August

Hello friends! Welcome to my ministry blog!

    My hope for this blog is to give you a look into what you are accomplishing on college campuses through your partnership with me and FOCUS (Fellowship of Christian University Students). I want you to see a glimpse of what your generous spirit and prayer is doing in the lives of students daily and I hope that the stories I share each month will encourage you and bolster your faith in Jesus as you each turn to your own daily ministries. 

    I will quickly attempt to catch everyone up on my life but just a fair warning- it has been a whirlwind of events!

    I graduated from UNT this past spring and enjoyed my last summer in Denton with a bittersweet heart as I prepared to move into both a new stage of life and a new home in Wylie. Alongside this I began fundraising for the upcoming year and though I was apprehensive about this task at first, I found it to be a joyful task in the end! I was daily telling my friends and family about FOCUS ministries and what God had done in my life and in all these college student's lives before me. It was so cool to see my community get excited about what God is doing! Lastly, and somewhat important for you to know, I got married! Woohoo! My husband, Wilson, and I met in college while serving as leaders in FOCUS and our wedding was such a special testimony to the loving community God has given both of us. We have now officially unpacked everything and settled in, just in time for the beginning of my Apprenticeship and the new school year.

August Happenings:

We finally made it! The beginning of a new year is always so emotion-filled this one especially with so many changes lining up at once. We are saying goodbye to summer rhythms and stepping into the changes a new semester will bring! So exciting and opportunity filled!

In preparation for the school year our staff went on a retreat to center our hearts on God's will, plan out our next semester and build team dynamics. I was so encouraged by how supportive and friendly all the FOCUS staff were toward me and my fellow apprentices. I felt so cared for and saw how much prayer and thought staff put into how they minister to students according to their needs. 

 

Alongside prepping for the first week of school, Apprentices got to have a 2 week bible bootcamp of sorts where we spent entire days reading scripture, listening to graduate level lectures over the material, and discussing what we learned with our teacher (and FOCUS director), Brandon Worsham. So in the course of 2 weeks we had read Genesis through Jeremiah! This back to back reading of multiple books helped pull out a more comprehensive overview of themes running throughout the scripture as a whole - ideas like God's persistent mercy and generosity are so consistent in each book! I have a newfound respect for the Bible's beautiful literature and for our Creator's beautiful character.

School Begins!

This past week was Collin College's first week of school! Staff and students alike were out on campuses meeting students and inviting them into friendship, community, and fun! Our goal was to be present, excited, and obedient to whatever God led us to each day as we reached out to all the incoming freshmen and returning students. Your prayers and support have enable me to speak to so many students who are eager for friendship! Each person I met had a unique story and hope for their life and in talking to them I could see an even bigger hope that God had for them- that they would know Him, know His love, and find a home among His people. That might be a bit poetic in how it is phrased but it is so true! God slowly reveals Himself to us and all people day by day that they may know true life. With this in mind, my days, though long and exhausting, were filled with hope. I know that our Father will care for these students throughout their lives and I am so grateful to be a small piece in that process!

 

I look forward to all the good God has in store for the rest of the year and I am so grateful to share this mission and ministry with you!

With love and blessings, Katherine Daggett