March Madness

I'm sitting next to Pedro and I asked him what the title of this blog post should be. In our combined efforts, March Madness was the best we could come up with. While I know essentially nothing about basketball, I can say with confidence that March was definitely filled with lots of madness, but the good, non-sports-related kind! We've had a lot going on, here are a few highlights:

IMPACT

An outreach event at Spring Creek campus

FOCUS has a relationship with a ministry up in Washington state, and every year that ministry sends a group of students to our campuses (during their spring break!!) to reach out to students and do some other cool stuff with our ministry. This year was particularly special, because students from Bellevue College (a community college!!) in Bellevue, WA came down for the first time to get a vision for what campus ministry can look like on a community college campus. They began planting a ministry there three years ago, and expressed a lot of similar feelings I had about Collin's Preston Ridge campus at the start of my Apprenticeship. It can be difficult trying to start something so new, it's hard to get people excited, and it feels lonely at times. But they were such an encouragement to us. To say it was a blessing to have them here would be a complete understatement. Every day, they were on campus meeting students, going so far out of their comfort zone to have conversations with them about Jesus, working through exhaustion of a 2 hour time difference, and re-applying sunscreen every 30 seconds. Did you know Seattle has seen a total of 30 hours of sunlight since October? They literally have to take Vitamin-D supplements.
One of my favorite things about having them here was to hear them talk about the Holy Spirit. They love Him, and they believe in His divine power to work in powerful ways. They completely rely on Him when they are having conversations with people, or when they're prayerfully preparing for the day. Sometimes I put the Spirit in a box. I assume He can only work in ways that I'll be able to understand. But of course the Spirit is going to move in powerful ways, ways that I can't even comprehend. Matthew, Jack, Lindsay, Katie, Erin, and Marina (pictured below, minus Marina) helped me remember that. Also, major shout out to our students at Collin who attended the events we had all week. They were fired up by having our Washington friends here, and God really worked in our ministry!

Please stop reading this and pray for their ministry in Bellevue. Pray that God has His way on that campus, that their team is aware of and encouraged by the Spirit's work, and please pray for all the students that they met while they were here, that God continues to grow the seed He's planted.

Spring Showcase

My sister and I got to emcee :)

Technically this event happened in April. But all of the preparation happened in the months preceding this one, so I'm totally allowed to post about it now. Like I mentioned in my last blog, we send students to SICM every year, and this event is a fundraiser to lessen the cost of that. Every year, I'm blown away by how talented the people in this community are. But more than that, I'm blown away by just how generously and faithfully God provides. To all of you that came to the event, purchased art, performed, volunteered, literally did anything, THANK YOU!! You helped make it a possibility for our students to go to SICM and learn skills that will hugely impact their ability to minister on their campus. Please pray for the students that get to go to SICM next month. Pray for ears open to hear what God's saying to them, for the relationships that will be built, and for no broken bones.


After the Apprenticeship
I've been putting off talking about this, but I think now is a really good time to fill you in on my plans for next school year. As y'all know, the Apprenticeship ends on May 31st. After a lot of time praying and many hours in conversation with Garrett, Shayla, my sister, my team, and lots of other wise people, I've decided to pursue a career in social work once my Apprenticeship is complete. I'm not someone who wrestles with fear or worry very much, but this decision makes my flesh fear and worry. I'm fearful of leaving a ministry that has been my home for the past 6 years, I'm fearful that I won't be as connected to Jesus, I'm fearful of what my relationships with people will look like, I'm fearful for my sweet girls who I've gotten the chance to minister to this semester, for Preston Ridge, for not being able to find a job, the list truly does go on and on. However, I have a conviction that I am not supposed to hold onto those fears. In the past couple months, God has taught me a lot specifically about how close He is, and how He really does hear us and answer prayers. I think God has been preparing me for this jump, and He doesn't want me to be afraid. That's really all I have to say about that. Please join me in prayer about these things:

• I would be super attentive to God, and obediently follow wherever He wants me to go, whether that's a social work job or not.
• That God would glorify Himself in how He works in my life during this transition.
• For all the other Apprentices and FOCUS staff who are going through transitions this year.

Here's a song that has encouraged me for the past couple of months. I hope it does the same to you!

I really can't thank God enough for each of you. Thank you for investing in me, sacrificing for me, praying for me, and loving me.

Hannah