October
Here are some moments from October!
We kicked off the month going to UTDs National Night Out where we were blessed with a jazz ensemble and singing performance, with vocals by a core member named Renae George. When I tell yall she can sing… She can saaaaang. She even has an EP on Spotify! Just type in her name or the EP title “Beauty For Ashes” on Spotify! The last track entitled “Rest” is probably my all-time favorite song/theme song for the month of October.
Me and my core members at National Night Out!
This is us doing modern day foot washing as an outreach event. Instead of washing peoples actual feet, we decided to clean their shoes. We got this idea from the UTA pastoral team. They said they did it and it was a great turnout at their campus, so we decided to try it. This was probably one of my most favorite outreach activities we ever have done. So many people would ask us why we were doing this, and we got to ask them if they knew the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet. I’m pretty sure that collectively, each person had never heard of the story so we were able to tell them about it. It was cool because telling them the story that the activity came from immediately opened up the door for them to be able to ask more spiritual questions and us have more spiritual conversation. It removed the awkwardness of approaching people cold and asking them if they would like to join a Bible study or a small group or if they know about Jesus. I was able to paint a vivid picture of Jesus and why I loved him to every person whose shoes I cleaned. It was so special!
What would October in Texas be without the Texas state fair! This is me with a core member (Morolake) former FOCUS coworkers/friends (Michelle and Andrea).
Meet Arielle. She was in my very first core as an apprentice with FOCUS. I had the privilege of studying the Bible with her as well as baptize her. It was so good to catch up with her, pray over her, and speak truth into her life. I am so proud of the way that she has chosen to lean into community even though this season of her life currently pulls her in other directions. In spite of not being able to continue in her education at UT Dallas, I have probably seen her at more Friday Night Fellowships than some other students 😊
Meet Chloe, Serenity, and Madi. These girls are some of my favorite girls to study the Bible with. They reminded me so much of myself in a lot of ways, but mostly in their hunger and thirst, to know God. They are all very deep thinkers, intelligent, and remember the things that we talk about. It is evident that they each have a heart that is curious and wants to learn and grow. Studying the Bible with them is probably one of the highlights every week.
This is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at FOCUS 😊 say hi to Daijon (in the back) and Emmanuel (in the front)
This is a snapshot from our Noche de Baile after event. In celebration of Hispanic heritage month, we learned some Hispanic dances and dance the night away.💃🏾… I’ll give you bonus points if you can guess who taught those dance 🙃🤭
A snapshot of Renae, and another of our fellow coworkers, Siena, hanging out and strategically planning out things for our ministry over at SMU. This is what my apartment looks like in case you ever wondered! Fun fact… All of this furniture is off of the street!!! Text me if you want to know the backstory😎
Core moments at FNF!
Our annual skate party for Bliss! It was a great turn out…we got three newcomers! One of them even joined my Core! This was successful, because that was the goal!
Everyone meet Laiya. She feels like my bonus little sister. Laiya is probably one of my favorite people. Not only is she super talented at doing my hair and other black girls hair within our Focus community, but she is also wise beyond her years and incredibly funny. Getting my hair done by Laiya is a cherished time every time 🥰.
The process. Can you guess how many hours it took?
This is a picture of our UTD pastoral staff, eating lunch together before our day of Sabbath rest. We took time to pray through the people in our ministry, as well as the people in our personal lives. It was very fruitful and life-giving.
My view from my hammock on our Sabbath day.
This is what learning together at FNF looks like ♡
This is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at FOCUS 😊
Friday night Fellowship after event!
My core! This night we talked about the question, “What would it take for you to see people the way Jesus sees them?” It was a lively discussion.
A parking lot hang out after Core!
This is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at FOCUS 😊 Everyone, meet Gordon
This is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at FOCUS 😊
This is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at FOCUS 😊
The coolest cats in town haha. Believe it or not this is the only photo I got from our Halloween party. They aren’t the most festive lol.
TIKTOKS!
Thank you so much if you made it to the end of this blog! And even if you didn’t make it to the end of this blog, thank you so much! Thank you for being on my support team. Thank you for being willing to invest in my role in this ministry. Thank you for giving me the chance to learn what it looks like to share Jesus, and take part in his way of living. I would not be able to have this much fun without your generosity.
