Thankfulness in the Small Things

Hi everyone! Welcome to my campus ministry update for April! Although this time is obviously pretty crazy, I'm so excited to share with you what God is doing in our ministry and some of the things he is teaching me.

My roommates and I had an Easter dinner together on Saturday

First off, I'll just share that I am doing well. I'm holed up in Dallas but I have 5 awesome roommates who I've been spending a lot of time with. They help keep me sane! I've been so encouraged by the creative ways we've found to serve and love each other and our community. These guys ask me how I'm doing, help keep me accountable, show me so much love and affection, and are a constant source of joy to me. We all went and gave blood together and sent notes offering help to our neighbors if they needed anything, so seeing them step up in these ways is really inspiring to me.

Thursday Night Focus looks a little more digital

Ministry continues online and via phone call. Now Thursday Night Focus is streamed through Twitch and we break out into small groups on Zoom. Core happens through Google Meet and my one on ones through Messenger call. The good thing is that God is still working in the midst of whats going on.

I think God has really been pointing out to me the small things that I need to dwell on to be thankful. I can sometimes become pretty unmotivated when it feels like its harder to maintain unity in the body and to have meaningful time with people. But honestly I can look at so many things that really are an encouragement to me. 

• My roommates dropped off notes at all of our neighbors offering to help in any way we could. One family responded by dropping off some cookies for us and getting us in contact with their son who was looking for friends.
• Our first core (small group), we spent the whole time inviting each of our guys to share how they were doing and then opened up some time to speak into each other's lives. So many of our guys shared encouragements that revealed how much they had grown in their faith since the start of the year. My co-leader Stephen and I were blown away by the wisdom and love our guys shared with each other.
• I gave one of my core guys the task of coming up with a digital after event for core, and he did a ton of research to find an online game we could play. We spent hours laughing together and it was so much fun. 
• One of my core guys and I have started reading through the book of John together. He always comes with so many questions and I've learned so much from his thoughtfulness and willingness to dive deep into scripture.
• I've gotten to go on lots of walks, alone and with roommates. I've been reminded again how much of a gift God's creation is and how beautiful the trees, grass, and flowers are in Spring. 
• One guy who stopped coming to core last semester because he became too busy started coming again because he has more free time now, and some other new guys have started getting involved. 
• As a ministry we have been really focused on growing in prayer, and I've seen that in so many of the guys I've interacted with. There's a real excitement in the ministry about using the extra time we have to really grow in our relationship with God.

These things might seem small, but there's so many others and all of them are gifts to us that show us God is still faithful. An old song has a line: "And in the arms of my dear savior, oh there are 10,000 charms" God is teaching me to see all of those charms and gifts that he gives us each day, and I would encourage you to do the same. 

I want to leave you with a verse written by a man who was in prison. We are under shelter in place and a bit restricted in our movement. This man was under guard in a Roman prison cell. Yet instead of being full of self pity, he used his time to write letters to encourage others. Paul in Philippians 4 writes:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thank you to all of you who continue to partner with me in prayers and through your giving! I am so encouraged by all of you and you make this ministry possible. Most of you know that I will be concluding my time as a full-time campus minister after May and will begin working as an engineer in June, so I'm so thankful for all of you continuing to support me all year. I know now might be a difficult time financially, but I would like to invite anyone who is interested to continue supporting another campus minister in my place if you are able. There are so many other amazing ministers that I get to work with that I love and who are doing God's work. I'm starting to contact some of you to ask if you would be interested in that. 

Prayer Requests

• Pray that our students would grow in prayer, in self-discipline, in creativity, and in love. Pray that they would be free from anxiety and that God would empower them to reach out to others.
• Pray for our entire world as we respond to corona-virus. Pray for the doctors, nurses, and government officials who seek to help the world recover financially and health wise. Pray that God would turn this evil to good and that his name would be glorified through this.
• Pray that I would be filled with boldness, empathy, and love. Pray that I would be filled with purpose and intentionality to spread God's word.