Hey Friends!

 

We are halfway there! How?!

 

This past month we had our very first Richland Fall Camp and it was such a blast! We packed 24hrs with worship, Jesus, hot chocolate and a lot of Dutch Blitz (my new obsession). For the past couple of years, the Richland ministry has been very close-knitted to the UTD community and we have been very used to having Fall Camp with them. It was definitely a little intimidating planning and having our own weekend but we felt that it was time for our ministry to have their own camp. I’m so thankful we did because it brought our Richland community closer together. Giving you a play by play of the weekend would take too long but here are some highlights of our weekend together. For our first session, we kicked off the weekend by hearing from three of our leaders as they shared how community has impacted their lives and where they think they would be if they had not found a Jesus-centered community. Listening to them was such a testament to what God has been doing at the Richland Campus. One of our students shared that before coming to the ministry she would eat lunch in her car until her next class because she didn’t have any friends. Then one Wednesday morning she was invited to come play volleyball with our group and got involved, she is now leading a core!

 

During another session, we did an activity together in which he had students fill in the the blanks to the following prompt. “For me to be all in, God is calling me to give up (my) _________________. I believe once this happens, _______________________.” It’s always a little nerve-racking doing an activity that requires people to be a little open and vulnerable, once the first student shared they kept speaking up. Many of them confessed needing to give up their anxieties, fears, pride, selfish desires in order to trust God. I encourage you to think about the prompt and I ask you to take some time to fill it in and pray over your response.

 

This is my third year getting to do campus ministry at Richland/UTD and although sometimes I freak out about the number of students God is sending our way, I get excited that they get to know Jesus more and they get to experience the joy of campus ministry. Claude is a new student that I have been spending weekly time studying the Bible with and also comes to my core. She and her family just moved to the Dallas area this summer. Claude consistently comes up to me and shares with me how much this community is stretching her to be more like Jesus. This is just one story of someone who is being impacted by your support! Thank you so much for believing in this mission and investing in it!

 

My prayer for you comes from Paul’s words in Ephesians 3,

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Again, thank you guys for all you do!

 Your campus missionary,

 

Sandra

Silly Picture of Richland Focus!

Here we are! :)

Some of my sweet core girls. 

Richland at Fall Camp listening to Sisi share his testimony.