Wow, what a powerful year :)
Time is a strange thing. Not that twitter is my main go-to source for commentary on life, but, I saw a tweet a few days ago that said:
Once you get past 25 years old, you've experienced over 85% of your 'subjective time' life experience.
I believe that what the tweet was attempting to communicate was before the age of 25, the majority of our life experiences are new & exciting but there comes a time that we fall into a routine and life becomes procedural to a degree.
This isn't necessarily bad, it happens to all of us. We feel as if life can become predictable and unsurprising. Maybe God designs life this way to show that he, too, is in the routine of life. I can confidently say that it feels like time is moving quicker. Campus ministry at 35 feels different than it did at 25. I am less rocked by the waves and currents of the modern-day college student. College ministry is anything but predictable, however, there are aspects of the work that we do that I have noticed are cyclical and seasonal.
This does not make the work bad or inferior. I feel like God has been establishing me and growing me into more of a rock so that I can be a consistent presence in the lives of the students around me.
In fact, in the midst of the routine I find that I love the work I am doing. I love the routine of seeing 18 year old freshmen have their world open-up as they encounter students from all walks of life and all backgrounds receive & respond to the message of Jesus. If that ever gets old to me, then we have a problem.
There were, however, a few difficult years. Years of drought and pain. Wondering if the work I was doing was making any kind of difference in the lives of those around me. Years of unlearning habits, fears, and lies that I, at some point along the way, took on and became friends with.
But, I suppose that with any career path, there are certain 'mini-deaths' that God invites us to. Campus ministry has been mine (so far) - what has yours been?
As each year passes, maybe there are 'mini-deaths' that are leading us toward the (not-mini) death we all face that will eventually bring us face to face with our Lord. These 'mini-deaths', however, are (if I can remember in the moment) mini-celebrations - moments of mini-trust that are shaping us into who we are becoming each and every day.
I love that I get to be a part of the lives of the students who enter my life & get to walk alongside them as they learn to die to self and let Christ take over. What a joy!
I pray that these pictures are encouraging and are a reminder of God's faithfulness to you!
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| Our 2022-23 Richland FOCUS Student leader team! |
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| Each week, I've had the privilege to lead worship with our student worship team (here you can see Kris hold her dog, Champ, as we pray) |
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| Our Richland FOCUS students hosted an fundraiser after-event for UTD FOCUS and we made breakfast tacos for them! We had a great time serving & helping our students raise money for SICM! |
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| After the breakfast taco event, our Richland students hosted another fundraiser at church the next day! |
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| We went to IHOP for one of our after-events and it was probably one of my favorite |
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| This year I led core w/ a student named Yoni. He is a sophomore studying Business and it was a true pleasure to get to lead with him each day. |
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| I feel so honored & grateful to get to serve the Richland campus with these great people! |
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| Each year we invite a group of students who are not officially student leaders but who show leadership potential to our leader meetings to further their growth & development. They have been such a great addition to our team! |
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| Claire & Sandra have been two amazing ministers to get to work alongside this year! Grateful for another year with them. |
Thank you again for all of your support & for believing in our mission to love college students :) I'm grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for walking with me and being on my team!
Your brother & campus missionary,
Sirak
