4) Here's a photo from the holidays! This Thanksgiving, Connor and I spent a day each at our family's, and while we were exhausted afterwards, it was encouraging getting to see God work in both of our families. Here is a photo of me, Lucy, Courtney (Connor's sister), and Connor playing Catan, a strategy board game! This holiday was filled with chill moments like this, and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

Thank you guys so much for all your support so far this semester, and even more so, thank you all who contributed to Keep FOCUS Growing this year! I know I always say this, but it genuinely is out of your support and generosity that I'm able to be on campus this year and meeting these students. I pray that each of you have a wonderful holiday season! Love you all!

-Orion Clements