Here We go!

 


Hello dear family and friends,

We have made it to the first month of the FOCUS Apprenticeship! I am truly grateful for each one of you both for the support generously given to get me to this point as well as to have you on my ministry team for the year. I couldn't do this apprenticeship without you guys, and I know it's going to be a wildly neat ride ahead! 

August started off with a special licensing ceremony where all of the incoming apprentices got to make promises to God, each other, and the community at large. I will link the video of the ceremony if you want to check it out. The next morning I flew to Massachusetts for my last little chunk of time with Dallas Back Dance Theatre. After finishing up my last performances, I flew straight into San Antonio. Every year Focus sends students to a week long leadership conference called SICM, which stands for Student Institute for Campus Ministry. This year the conference was held in San Antonio, and it was surreal to arrive on site to 150 students and 50 staff members. The week is all about equipping, empowering, and encouraging both the new small group facilitators, Corefas, and other returning students. I was able to attend SICM the first time in 2014 at the end of my freshman year, and have consistently seen since then how useful the information has been. Topics span from Jesus' Style of Discipling to How to Ask Good Questions to Inner Life: Remaining Connected to the Source. I am so blessed to have come from a community that prioritizes developing students into leaders and life long disciples. 

Lastly, I want to introduce you all to one of my new friends! Her name is Addie, and I get to facilitate a small group with her for the next school year. She has crazy good dance moves and a sweet personality. I know it is going to be a blessing to get to lead with her. Core, what we call our small groups, won't start for a couple more weeks, but Addie and I are already praying over the girls who will be a part of it. 

In the next couple of weeks, I will be moving into a new apartment with my coworker and new fellow apprentice, Lailah Duke, meeting students through Welcome Week, and starting some of my apprenticeship classes. Lots to look forward to!

 Thank you for your prayer and encouragement. What a team I have. 

Talk to you all again soon!

Renee

https://fb.watch/7l1KhVyss7/

^This link will direct you to the video of the Licensing Ceremony. You can copy and paste the link into your browser. 

         Here is Lailah and I at the stage we performed 11 times in 5 days at!

                                               A really special stage to get to be on. 

These are my coworkers from DBDT. They are all so special, and I am going to miss them immensely.

Here is a picture of me and some Collin girls at SICM, including Addie who is in the tank top towards the right corner of the picture. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

He makes it grow

Image
Hi everybody!  It's been another full month, and I can't believe we are already in November. Here are just some of the ways that I have seen God grow those around me:     Fall camp!  Each year, each campus of FOCUS puts on a weekend retreat that we call Fall Camp. It is one of the first times in the year that all the students can have fun, learn, and worship together outside of our normal weekly fellowship gatherings. This year we, from all five of Collin campuses, took a group of about 60 students to Mount Lebanon for a packed full 24 hours. Several of the girls from my core who came spoke about powerful interactions they had had with the Spirit during that time. One girl in particular has a Muslim background said at the end of our time that she, “Wants to get to know God better, and build a relationship with Him.” There was another girl who showed up at camp not knowing anyone, but was able to build a friendship with all the girls in my core. I’m humbled ...
Read more

Giving as you've been given

Image
 Dear family and friends, I pray that in the midst of the sometimes bust transition between spring and summer that you are filled with the peace and joy of our Father. As the school year comes to a close, I pray that you are met with His nearness and providence. You are so loved.  Our students here at Collin have their finals next week, so we have had our last peer team meeting, our last correa meeting, our last TNF for this year is this tomorrow, and we had our last core last night. In all of these times fo reflecting, it is so evident that God was near and Good to us this year.  In our last core, we got the chance to share about a few different things, but spent some time with this question: What has God given you this year that you want to give to others? Elaina, who is transferring to Hardin University in the fall, shared about how she wants to be the friend that we were to her to those she will meet at her new school. Elaina has grown in depth, and I'm so grateful th...
Read more

Ending as a Beginning

Image
 Happy 2022 everyone! I am so grateful to be entering this new year with you guys. This past month was full of wrapping things up (😉) and I reflected on how the closure of one can often be a start to another. As you all went through the holiday season and as you start this new year, I pray that God meets you in both your endings and your beginnings. Here are some of the ways we wrapped up last month: Our students at Collin got to celebrate Christmas together in true Collin fashion. We worshipped and reflected about Jesus together, ate lots of queso, and built Christmas forts. Each core had one hour to plan and execute their fort, and my core came up with the theme, "There's No Place like Gnome for the Holidays." While we didn't win, we did get an honorable mention, so I'm pretty proud. It was a sweet night to see all the students who have been impacted by Jesus and His body in some way or another from all the Collin campuses (we are at all 4 this year!) As we con...
Read more