New Happy Year!
Greetings friends and family!
I hope your holiday season was filled with rest and quality time with the people you love! At UTD we ended the semester with a sweet Christmas service were we got to celebrate Jesus entry into the world and then got to have a party were we got to have some snacks, games and Christmas themed karoke. It was a lot of fun and is always a sweet time to get to hang out with the community. Then the staff got a two week break to celebrate the holidays with loved ones and get to rest to be recharged for the next semester! I spent my break with my family and friends and got to spend some extra quality time with Jason. We spent a lot of time planning for our upcoming wedding which was such a sweet time! Now I am back at work and have some cool updates for you!
KEEP FOCUS GROWING
I wanted to start with some good news! In my last blog I wrote about our annual keep focus growing fundraiser where we were trying to raise 41,000 dollars and then a few generous donors would match that amount to have us raise a total of 82,000 dollars! We ended up receiving over 92,000 dollars in donations and matching funds which exceeded our goal. It is so cool to see God provide year after year in order to keep focus running and growing!
SERMONS
As an assignment all of the 12 apprentices gave a sermon title This is My Gospel. For me it was the first sermon I have ever given in a church setting. It was such cool experience. The sermon was about how we have seen God through the gospel, how we see God in ourselves and how we see God in other people. Through the experience of writing and giving the sermon I was filled with gratitude for what God has done in my life and how He was changed me through the years. He has made believe in my worth, is relational with us and calls us to be a light to others which is what my sermon was about! I then got to hear 11 other people whom I love dearly talk about what God has done for them. It was a great experience and reminded me why I wanted to do ministry in the first place.
STAFF RETREAT
Lastly, this past week the staff got to go on a retreat to bond and recenter before starting a new semester! It was so great to spend a few days with my co workers and my closest friends. We had Brady and Shirley Bobbink come all the way from Bellingham Washington to speak to us and teach us about campus ministry. They are campus ministers up in Washington and they are a huge reason of why we have FOCUS here in the DFW area today. They are very wise and it was such a blessing to learn from them!
WAYS TO PRAY
THANK YOU!!
As always thank you for your partnership and support! We could do this and reach all of these students if it were not for you! If there is anything I can do for you please let me know!
With love,
Erin Campbell
| The most recent picture I have of my family. These are the people I get to spend the holidays with. My parents, grandparents aunt, uncle, cousin, sister, brother-in-law and my soon to be husband Jason. The cute little baby in the front is Grayson my nephew he is the coolest of us all. They are a treat to get to spend the holidays with. |
KEEP FOCUS GROWING
I wanted to start with some good news! In my last blog I wrote about our annual keep focus growing fundraiser where we were trying to raise 41,000 dollars and then a few generous donors would match that amount to have us raise a total of 82,000 dollars! We ended up receiving over 92,000 dollars in donations and matching funds which exceeded our goal. It is so cool to see God provide year after year in order to keep focus running and growing!
SERMONS
As an assignment all of the 12 apprentices gave a sermon title This is My Gospel. For me it was the first sermon I have ever given in a church setting. It was such cool experience. The sermon was about how we have seen God through the gospel, how we see God in ourselves and how we see God in other people. Through the experience of writing and giving the sermon I was filled with gratitude for what God has done in my life and how He was changed me through the years. He has made believe in my worth, is relational with us and calls us to be a light to others which is what my sermon was about! I then got to hear 11 other people whom I love dearly talk about what God has done for them. It was a great experience and reminded me why I wanted to do ministry in the first place.
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| These are the 12 apprentices I am always talking about and we are the ones who gave the sermons. They are great co workers and friends. I am better for knowing them. |
STAFF RETREAT
Lastly, this past week the staff got to go on a retreat to bond and recenter before starting a new semester! It was so great to spend a few days with my co workers and my closest friends. We had Brady and Shirley Bobbink come all the way from Bellingham Washington to speak to us and teach us about campus ministry. They are campus ministers up in Washington and they are a huge reason of why we have FOCUS here in the DFW area today. They are very wise and it was such a blessing to learn from them!
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| The UTD staff team 2019-2020 |
| A picture of me and a few co workers on a hike at our retreat. It was so fun to enjoy nature with them! |
WAYS TO PRAY
- For the students that they are ready for a new school year and start back strong
- For winter camp this month that students experience and connect with God there
- For discerment in the staff to lead the students in a way honoring to God
THANK YOU!!
As always thank you for your partnership and support! We could do this and reach all of these students if it were not for you! If there is anything I can do for you please let me know!
With love,
Erin Campbell
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