June/Early July Update!

Greetings from Colorado my friends!

I am here for the week with Brandon, Peter, Laurence, Charles, & The Riddle family.  Jeff Riddle, a FOCUS supporter, invited me and some of the other UTD FOCUS staff to spend time with him, relax, and enjoy the weather out here in Colorado.  I turned 26 yesterday and we all went out to eat in Breckenridge. It was such a great time and God has blessed me with some great friends. See pictures below!

Our Thursay night FOCUS meetings have been going great! Lifepoint church in Plano has continued to shower us with hospitality and love as they continually open up their church facilities every week. Them allowing a couple hundred college students meet in their building has helped us build the kingdom and prepare for a great fall semester.

Me, Peter (UTD staff), Brandon (UTD staff), Laurence (UTD staff), and Charles (UTD Grad) in Breckenridge, CO for the week.

Picture of our upcoming leader team at UTD this fall! Be praying for their small groups and students that they are going to meet and reach out to in August for Welcome Week!

Thank you all for returning my text messages, phone calls, and emails & thank you for your willingness to hear what God has planned on his college campuses this fall. Support raising for the fall has been moving along and I have just a few more individuals to get in contact with.

 In just under six weeks there will be hundreds of thousands of incoming freshmen, international, and transfer students walking onto UT Dallas, U. of North Texas, Collin College, Richland College and Texas Womens University.  We want to be the first people these students meet and befriend as their lives are changed forever through this experience we call: college. :)

It's exciting and also nerve-racking because there is so much work to do this fall to reach our students for God's campuses. Please pray that God would right now be preparing the hearts and minds of all the students he wants to receive his gospel message - Also pray for us as a ministry team; that we would be ready and prepared to move in on any opportunity he provides!

Your campus missionary,

Sirak

May Update! (Looking Back & Moving Forward)

My friends!

It's been a great year and I am so blown away at what the Lord has done through our committment to serve and spread the gospel on his college campuses.  As I enter this summer break (although I would hardly call it a break, hah) I am filled with joy reflecting on this year with you and remembering just how faithful of a God we serve!

We had our first summer FOCUS last Thursday and had around 200 students show up to large group gathering.  We are going to be meeting on Thursday nights at Lifepoint Church in Plano, TX.  This church has graciously opened their doors to us and let us use their facilities for free while providing us with AV/tech assistance.  It is such a blessing to know that there are local churches who are willing to partner with us in campus missions!

See pictures below of highlights of the year:

Matt, our U. of North Texas campus pastor and I at SICM, a week-long leadership training conference for our students.

We had an impromptu praise & worship time in the middle of campus at UT Dallas in March and it was such a joy to sing songs to our Lord in the middle of campus :)

This semester I go tto serve through the priase & worship ministry - next year we are raising up 3 more worship pastors at UT Dallas to help serve and lead our community in worship.

The FOCUS staff @ SICM!

In Washington, for our annual leadership conference we take our students we stopped to take a photo with the viking mascot for Western Washington University! 

I hope to touch base with all of you over the summer through a letter or phone call and hopefully we can set up some time to catch up.  I would love to personally thank all of you for your support and help throughout this year!

Thank you for your partnership this year and you'll be hearing from me soon!

Your campus missionary,

Sirak

Reflecting On The Year :)

Wow, it's already May!

First off, let me just say thank you for being a part of this journey God has taken us on together.  This year has gone by so smoothly and God has had his hand in so many of the lives that were changed through our campus work together.  It is crazy to think that the academic school year has come to a close.  So many students graduating, others making lifelong committments, some getting married, and others traveling back home for summer.  Campus ministry has taught me so much about myself and the world around me - so thankful to have been a part of the journey with you this past year!  (See pictures below!)

Two our ministry's small group leaders: Mike & Mark - I got to meet up with these two weekly to help them plan and prepare for their Thursday night small group.

Students praying with one another for our end of the year worship night on campus :)

                                          

My group of student leaders I helped lead this year - these guys are awesome and are so excited to serve our campus!

Don't ask.  I need to lose a few lbs okay? :)  Jk but we like to have fun.

Our last UTD FOCUS leader mtg of the year! We reflected on the year and shared what went well, what were the challenges, and how we can improve next year.

I feel so overwhelmed and grateful to have you on my support team; to be a campus missionary is something that only by the grace of God I am able to do.  This year has been such a blessing to serve alongside God's finest and impact The University of Texas at Dallas.  Please pray for the upcoming freshmen, international, and transfer students that will be walking onto the campus for the first time this summer & fall.  Pray that we would be the first students that they meet and that lifelong disciple-making friendships would be formed.

I will be contacting you all soon about considering continuing your support for the 2014-15 academic school year :) God has got big plans I know it!

Thank you all again and God bless!

Sirak

So Much Happening! (Wish You All Could Be Here Seeing It All)

Greetings my friends!

I hope your spring has been off to a great start and that you have been enjoying this great weather that the Lord has blessed us with! :) It's been raining here the last few days (for my non-TX supporters) and we have definitely been thankful for it.

First off, so much has been happening (see the title) that it is going to be difficult to fit it all into one blog entry.  We had a group of students come down from Washington state for one week to do evangelism, we had a great event called "Banquet On The Bayou," to help raise funds for our students attending SICM (our campus ministry training trip), and our staff is prepping for a great summer of fundraising :)

Needless to say, we've been busy!  But it has all be for the kingdom and our students we serve.  I attached some pictures below to show the different things we have going on.

