God's abundant goodness

Howdy everyone! 

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that is has been ten months since the apprenticeship started and now it is ending! This will be my last blog :( These have been some of the most challenging, healing, and joyful months of my life. I loved getting to work with God's people and see their hearts turned towards God. I feel like I am also walking away with a fuller understanding of who I am as a person and what it means to be a child of God. I'm in awe of God's character, how he brings hearts to him, and makes people more into the image of him. Thank you so much for investing in my ministry this year and all the cool neat things God was doing! There has been seeds placed and harvested, I know that y'alls support in this is going to bear fruit for years to come in the lives of people in my ministry and my life.

The apprentices during class and then watching the eclipse!

This is me and the other apprentices during class watching the eclipse whenever it happened. We were in Ronnie's class (who is in the pic on the left) which is our ministry essentials class. All of my apprentice classes were such a blessing! They definitly equipped me to be a better minister and also just ministered to me so much. Some of the classes we took were new testament foundations, old testament foundations, holy spirit, evangelism, and body stewardship, etc. Everything I learned in these classes I will carry on wherever I go to go serve the Lord and his people around me.

Sweet Jenna! I have been doing FOJ with her this spring semester! 

This is my core girl Jenna, we started doing FOJ this spring semester! I have loved getting to see her heart for others and the Lord. She felt like community was something that was missing in her walk with the Lord and was prompted to try out a community this semester, which she did and joined F.O.C.U.S. It's been sweet getting to become friends and learn more about God. I have been inspired by her commitment to core and she came consistently even if it wasn't comfortable. Love her so much! 

Roller Skating Hangout! Some people who came!

Me and Tania have been planning hangouts with the whole community this past spring semester! Some of the hangouts we planned were an ice cream night, movie night, roller skating night and also a volleyball night. The goal of these hangouts were to build community across different cores in our ministry. It was so sweet getting to see the different cores building relationships and loving each other so well. They were also just fun to get to do something fun with people in the community.

My cofa Jamie! 

Hangout after core!

This picture above is my sweet cofa and I! I have loved getting to lead with her this year. She's a fool for God, loves people fiercly, and is so much fun to be around. Jamie has taught me to love people better and has been such a sweet friend to me. I'm so proud of her in how she stepped out of her comfort zone to lead this year and how she loved our core girls so well. Our last night of core was such a sweet night, everyone was talking about how core had been impactful throughout the year and didn't want it to end. I definetly will miss getting to do life together, learn about God, and just be there for each other. We also did a powerpoint night and had dinner together which was so sweet and fun! And then after that we had a frozen custard hangout. 

          

The whole collin staff!

This is the whole collin staff team! These people have been such a blessing to be able to work with and also just in my own personal life. Each one of these people love people so well but more importantly point people to Jesus. I can tell that there's a river of flowing out of them of God's image, they use their freedom to serve one another humbly. I don't deserve them as coworkers! They also have been such a fun and chill group to work with!

Me and the apprentices at the end of year sermon!

Omg! We done and did it! The picture above is me and the other apprentices, I am so proud of each one of these friends. They have been such a blessing to get to do this year with them and have become lifelong friends. I have loved getting to learn about God with them, laugh with them and cry with them. Love each one of these individuals so much! And yes there is nine girl apprentices and only one guy apprentice this year lol.

 

I am so grateful for how God has worked this year in the ministry and in my own heart. The apprenticeship has been such a sweet gift that I will cherish forever. I can't wait to keep seeing how God will grow seeds that were planted this year and friendships. Your support has meant the world to me and I know the students are also grateful to you guys. You guys helped change young lives which will impact them forever and also their relationship with God. Which is so impactful!!

Some prayers to close us out: 

• Please pray for our students and that they would keep seeking community throughout the summer even if it's hard. 
• Please pray for our summer focus fellowship nights and that God would be stirring hearts during those nights. 
• Please also pray for our focus staff who are still fundraising and that God would remind them he will bring people their way and provide. 

