Our February Update!

My friends!

I hope that February was a restful month for you all and that you had a great Valentine's day! It's so bizarre to think that it's already March and we've only got a little over two months left before the students are out for summer. Our 2016 has been full of so many spirit-filled events where students are hearing the gospel and responding to the presence of Christ on campus but don't be fooled, we're definitely not going to be slowing down at all as we finish well this school year.

When I was studying sociology at UT Dallas I got to take several classes taught by Professor Sheryl Skaggs. She was a very impactful professor who taught from her heart and cared deeply for her students. Over the year she has become a good friend of mine and our ministry at UT Dallas. She came to one of our Friday night services and shared how follow Christ shapes and influences how she teaches and how she interacts with students. Our students were impacted deeply through her words and left our large-group confident that they, too, can impact and build relationships with their instructors (see photos below!).

One of our small-group leaders, Karlo (Richland College), was invited to our week-long campus ministry training week, SICM, and hosted a pancake dinner to raise funds. He had a great turnout and raised over $300.00 to go to SICM! It was so encouraging to see our Richland guys working together and helping Karlo make this event a success! Karlo has given so much to our Richland ministry and it was such a cool thing to watch the students give back to him.

Thank you so much for your support and enduring partnership in campus missions. So much of this wouldn't be possible without you by our side as we meet students and reach them for the gospel. Keep our student leaders in your prayers as we finish the year strong and head into summer with new and renewed minds focused on Jesus.

Professor Skaggs, instructor of sociology at UT Dallas, came to one of our Friday Night FOCUS services to share what it means to follow Jesus while being a professor.

Epiphany Episcopal Church opened up their doors to our students to attend one of their traditional episcopal services on a Saturday night. They wanted to host our ministry and tell us that they're so thankful for what we're doing on campus and to find ways for us to partner with them.

Another shot of our time at Epiphany Episcopal Church!

The students at Karlo's pancake fundraiser! We had such a great turnout and the students really loved being helping Karlo raise funds for SICM.

Our Richland students! From left to right: Miles, Kah, Catherine, Chad, Karlo, Edwin, and Henry.

More of our students at Karlo's fundraiser playing Avalon. Have you all heard of this board game? It has sort-of taken over our ministry :) Our students love it!

Thank you so much for your support and partnership - I hope that the Lord fills you with a deep sense of his presence and abiding love. I want you to know if you need prayer for anything don't hesitate at all to let me know. You all are alongside me every time I set foot on campus and I couldn't be doing this without you. I love you all!

Your campus missionary,

Sirak Asfaw

Sirak's January Update!

My friends!

I can't believe it's already February! First off, I have so much to tell you all - FOCUS winter camp, Richland FOCUS beginning, baptisms, new 1 on 1 bible studies beginning, and birthdays! The Lord has been the rich provider of 2015 and I am so excited to see what he has planned for 2016 :)

Thank you all so much for your partnership and believing in the vision of reaching college students for the gospel. Almost 5 years ago I invited many of you on this journey with me to see what God had planned and it is so crazy to see just how much God has done through your partnership and faithfulness. Please be praying for us as we enter the spring semester with momentum and energy from our FOCUS winter camp. Our students had a great experience at camp but we know that much of what was learned and experienced can be pointless if we don't translate it into real life on our campuses with the students in our spheres of influence.

Many of the students at Richland College come from lower socioeconomic conditions and need to work part-time, are on government aid for tuition, or work full-time. This presents challenges but God answered a huge prayer this year and Richland College paid for our entire camp! We put in a request to the Office of Student Life and we are blown away at how generous the college was in helping our students all pay for camp.

Our Richland FOCUS group on the way to Winter Camp! God is so good in helping us get these students to camp. Richland College even let us use their campus vans to transport the students to and from camp!

A picture from the back of the auditorium at winter camp. We brought over 500 students from across our FOCUS campuses to camp!

I had the opportunity to lead our community in worship during our Saturday evening service. It's always such a great experience getting to sing songs to our Lord in a room full of his children.

Chad (left), Edwin (center), and me before one of our sessions. I love getting to hang out with these Richland students and show Jesus to them.

Our students got to know one another real well at camp - it was something that our group really needed to start off the spring semester strong!

A pictures of all of the FOCUS campuses together. This was our largest camp to date and I feel it was so impactful and encouraging to the students who came.

After our first meeting of the year our students planned a board-game day in the Richland cafeteria - it always encourages me to see them love and serve each other. 

I got to help with worship on the Sunday night set with some of the other students. It was wonderful to help serve in this way.

One of our UTD students, Simi, committed her life to Jesus and was baptized in the UT Dallas pool. 

I am so excited to see what God has planned for 2016! It has been a joy to have you alongside me as the mission of Christ is furthered everyday on God's college campuses. I hope that these pictures and stories encourage you to continue in your partnership and pursuit of Christ to chase after his plans for you this year :) Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any prayer requests or questions/comments!

I love you all so much and am forever grateful to have you on my team!

Your campus missionary,

Sirak Asfaw

A New Year But His Truth Remain The Same!

 My family!

