And that's a wrap on the year!
This upcoming August will mark 20 years since I walked onto campus as a freshman at Collin College (formerly Collin County Community College). It's difficult to describe what 20 years feels like in hindsight. In some ways, I still feel like the young, insecure, curious, and friendly 18-year old that walked into summer FOCUS for the first time.
Back then (in 2006), FOCUS was only on 2 campuses (UT Dallas & Collin College), the first iPhone was just released, Bush Jr. was president, and I began growing out dreadlocks (for the 1st time). I remember feeling exhilarated to find other young men & women who were eager to seek God as college students. We read scripture together, moved in with one another, led small groups alongside each other, fought, argued, and forgave one another along the way as well.
Those early years were messy, disorienting, hard, and an absolute blast! God was doing some clean-up work then (and now!) and I'm grateful that he has used me and my weaknesses to help reach students.
I'm no longer 18 years old...I'll be 38 here in 2 months and I am asking God to lead me back into the messy, disorienting, and hard parts of ministry. Somewhere along the way I may have picked up the belief that life needs to be tidy, predictable, and clear. This belief has created numerous challenges in my personal life and ministry.
Life is messy, disorienting, and hard. But it is a blast! God sent his only Son into the mess. Into the disorientating experience of being human. Into the hardship of sin itself.
God has been so good to me in reminding me that the joy of the Lord is real and an integral part of our walk with Christ. It has to be. 18-year-old Sirak felt like he merely stumbled into the joy of the Lord - 38-year-old Sirak may need to do some reorienting to (re)discover the joy of the Lord hidden on His college campuses. It's there! Lord, give us eyes to see.
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| I loved getting to work with these 3 amazing women this year (left to right: Sandra, Maria, and Becca)! |
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| Josh Soto (left), our 2018-19 FOCUS Apprentice, stopped by our end-of-the-year party to help serve food & (re) connect with our students! |
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| Any time we go for a walk in an opportunity for a photo shoot. She is so beautiful! |
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| In case you do not know, this will be Sandra's final year on our Richland College team! She will be transitioning to our Collin College ministry team and we are sad to see her go! It's been a fun & wild ride working alongside Sandra for the past decade - she is a true gift! |
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| Our end-of-the-year party was amazing! We had an absolute blast and Becca had the amazing idea to bring confetti poppers! Our students loved it! |
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| After our end-of-the-year party, we threw streamers to celebrate the end of the year. Ricardo and I got a little carried away as we tried to spin our way out of the mess :) |
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| We may have gotten a little carried away with the confetti poppers (is that what they're called?) |
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| fun times ❤️✌🏾 |
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| Thank you Lord for these amazing men who have been a part of our ministry this year! |
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| Grateful for these students! Thank you for making this an awesome year ❤️ |
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| Thank you for your support and for making this an awesome year! |
God bless each of you - thank you for believing in our mission to love college students and share the message of Jesus year to year at Dallas College Richland Campus. I'm excited for this summer & going into another amazing school year. Looking forward to updating each of you with what's going on next...
Your Brother & Campus Missionary,
Sirak