In Christ,

Carolina

Howdy everyone!

 Howdy everyone! 

He is risen!! I hope everyone had a wonderful easter! It has been a month full of sweet moments that have been blessings and encouragements! Thank you so much again to all of you guys for supporting what God is doing at Collin. It would not be possible without you guys! 

TNF

Our Thursday night fellowship services have been so cool to experience! We have been trying to get people to think about what it means to worship! Things we have been emphasizing is that worship is not just something that happens whenever we gather to sing praises to God but it is something that we do most of the time. For example, whenever we think of a sunset being pretty or amazed at what God might be doing in our lives! We have also talked about how worship is devotion to God! 

Pictures from our TNF service! 

Impact week

     Another exciting that happened this month was impact week! This is an exciting week where we have people from a ministry we partner with a lot come down to Texas! This ministry is in Washington and these students came down during their spring break to do outreach on our campus. Which is so encouraging to see! It is also encouraging to see that other people in another state are on fire for the Lord and trying to bring Jesus to the students at their own campus. We did outreach out on campus everyday during the week. One of my favorite activities was that we got to do a shoe cleaning activity. I was so surprised by people's reaction in us asking if we could clean their shoes! A surprising amount said yes! We wanted to do this activity to show how our God serves people in ways that seem very low but actually show much he loves his people. As we cleaned their shoes we read John 13:17 to them! 

We also had a Texas themed night after our TNF service! We asked our students to come dressed in their best Texas attire. A lot of students from the washington ministry expressed how much fun they had during the night! Overall, I was so thankful for this week because it helped encourage me and also that we got to invite students into community!

Footwashing outreach activity!

Texas themed night!

Overall, it was such a great month! Thank you so much again for your continual support of our ministry! I'm so excited you guys partner with us in what God is doing at Collin.

Prayer Requests

• Please join me in praying as the semester wraps up! Pray that we would have the wisdom to know how to set up our students up for success this summer. 
• Pray that the spirit would stir in their hearts to stay connected to community throughout the summer. 
• Please pray for our upcoming SICM conference in Washington! That our students would be open to what God wants to do there and also that he would show us potential leaders. 

In Christ,

Carolina

A feburary full of God's goodness!

Hello everyone!! 

It's now March which is crazy! This past month of February was full of so many good things and I can't wait to share them with you! But first thank you so much for y'alls support it shows me God's love and your heart to share the goodness of God with people! 

CORE has been going well! As I mentioned we had some people transfer so our group is smaller this semester. However, our group being smaller has opened the door for deeper conversations and people be more vulnerable! It has also been sweet to see in core that people are pointing people to God when they share! It shows how they care about each and want to share the goodness of God with others! Additionally, I also have seen our group be closer as a result of being smaller which is so good! This past week we had two new people join which was exciting! They both expressed after CORE that this was one of the few times that they've been to a small group and have felt comfortable sharing even though they were new! 

This month the apprentices at Collin helped host a Galentine's party! It was the most sweetest and genuine thing ever! It was on Valentine's Day and we hosted it at one the apprentice's apartments. About twenty to twenty-five people came! We had snacks, blind karaoke, and everyone dressed up! I was so encouraged by seeing everyone there and wanting to get to know each other! It was also my first time being at a Galentine's party which was special because of how genuine and loving it was! 

Me and part of my core at the Galentine's party! I love this girls!

Me and my core girls as we try to carry Jamie!

Everyone at the Galentine's party!

Pizza theology happened last week! It was such a fun and insightful time! Pizza theology is one of our bigger events where we talk about bigger theological topics. This semester's pizza theology was about the bible! Specifically, it focused on what does it mean the bible is inspired or how do you even start to read/study the bible! This is such an important event because it gives our students who are in college a way to deepen their faith at a college level. This event is not to just gain knowledge but to help people see more how good our God is! And I believe that is what happened from hearing from students! They expressed how it was so helpful to go because helped give them a basis on how to read the bible. Some of them expressed that they are super excited to engage with scripture now and also that they never have had an opportunity like this! And also the reason we call it pizza theology is because we have pizza for dinner!