During SSI evangelism week we had displays set up to help us have spiritual conversations with students on campus!

This was one of our displays set up at UT Dallas but we also had evangelism displays set up at Collin College, U. of North Texas and Texas Women's University (see the other staff members' blogs for more pictures!)

One of our interns, Autumn, giving announcements during our Friday Night FOCUS service.  It was a great night!

We took a SSI Washingston student & FOCU staff selfie :) Just thought you'd all enjoy it.  (bottom right is where I am)

One of our students at UTD, Nikki, was baptized by Rachel Beckham, a student leader (and future 2014-15 FOCUS intern!).

Thank you all again for being a part of what God is doing on his college campuses.  Your support has opened up the doors to many conversations, experieneces, and relationships through campus ministry in my life.  I wish you all could be here to see everything your support is going towards but I hope that this blog is a resources to encourage you and remind you that gifts to the kingdom are never wasted!

Please pray for us as a staff as we move into the summer and continue meeting with our students and developing relationships with future donors!

Your fellow campus missionary,

Sirak!

Trusting Enough To Follow

Good Afternoon My Friends!

Before our students head into spring break the staff is hard at work planning some exciting events to prepare for summer & the fall semester!  We are sending over 70 staff & students this year to SICM (Student Institute Of Campus Ministry), our annual trip to Western Washington University where our students are trained in campus ministry (more specifically; Campus Christian Fellowship, A ministry that has been serving Western Washington University for over 30 years!) and evangelism.  Please be in prayer about this trip!

At our last Friday Night FOCUS our students had a great time during praise! It was a special night kicking off spring break!

This semester has been flying by quick and some big plans are in the making!  I have been thinking and praying about what my plans will be after this year and I have decided (through a lot of prayer and counsel) to remain on FOCUS staff for another three years! I am so excited and privileged to be a part of such an excellent staff that cares so much for its students and campuses.  I'd like to ask that you would all be praying about continuing your support in addition to praying for our staff as we move into the summer and begin fundraising again for the upcoming year!

Recording a video to send to families in Washington asking for them to consider hosting students this year at SICM!

Thank you all so much for your support over the last couple years - it means so much to me to know that God has partnered us together on this fabulous journey.  Please pray for us as we discern what God wants us to change & maintain this coming summer and fall as we serve our students.

I hope you all have a great spring break!

Your Campus Missionary,

Sirak!

Winter Camp Fun & More!

Hey friends!

These last few months have flown by so fast!  I am continually amazed at how much God chooses to bless those who put their trust in him.  Winter camp, staff retreat, and the beginning of the school year have all been tools God has used to show me that he is on control and just wants me to be patient.

Winter camp was such a blast! (See photos below) Being on staff this year at winter camp has shown me just how much work goes into pulling off such an event.  I got to work personally with the worship pastors from the other campuses as we coordinated and planned the different prasie & worship times at camp.  It really encouraged me to know that God is working in the leadership at all five of our college campuses!

Panaroma of the winter camp group (from the back).

Our students paying attention during one of Brady's talks.

I got to help pastor the community during one of our worship times and it was such a joy.  Inviting the spirit to join us before and during we praise makes all the difference :)

Brady Bobbink, a campus pastor from Washington state, came down and spoke to us on how the holy spirit brings freedom.  Our community responded positively to his message and brought that same energy and dependence on the spirit back to our communities!

Thank you all so much for being a part of God's vision here on his college campuses - I couldn't be a part of any of this without your support and prayer.  It blows my mind that we already half-way done with the school year and God has done so much already!  Thinking about what he can (and will) do for the spring semester excites me and challenges me to be faithful and alert, ready for what he has planned.

Please keep us in your prayers as we select our student leadership for the fall 2014 semester.  Pray that we would be discerning and faithful with what God has given us and pray for the hearts of all the students who will be stepping on his college campuses this fall who need Jesus.

Love you all and thank you for deciding to be a part of what God is doing here at UTD,

Sirak

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Good December My Friends!

I hope that as the holiday season dawns upon us we are filled with the majesty and awe that only comes through adoring our savior, Jesus!  It is the reason we praise and continue to pursue our heavenly father!

It blows my mind to think that the fall semester is already flying by us and we will soon be moving quickly into spring with winter camp, SSI, SICM, end of year preparations, leadership selection, and summer FOCUS.  Thank you so much for deciding to be a part of what is happening on God's campuses here in the DFW metroplex.  I know for a fact that I would not be able to participate & be involved in the way I currently am if it wasn't for your support.  You all are playing such a large role in making disciples here on God's college campuses :)

One of our Friday Night FOCUS services - thank you so much for supporting our vision to reach students for Christ on his campuses!

This year we had Eddie Traughber, a licensed psychiatrist come and talk to our ministry on "Breaking Free From Addictions & Compulsive Behavior" @ our annual Pizza Theology - our students loved it!

Garrett (left, Collin College, Matt (center, U. of North Texas) & Myself excited to serve our students!

Please pray that we would finish the year off strong and continue to be faithful with what God has given us.  Pray that our staff would be vulnerable and loving to one another through the stressful times and that serving our students through Jesus Christ would always be our primary focus.

Thank you all again for your decision to partner with God's vision for his campuses,

Happy Holidays!

- Sirak