Not your average July

We were able to have our last Summer Focus all together, outside, distanced, with masks!

 As I mentioned last month, things are obviously far from our "normal" summer. But the last few weeks of July were a great reminder to me that I still have more than enough blessings to count, and, even though we are in the midst of a pandemic, I have a lot of constants still sticking around despite all the changes.

As the summer went on, our team realized virtual events were getting harder and harder for people. There was significantly less engagement and people were missing out on relationships. In order to add in that missing piece, we had students meet for Summer Focus in small groups throughout the month of July. Each one was led by a staff person to help maintain social distancing and to facilitate different components we wanted everyone to experience each week - worship, scripture, discussion, relationship. We also kept a Zoom option for people who were uncomfortable meeting in person and I had the pleasure of leading one of those along with my friend, Dani. Spending time with our group was such a blessing to me. It was great to spend the whole time engaging with them rather than go back and forth between discussions and listening to a stream.

For our very last Summer Focus, we decided to take a chance and meet all together outside. Students wore masks and social distanced for the entire evening. Once again, we kept a Zoom small group option for students who couldn't come or were uncomfortable with going in person. We wanted to be sure our last gathering of the summer was something special for everyone who's been involved all summer. I stayed with the Zoom group instead of going, but I saw pictures and watched our stream of the night, and seeing so many of our students together made me emotional! I'm really thankful for our patient, flexible students and can't wait for the day all of us get to be together again.

Our sermon that night was from one of our directors, Sarah, who encouraged us to trust God going into this year. Over and over again in scripture, we see God doing the seemingly impossible in the most unlikely situations. So why should we assume he couldn't do that now? It's easy to believe the lie that God is keeping good things from us. In fact, that's been the root of most lies I've been believing this month. But the truth is, God has given me more good things than I can count. Her message and the discussion I had in Zoom afterwards left me inspired and hopeful for the school year ahead of us. Here's a link to her sermon https://www.twitch.tv/videos/695806552 if you'd like to give it a listen!

A common pass time in my parents' home

Towards the end of the month, Alex and I took a trip to visit my family in Kansas City. It was so nice to get out of our apartment and be around other people for a few days. We didn't have any reasons to take pictures, but I caught this picture of my sister and her husband playing with our dogs one evening. That and playing games are pretty much what we do when we're all together. There are very few things that leave me feeling more rested than spending such simple, quality time with them.

All of the recommitting pastors and new apprentices getting ready for our ceremony! I'm on the far left.

Last week, we streamed a very short ordination and licensing ceremony for those of us making new commitments to FOCUS as well as for our new apprentices. We had two students come represent our student body and commission us as their pastors, then we in turn made commitments to serve them. Reflecting on the commitments we made and the scriptures behind them were a sweet reminder of why I've decided to commit to 4 more years in campus ministry. We're not here to be impressive or do the life-changing, I'm simply here to join in what God is already doing at Collin college. I get to point students to the bread of life, share the hope I have in Him, rejoice in His faithfulness I've seen over and over again. Here's a link to the ceremony if you'd like to watch it: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/695806552

Our fundraising season ended at the beginning of August, but since I haven't hit my maximum yet, I've still spent a portion of my time doing so. I only needed $150 more per month at the beginning of August and now I only need $50 more per month!! That's all thanks to each of you! I had a few unexpected surprises and gifts come in this last week. Thank you for your prayers, commitments, and generosity! I'm so thankful for this opportunity and looking forward to not only this school year, but the next four.

Prayer Requests:

• Summer is nearly over and school starts in two weeks! Please pray for our students returning to classes as well as new students going into a strange year. Collin College hasn't even finalized plans yet so I know students and families have a lot of questions and uncertainties about what things will look like in two weeks.
• Pray for our student leaders who are committing to 15 (give or take) hours a week of their own free time to serve others on our campuses. Pray for them to be confident in the Lord and willing to let Him work through them this year.
• Pray for our team as we continue to navigate ministry in the midst of a pandemic. It's hard to discern what's best and this is pretty new territory for, well, all of us.

I thank God for each and every one of you; please let me know how you're doing and how I can be praying for you!

With love,

Jacy