People getting pizza during pizza theology!

Peter one of the staff members talking during Pizza Theology!

Another exciting event we had was A night of black church! It was so sweet and fun! BLISS is a subgroup of UTD focus that stands for black lives in soulful solidarity! And they wanted to celebrate black history month by paying homage to the black church! It was cool to see another way people praise the Lord!

The apprentices at night of black church! 

Thank you so much again for your continual support! You guys make it possible to be on campus sharing the goodness of God with students who desperately need it! I hope you guys are doing well and would love to hear what God is doing in y'alls lives! If there is any way I can be praying y'all please let me know!

Prayer requests

• Please pray for the staff and corefas as they meet with students that they would lean into the Lord's wisdom and not their own!
• Please pray for the Wylie northeast church as they try to find a new building to meet in! This the church I go to! 
• Please pray for our impact week in March! This where students from a ministry FOCUS partners with come down from Washington during their spring break and do ministry on campus with us! Pray that the hearts of the students we are outreaching to would be open to encountering the goodness of God! 

In Christ, 

Carolina 

A new semester! Grace upon grace!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope everyone's holidays were splendid and that you guys have had a wonderful first month of 2024! It's been a while since I last sent out a post but I am so excited to tell you guys what we have been up to these past two months. But first I would like to thank all of you guys for continuing to pray and support me! You guys are truly making a difference in the lives of these students! 

First off, core last ended on a really sweet note! It was really encouraging to reflect on how God had been working in their lives from when I met them up until the end of the semester. I'm excited for this new semester and to see how God will keep working in their lives. Me and Jamie's core is a bit smaller since some of our girls transferred! In the picture below is Rachel! She graduated from Collin this semester and is transferring to UNT! This past semester was her first semester in FOCUS and has expressed how God knew that she needed a genuine Christ-centered community and is super grateful that he brought her to FOCUS! She plans to still be in FOCUS at UNT! I'm excited to keep seeing how God works in her life and through her! 

WINTER RETREAT!!! We had winter retreat this past month Jan 12th to Jan 15th! It was such a cool exprience getting to see everyone there and learn more about what our speaker had to say! We only had one girl from our core come to winter retreat but she ended up loving it! She expressed how she was pretty nervous at first to come but was so glad she came! She expressed how everything she had been feeling like God was telling her clicked during the sermons. Dr. Lee was our speaker this year for the winter retreat and he talked about disruptive grace which means that we don't realize how much better God is than what we have built him out to be. Another encouraging part of winter retreat was sunday night whenever we read scripture in different languages. The students were encouraged that if they spoke a second language they can come up and speak those verses in their second language. It was really cool, I started to tear up as I was hearing all the different languages because it showed how God is moving in different cultures besides the one I live in.

The gospel choir at winter retreat!

These are the apprentices at our staff Christmas party! I have been so encouraged by each one of them and they way have supported me and each other. The staff Christmas party was such a sweet time! It was awesome getting to have dinner with them and reflect on the semester. I can't believe that the apprenticeship is more than halfway over! It feels like just yesterday it was August and the semester was starting. 

Something I feel like God has been teaching me through the apprenticeship is what he means that he delights in us. I feel like I have always thought when I heard that God delights in us I thought to myself "Duh, of course he delights in us". But I don't think it fully clicked the depth of what he means that he delights in us until recently when we read in our holy spirit class Ephesians 1:13 which talks about how we're marked with the Holy Spirit whenever we believe in Jesus. And in that time period sealing something meant that it's given ownership and carries the protection of the owner wherever it goes! I thought that this was the coolest thing ever! It showed me again how much God delights in us! 

