David's October and November Update

He took him outside and said, 

“Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” 

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:5-6

Hello, friends!

    What do you call a bear with eight arms? Octobear.

    What do you call a joke with November as it's punchline? It doesn't exist.

    That's right, November's over, so now it's time for my monthly ministry update! I meant to give an update for October early this month, but now I might as well update on both months at once. Thank you so much for praying for me and supporting God's agenda on the college campus. He's been at work since the beginning and up to this day building little temples out of people and filling them up with his Spirit, making children for Abraham. One day, if you can believe it, we will be like the stars in the sky in quantity and quality.

Core:

Top: Andrew, Ugo, and Nick at the Fall Retreat.

Bottom: Our core after one of our studies.

    Our guys' core has gotten a lot closer over this month. When someone walks in the room, the guys all shout "CONNOOOORRRR" (or whoever it may be) because they are actually excited about being with each other! We still have a long way to go, but it's clear that God brought these guys together.

Focus Staff:

Top: Kevin, Pedro and I take a selfie at our Fall Retreat.

Bottom: My coworker (Jacy) and my wife (Alex) swap babies as they swap birth stories. Our due dates were one day apart, and we both gave birth at the same hospital with the same doctor.

    This season, our staff team has been blessed a lot, and been gone a lot! God blessed two of us with happy healthy new babies; I was off for a time for paternity leave, and Jacy just returned from her maternity leave. Pedro, the Collin FOCUS Director, was out for a surgery that helped heal him of his chronic back pain. In our absence, the ministry ran very smoothly thanks to the commitments of our student leaders, remaining staff (especially Kevin and Eileen!) and the most committed of all: God. The sinful part of me is sad to know that the ministry will run smoothly without me, but the God-minded discipler in me is very pleased to know that the next generation is not dependent on us "leaders". The students are animated and empowered by the Spirit that raised Jesus, same as me.

Fall Retreat:

Top: Student leaders thoughtfully prepared and led a diverse and engaging worship night, giving our community the opportunity to worship with our whole selves together.

Middle: Collin FOCUS takes a silly picture at Fall Retreat. Can you find me?

Bottom: Adriana uses her problem-solving skills to stir lemonade mix into a large jug of water without the proper kitchen tools.

    Every fall, Collin FOCUS takes a 24-hour retreat to get closer to one another and to God. This year was an absolute blast! Adriana preached a final sermon in a series through the Sermon on the Mount that we had began early in the semester, which encouraged students to choose God's path, the narrow path of non-hypocrisy, earnest seeking of God, rejection of the fruitless "wisdom" of the world, knowing God personally, and deliberate obedience to Jesus. A student-led worship night brought out a "more undignified" (read 2 Samuel 6) side of our students. 

Thursday Night Fellowship (TNF):

    We've been in a series where, rather than a sermon, we invite 1-3 guests to be interviewed about how Scripture impacts an aspect of life: suffering, time management, learning, etc.. At the same time, we've been stressing each week that worship is not just singing songs, rather everything in the life of a disciple should be worship. We hope to steer our community toward the integration of scripture and worship into all parts of our lives.

Shayna Update:

    Shayna loves to make friends! Three of these pictures were taken at our church's fall retreat. Alex and I are so thankful for an amazing church body that is interested in helping us raise Shayna in the love of the Lord. Pretty much every Sunday near the beginning of service, someone comes up to us with their hands out, as if to say "my turn to hold her!" We love the family vibe of not exactly knowing where Shayna is at church but knowing that she's in good hands. Two other pictures were taken at my parents' house where we celebrated Thanksgiving. Shayna loves to smile!