Tuesday, April 4, 2017

April's Update

One of our TWU-Dallas cores meeting during the week!
Hey friends!

I’m so excited to share with you all the fun things this crazy month was filled with! The Lord has really blessed me with fun memories and by allowing me to participate in His work, and now He is blessing me with lots of sleep.

Spring Break:
The second week of March, I got to fly out to Nashville to see my family! Almost all of my immediate family, excluding my mom and stepdad who live in Florida, live there.  It was so fun getting to spend time with them and to have the week to relax some before the upcoming weeks of SSI and Spring Showcase planning. We watched a lot of college basketball, and my sister and I got go see my older brother and his family, as well as two of my stepsisters. I am so thankful for my family, and that I am lucky enough to have a nice break off in the middle of the semester to go see them.
We did an Escape Room together, and had so much fun doing it!
Student Spring Impact (SSI) Week:
We visited the Dallas Aquarium for their fun day in TX!
The week all of our students returned from their spring breaks, we hosted a group of 12 (10 students and 2 leaders) from Bellingham, Washington on their spring break. They came down to spend the week with us on our campuses doing outreach and connecting with students. The SSI students had fun-filled days, with some days going from 9am to 10pm! It would be fair to say they were exhausted, but they did not let that overcome them at any point. They prayed for each other, fearlessly went out onto our campuses and invited people in to play a game or have conversations with them, and laughed together a lot. I was honored to get to spend a large chunk of time with them, by driving a few of them around, going to dinner with them to a family’s home who provided our meal for us, and by having conversations with them and other students around our campuses. They brought me so much joy by how kind and vulnerable they were, and how they began the trip not knowing each other well and us at all, and left with deep friendships. It makes me thankful for social media, because now it’s a lot easier for me to maintain friendships with them across the country.

The group on their trip down to DFW
Two of the girls I got to know during the week, Alena and Emily
Students playing four square on the Mall.

Spring Showcase:
This was just a few days ago, and it was amazing! For those who got to come, I would love to hear how it went for you. For those who didn’t get to make it, let me tell you some about it. This year we are sending 89 students to SICM in Washington, and the Spring Showcase is our big annual fundraiser that we put on to help cover the costs for students attending. The church opened their building to us free of charge, and our performers and artists shared their talents and gave their time for the cause as well. It was a phenomenal show, and I was amazed by the kindness and generosity of everyone who attended. Thank you for any contribution you made towards the showcase and our SICM students in any way. Whether that is buying a ticket, purchasing art, volunteering your time, performing, or a donation – Thank you! It means so much, and it will go a long way in the investment in these students’ lives and those around them.
This group did an amazing job performing an Adele song.
Jordy and Kylie performing "That's What's Up".
This was such a fun performance to watch, and a little different than most of the others. But everyone loved it! I included a video recorded of the performance below for you to watch if you'd like. It is "Trashin' the Camp" from Tarzan.
(Spring Showcase photos from Sean Do.)



Thank you guys for reflecting God’s love and faithfulness to me throughout this year. Each one of you are such an encouragement to me, and I love when I get to see you. Thank you for being willing to make sacrifices to support myself and this ministry, and for taking the time to be in prayer over what God is doing. Please be in prayer for myself in the next month, as I come to a decision in regards to graduate school next Fall, and continue ministering to the girls God has placed in my life. Also, please pray for staff and the new 2017-2018 apprentices as they began this fundraising season, and for the staff transitioning off. It is exciting, but also a little frightening when we adventure into the next phase of life.

I love you guys so much. Please let me know how I can be praying for you. I am so thankful for each one of y’all.