Prayer Requests

• Please pray that more people would be open to learning about Jesus and community and that they would come to core! 
• Please pray for my church Wylie Northeast as we look for a new building to meet in. 
• Please pray for our FOJs (one on one bible studies), that whatever God wants to do through these studies that people would be open to it. 
• Please pray for our corefas (student leaders) that they would be excited and lean into God as they guide people this semester. 

In Christ,

Carolina

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Oh my goodness I cannot believe November is over and the end of the semester is near! It has been such a sweet, encouraging, and busy time! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have been reflecting a lot on how good God has been to me in the simplest of things! Which has been very encouraging to see and be thankful for.  Praying that this season of holidays is awesome for you guys!

Core

Core has been so sweet! I am really encouraged to see how God has been working in each of these girls' lives! The girls in my Core have also been becoming closer with each other! This is so sweet because it shows that they desire to build community in core and want to be part of each other's lives outside of the core. I have also enjoyed getting to see them outside of core throughout the week! One-on-one ministry is definitely essential! You get to know one another more personally and deeply than maybe you would in a group setting! 

This is Alex! I am studying FOJ (Focus on Jesus bible study) with her! I have been really encouraged by our conversations and how she wants to intimately pursue Jesus. This is us going to see the new Hunger Games movie! It was a lot of fun!

This is Jamie and me while planning core! Getting to lead core with Jamie has been one of my favorite things this year! She really cares about the people in core and wants to see them pursue Jesus! She is also very intelligent and fun!

Pizza Theology

This past month we had our Pizza Theology where we got to dive deeper into big topics surrounding our society. This pizza theology Iain Provan came who is a professor at Regent College in Canada. This semester's pizza theology was over "What does it mean to be human?", it was focused primarily on how there are ideas in our society that have affected how we think it means to be human. He also talked a lot about how we often accept ideas and don't really think about it for ourselves. I found this very interesting and have been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks!

A picture of our Pizza Theology event! 

Classes

My classes have been very thought-provoking and I have been learning a lot of things! I have found my evangelism class to be very interesting! Personally, I have never gotten the chance to think about evangelism deeply. It has been interesting to think through what evangelism means and also what is it supposed to look like. We discussed in class that evangelism is supposed to be both action and words. I found this helpful because oftentimes I find myself thinking that when tell someone about Jesus I need to say the right thing so they will follow but it is helpful to know that our actions matter also and not just words. 

Extra pictures:

This is Monika! I met up with her this past month and it was so sweet! I was surprised to see that our stories are pretty similar which was so cool to hear and see! 

This is me, Clara, and Mackenzie at our Collin Ladies brunch we had this past month! I loved getting to see outside of things I would normally see them!

Thank you so much again to all of you guys for praying and supporting me! I cannot believe that I get to do this and also you are taking part of in what God is doing in the lives of these students! Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas! 

Prayer Requests

• Please be praying for the students as they wrap up finals! Pray that they would lean on God and be given endurance! 
• Please also pray that the students will have an awesome break! That they would still reach out to the community and lean on God. Pray that they would be good stewards of their time as well over the break. 
• Please pray for our winter retreat coming up! Pray that the students can come and if they have any hesitation they will talk about it with someone! Please also pray that the hearts of the staff and students will be prepared for winter retreat in how God wants to work. 

In Christ,

Carolina :)

Oh, what a sweet month!

Hey y'all! Oh, what a sweet month of ministry it has been! It has been full of sweet surprises in seeing how God is working! But first I would like to thank you guys for supporting me and what God is doing at Collin! 

 We had a Latin X outreach event this month to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! This was really sweet getting to students who are also Hispanic light up whenever they saw our event! We taught dances such as cumbia and bachata. We also had Hispanic candies! Getting to go the cultural events as a student was always so special to me! It made me feel even more seen and I loved getting to hang out with people in sharing my culture! Some of the students we met came and checked out our other FOCUS events!

This is a picture of us practicing cumbia at the Latin X outreach event!

