October Update!

Hello friends and family,

Fall is finally here and a lot of really cool things have been going on in the ministry already this season.  Fall is my favorite time of the year and I cannot wait to see and update y’all on what God is doing at UTD for the rest of the semester!  I have had some technical difficulties with learning how to send out this blog so if you are reading this know that there were two posts prior. If you get a free moment check them out!  Lets dive in to what happened the last month!

Fall Camp

Our largest event that happened this past month was fall camp.  Fall camp is a weekend retreat where the students can go and for a weekend of rest, friends and to grow and learn about God.  This year there was a couple sermons, student sharing and worship.  The topic of the year was making decisions and choosing to follow Jesus.  Following Jesus usually comes at a cost.  Some students have to change their habits, lose relationships friends or even family members and sometimes even change their dreams.  This is a hard shift for a lot of students.  Jesus did not promise discipleship to be easy all of the time, but he did say that we will have life to the full if we follow him and that is what we are trying to teach through fall camp.  Fall camp has been very benefical for a lot of student to grow closer to God and closer to community. 

Here are some pictures:

This year I got to speak to the community about key
decisions I made and things I had to leave behind
in order to follow Jesus. 

Pictured here is Catherine, Me and Caroline.
These are two UTD students.  They are some of
the most encouraging people I know, and love people
very well.  I enjoy getting to do ministry with them! 

This was one of the multiple crafts tables
at fall camp.  This is how we spent some of the
free time.  It was bonding and a huge hit!

This was our group picture at fall camp and most of our
ministry at UTD!

CORE

This month I have spent a lot of time with my small group girls which is a large part of my ministry. I have been getting to know them and living life with them.  I has been a joy to get to know them that to help them learn about God and guide them in faith.  I get to spend weekly time with most of them studying the bible and building a deep friendship with them.  One day I will have a picture of them to show and talk about them in a more personal way, but for now just know they are pretty great! 

Lastly, I am going to end with more of a personal update.  Earlier this month I got engaged to my new fiance Jason!  He is the one of the most gentle, kind, patience and encouraging people I know.  He is my biggest fan and I could not be more excited to marry him!  Be on the lookout for an invite to our wedding! :)

One of my favorite pictures of us!

This has been another great month at UTD with our ministry.  Because of your gifts we got to have another successful fall camp and get to meet with students one on one and give each person in our ministry friendship and support to make them feel important.  Our students are getting to deepen their faith which is something to praise God about. 

Ways you can pray this month

• Directions for the staff on how to lead the students and help them figure out hard situations that come with following Jesus
• That our staff stays energized and healthy so we can give the best for our students
• That our students are successful and remain healthy in the midst of midterm season and struggles of college.
• For Jason and I as we have begun to plan our wedding.  Pray that this process is not too stressful and that we honor people in this season.  

With thankfulness, 

Erin Campbell