Hi Friends!!

Hi friends!! It’s still hard to believe that I am here, I can’t believe that I get to do campus ministry full time. I feel so honored that through your help, I am able to do this. If you don’t know me super well, I found this ministry at Collin College when I was a sad baby freshman who wanted friends. Like every freshman at Collin, I didn’t want to be there. I started praying that God would give me a couple of friends who loved Jesus. Then my friend Michael and Annie, who I knew from church, started inviting me to FOCUS. I fought them on it for a while but eventually I found my way there. I went to FOCUS’s winter camp and was hooked. God gave me what I had been praying for and multiplied it. The girls I met that weekend are still some of my closest friends today. 

  

Kelleigh and Renee are some of the girls I met my freshman year, 

they are some of my closet friends.

 Sometimes I wonder, what if Michael and Annie hadn’t been faithful with inviting me, where would I be today? This community has become my family and has walked through a lot of hard things with me. What would my life look like today if I never found FOCUS? All of the good things in my life have been the product of buying into community and pursuing Jesus. I think this is what gets me so excited to do campus ministry. I get to repay what was so sweetly given to me. I get to love on Freshman girls and help them experience the goodness of community. 

  

It really does blow my mind how good community is. I have so many sweet friends and not even half of them are pictured! 

The apprenticeship started August 1st and we jumped in fast and furiously. We had a staff retreat our first weekend which was so fun! I somewhat know the UTD staff, but this weekend was great to just spend time with them and to get on the same page before the school year started.  Throughout the first semester we are reading the Old Testament and having classes lead by various staff members. We are at the church every day from 9-6 reading the bible and other resources. As of today, I have ready Genesis- 2 Kings! It’s crazy that we have read so much but still have so much to go! It’s been so neat to get to see the heart of God throughout reading the scriptures. Last weekend, we had our Corefa Prep weekend (Corefa’s are our core facilitators and Core’s are what we call our small groups). I was so encouraged to meet the student leaders at UTD. I spent most of my time getting to know the girls and I am so excited for the group we have. They are so incredibly sweet and inclusive. Some of them even asked how I was and wanted to make sure I was included. They seem to be open to what God is doing and they are eager to jump in on it.

                

Here's a few little snapshots of the apprenticeship so far!

• Please be praying for all of the incoming freshmen, the ones who are moving onto campus and the commuters, that they would find community and feel valued at UTD. 
• Please pray for our international students. I knew that UTD had a large international population but I had no idea how big! We are getting the opportunity to minister to future leaders in not just our country but all over the world!
• Please be praying for our student leaders and returners who do so much for our ministry. Pray that God gives them a spirit of boldness and perseverance. Pray that they remember that God doesn’t give a spirit of fear but a spirit of power (2 Timothy 1:7)
• Please pray for the students who are transferring from different colleges and universities. Transferring can be so hard. Please pray that that transition will go seamlessly. 
• Please pray for the girls I will be meeting. Pray that I won’t say people’s no’s for them. I am making Romans 10:14 be my verse for the year, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”.  Please pray that my small group (core) will be a place of deep friendship. 
• I am still not yet fully fundraised. I am praying that God will provide another $350 a month to help get closer to my goal.  I know he is good and faithful so I am not too worried about that. If you know anyone who would be interested in joining my support team, please let me know! 
  
  
  
  

  

  I'm selling T-shirts to help support the apprenticeship. They are comfort colors and $20 (an extra $2 for 2xl and 3xl). I can also ship for an extra $5! You can Venmo me your size at Ashley-Obregon.

  
  

  
  

XO XO PREACHER GRL