CORE (our small groups) has been so sweet and encouraging this past month! Me and my coleader Jamie's core started out with two people but now it has grown to around ten people! I know it isn't about how many people are in our CORE but it is encouraging to see how God has brought people randomly to our group from places that I didn't expect! Most of my CORE is new believers which has been so awesome to see! They are all on fire for God and it is so cool to see how they accepted Jesus and now are here. Me and my core have been exploring what it means to make our heart Christs' home! 

This is me and my core at the state fair! It was sweet getting to see them outside of core and be able to bond!

This is Alex! She joined CORE about three weeks ago! I study Focus on Jesus with her which is a ten week bible study on different topics such as "What's Jesus Like?" or "Faith, Love, and Obedience". Getting to study FOJ with Alex has been so sweet! She always has questions and loves getting to learn about the Lord. She accepted Jesus a couple months ago and is eager to learn as much as she can about Jesus! Her enthusiasm for wanting to know more about the Lord is so encouraging!

This is Alex! I have loved getting to study the bible with her these past three weeks!

Fall retreat was this past weekend! It was SO fruitful and life-giving for the whole community. Fall retreat is a twenty-four-hour retreat at Mount Lebanon camp. Having Fall retreat every year is essential because it helps bond people in core and also the whole community. We have a couple of sessions throughout the retreat. On Saturday night we had a worship night that was planned by two of our students. The worship night was one of my favorite parts of the retreat! There were different worship stations and these seemed to be very meaningful for students. The worship stations included praise, lament, and thankfulness! Some of the guys during the worship started dancing in a circle and hugging each other. This was really sweet! It showed how much they wanted to be there and praise God together! 

Here is a picture of me and the girls from my core who came to Fall Retreat! I love getting to do life with them!

Here's a picture of the worship night we had at Fall Retreat!

One final thing, I have loved getting to be in the apprenticeship classes! We just finished getting to read over the Psalms. For our Old Testament class, we listen to lectures, read a textbook, and read our bible. While we were studying Psalms I learned that over half the Psalms are about lament and eventually progress to praise which is so cool! I found this very interesting because it shows that it is okay to lament and bring the things we are struggling with to God. Another interesting thing I learned about Psalms is that Psalm 119 is an acrostic Psalm which is so cool! 

This month was full of such sweet moments! I am so thankful that I get to do this. Thank you all for your support and prayers! All Glory to God! 

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for our Pizza Theology event coming up! It is on Nov. 5th! This is an event we host every semester where spend a couple of hours learning about a certain topic. This semester's topic is "What does it mean to be human?". Please pray that students will be excited to come and learn!
• Please pray for the girls in my core as they keep seeking Jesus! Pray that they would always seek him and put him first. 
• Pray for our Keep Focus Growing fundraiser on Nov. 28th and that people would give if they feel led to! 

In Christ,

Carolina

It's September!!

 Wow, I cannot believe that I am already almost two months into the apprenticeship! It has been such a busy past month but filled with sweet blessings! However, first I wanna say thank you so much to everyone who is supporting me throughout the apprenticeship! I keep learning over and over what a sweet gift it is to work in ministering to students! You guys make it possible for us to be on campus. I love that this is my full-time job! :)

We hit the ground running with Welcome week! This week was filled with such neat things! If you don't know what welcome week it is we have intentional events to meet people in order to build our cores (small groups). It's always important to do welcome week because that is when students are most willing to try new things and join organizations! 

  This is me and some of the corefas during one of our welcome week events!

We had our kickoff TNF this past month which was so sweet and encouraging! TNF stands for Thursday night fellowship, it's our worship service! During our service we always start off with worship music and then have a message, afterwards, people will go and hang out! It is always one of my favorite nights of the week because you get to see how God is working throughout the whole community. We had around 120 people show up which was so great! Not because of the number of people but because it showed how hard everyone had been working during welcome week in inviting people to the community! 

