David's January Ministry Update


"If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I
may know you and continue to find favor with you"
And the LORD said to Moses,
"I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

-Exodus 33:13,17

Hello, friends!

The first part of 2023 went by like a speeding car. Well, a speed-limit-observing speeding car. Ok, maybe it went by like a regularly paced car. That's it. Thank you so much for being a part of it. God is always working in people's hearts, and this semester he is doing it again. It's important that we tune in to what he's doing, and like Moses, ask him to teach us his ways so that we can continue to please him. God, please instruct me and the readers of this update, and please be close to us. You hear us, and we listen to you. 

Winter Retreat:



Top: Kenneth and I wear our matching Wario and Waluigi hats in the worship center.

Middle: The Wylie guys' core on the last day of Retreat.

Bottom: Josue is having fun while buried in leaves.

Winter Retreat was amazing. 4 days and 3 nights with FOCUS students from campuses across DFW, worshiping God together, hearing sermons on 1 John, going on walk-n-talks, playing sports and games and whispering loudly in the cabin at terrible hours of the night. Ah, I love Winter Retreat.

Bible Bell Camp:



12 hours. 100 chapters of the Bible. 60 Taco Bell tacos. What could go wrong?
This winter break, my Core (small group) co-leader, Cedric, organized this really neat event. For most of the guys that came, it was their first time reading big chunks of the Bible at one time, and for a few, it was their first time reading the Bible at all. We read all of Genesis and Exodus and got 10 chapters of Leviticus in the one day, taking long breaks for discussing over lunch and dinner, and a few short stretch breaks. Reading in these long chunks helps give a sense of the overall connected story, how God gives grace on grace from generation to generation. Bible Bell Camp was my favorite part of the break!

Outreach at Wylie:


Orion (my Wylie co-pastor) and I made outreach plans for this whole semester a while before it started. But there's always room for God (or the devil?) to shake things up, and we have to be ready for it. But we can't ever plan who God wants us to connect with! Already in just 4 weeks of school (really 3 because of the ice week), God has connected both of us with some really neat and unique students who have an interest in the Kingdom of God. Please pray that those students would be receptive to the word, and produce a crop at the Wylie Campus and beyond!

Another Surprise:

This is a picture of my wife, Alex, and I working from home one day of the "ice week" last week. For those of you reading from outside the area, we had an ice storm that closed school and many workplaces for most of the week. Collin was closed for all but a few hours Monday, so her and I got to work side-by-side. Over that week we were recipients of some good news. We're happy and excited and blessed to announce that Alex is pregnant! :)
Please pray for her health and the health of our baby, and that God would fill all three of us with his presence. More news to come later!

Thanks for reading my blog and for your prayer and support, love you all!

Student Testimony:

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