This is a picture from our first TNF! :)

This is me and my core (our small groups) ! I have really loved getting to know each of these girls and building a relationship with them. It is so encouraging and sweet to see how God has been working in their lives since before I met them. It is also so encouraging to see how passionate they are about following and learning about Jesus! A lot of them have mentioned that they came across F.O.C.U.S. at a perfect time and it's like God knew they needed community. That has been really encouraging to hear because it shows how God is working! I am really excited to get to pour into them and learn from them as the year goes on. They already have such a big space in my heart!

This is my core! I love them so much already!

Here is me and the apprentices at our monthly sabbath dinner! We decided to have monthly sabbath dinners where one apprentice at their home and we each bring a dish to share! This past month's theme was breakfast foods so everyone brought breakfast foods! It was a  sweet time to get to see the other apprentices outside of class and just hang out. We only get to see the apprentices who are not on our campus during class! I love them dearly!

Me and some of the apprentices at our monthly sabbath dinner!

Thank you so much again for partnering with me in ministry! You guys are such a big part of why we get to do what we do! I would love to hear from you guys and how I can be praying for you!

Prayer requests

• Please pray for my CORE and that they would let God continue to work in their hearts! And that they would draw nearer to him!
• Please pray also for our upcoming fall retreat in October! This is a 24-hour retreat where we get to worship together, listen to messages, and also just build community! Please pray that we will learn more about God and also grow closer as a whole community and CORE.

In Christ,

Carolina

Kickoff to the school year!

I can't believe the apprenticeship is finally here! I am so pumped about it! Thank you so much to everyone who is supporting me financially and through prayer. It is so encouraging to know that all of y'all are excited and want to invest in campus ministry. You guys make it possible for us to be on campus! On this blog, I'll be posting monthly updates about how God is working throughout the apprenticeship!

Our first day was August 1st where we started the apprenticeship with orientation and old testament class. I am so excited to be reading through the old testament, the first we week read through the first five books of the old testament! I am already learning so much from just these past couple of weeks and can't wait to use what I have learned in ministry! One thing that has really stuck out to me is God's faithfulness to his people in the Old Testament, it blows my mind to see how faithful and merciful he was to them!

Here is a picture of all the apprentices during OT class! 

This is all the apprentices at FOCUS licensing ceremony which was so sweet and encouraging! During this ceremony, the apprentices and re-committing staff make commitments to set Christ-like examples and serve their campuses faithfully throughout the school year. During the ceremony, I realized what an awesome opportunity that I get to serve God in this way! This ceremony made me more excited for what I'll be doing this coming school year!

Here are the apprentices before the licensing ceremony! We thought it would be funny to carry David since he's the only guy apprentice!

The staff goes on a four-day retreat at the beginning of every semester. This retreat that happens at the beginning helps the staff prepare for the upcoming school year. It was so encouraging getting to go to this because I came out of it feeling prepared for the school year and so encouraged that I get to be part of this team! I felt like I learned a lot from the short time at retreat! Our time at staff retreat was filled with fellowship and also sermons that helped us think about ministry for this coming school year. One thing I walked away from staff retreat is that we need to be rooted in him while doing ministry because he is the one who works through us and get our strength from him.

 Here is a picture of all the apprentices at staff retreat!

Here is the staff from all the F.O.C.U.S. campuses during staff retreat! :)

Thank you so much again to everyone who is supproting me through prayer or on my support team financially. It is so encouraging to know you guys want to invest in what God is doing on DFW campuses! I'm so excited to see what God will do this year and can't wait to tell y'all!

Prayer Requests

• Pray that as we are on campus this week that the student's would be open to what God wants to do in their life and also to community!
  
• Pray that as we try to reach these students we would be bold and not listen to fear! That we would listen to the spirit in who he wants us to reach out to. 
• Pray for the staff, professors, and other employees that they would be able to love these students well!

In Christ,

Carolina :)