I can't believe 2016 is finally here! 2015 brought about new friendships and opportunities to share Jesus' love on his college campuses. I thank you for being a part of the process alongside us as we made and matured disciples in 2015 - I am so excited to continually see what God has planned for us in 2016 :)

Please be praying for us as we wait to hear back from Richland College on requested funds for our winter camp. Every year we come together as FOCUS campuses and celebrate what God has been doing with all of our students across the metroplex. The cost of this camp is $150.00 per student (Jan. 15th - 18th) and we requested financial aid & vans from the college. Please pray that our request would fall into the hands of the right people so that we can invite as many students as possible!

Thank you so much for being a part of this vision for God's message to reach college students all across the metroplex. I think that God has HUGE plans for 2016 and is calling us to do what he does: remain faithful. In Galatians 6:9 it says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." For some people, the beginning of the year warrants moments and opportunities for discovering the hidden message and meaning that will unlock what will make this year 'special' - for us, as disciples, we know that Jesus calls us into faithful service and obedience :) I pray that for many of you, this year will be no different than previous years and that you all will remain just as faithful as you have always been.

Enjoy the pictures below! I got to help lead a mission trip in New Orleans with some of our FOCUS students and have a few pictures from that trip!

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One of our Richland FOCUS students, Henry, and I enjoying some coffee before he heads to class! Henry has been such a consistent part of our group and is a positive energy everywhere he goes.

I had the opportunity to help with filming/editing our "Its Worth It" videos. It was a great experience and helped get the message out about our Keep FOCUS Growing initiative!

I got to help lead a mission trip down in New Orleans. This is a photo of our team of students having a group discussion/devotional time before we left for the day. 

There was a lot of materials and equipment to pick up and haul to prepare for the Christmas party we were putting on for the kids in New Orleans!

Part 1 of our Christmas party for the kids of Holleygrove. 

All the kids & family out for our Christmas party!

My cousin and I. She is in kindergarten and I am so encouraged by my aunt (her mother) knowing that when Sophie (my cousin) goes to college there is a vision for there to be a campus ministry greeting her on move-in day!

I hope that these pictures encourage you and remind you of the fruit that comes through your commitment and faithfulness. It's all for Jesus and done through the power of the Holy Spirit. I love you all and can't wait to tell you all next month all that God is doing!

Your brother,

Sirak

Happy Thanksgiving and (almost) Goodbye to 2015!

My friends, my family, my brothers and sisters. I hope that your November was full of family, quality-rest, encouragement, and reminders of our God's faithfulness. It is crazy to think that 2015 is almost over - as I look through my previous blog entries I am overwhelmed with how faithful and omniscient our God is. He really is all-knowing and is always aware of what we need despite our (at times) selfishness and seeking only our wants.

Please be praying for our students as we move into our Christmas break. We encourage our students go back home with renewed minds and hearts. Many of our students will be travelling back home and may be tempted to fall back into old habits of laziness, selfishness, and boredom. We encourage our students to have positive attitudes, seek to serve their families, and use this Christmas break to spend time seeking the Lord and preparing for the spring 2016 semester. It's extremely important to spend these breaks productive - oftentimes when our students spend the break purposefully their families begin to see the powerful life-changes that the gospel produces!

I meet weekly with Stephen & Kufre (two of our small group leaders this year) and last Wednesday we ran into Jared, a FOCUS small group leader from 2004! His daughter Kailey (far right) was there and we took a photo together symbolizing the different generations of FOCUS student leadership!

I had the pleasure to shoot and edit our "Keep FOCUS Growing - It's Worth It" videos. See link: www.anyfocus.org/itsworthit for more information. These videos were shared on Facebook/Twitter in hopes of raising $45,000 to fund our ministries monthly expenses.

We had an outreach event at Richland College on Tuesday & Wednesday the week before break. We met many students and are praying that those interactions would blossom into a 1 on 1 bible study and a great spiritual friendship. Richland College is a very deep-thinking campus and the students are consistently desiring deep spiritual conversations - pray that Christ would be their focus and goal. 

I had the privilege to go to Rome, GA for Campus Renewal's campus ministry training conference. I got to meet many college ministers from all over the nation. To my right is my friend, Jung-Woo. We went to high school together and graduated from Plano East High School in 2006. It wasn't until last year that the Lord crossed our paths on campus at UTD and now he is a campus pastor with another organization! It was so encouraging to see him and get to hear what the Lord is doing through his life. 

John Cheng, one of the campus pastors with CRU in Dallas/UTD, and I with his daughter, Hope. Hope was in the ICU with a bacterial meningitis infection and has been in recovery. Please be praying for this precious family and for their daughter, Hope. That she would be fully healed and that they would have a wonderful holiday together. They have been such an encouragement to me and everyone else at UT Dallas that they cross paths with. 

Over 50 college campus pastors gathered to fellowship and learn how we can effectively serve and challenge our students. It was such a blessing to be a part of this 3-day conference. Campus ministry can be challenging and stretching at times. It was encouraging to be able to see what all God is doing across the nation through hundreds of other campus ministries and that definitely inspired me to not grow weary!

I am so thankful for your support and friendship throughout this campus-missions process. You all are building God's kingdom NOW on his campus through your support. Your prayers and monthly donations have helped plant a campus ministry at UT Arlington and have paved the way for three 1 on 1 bible studies I am involved in at Richland - please be praying that these relationships would inspired generations of students to follow Jesus and give up all they have for the gospel.

As we enter the Christmas holiday season I want to encourage you with this scripture from Isaiah:

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." Isaiah 55:1

Let's approach God this holiday season and seek to glorify him through our obedience and sacrificial lives. 

I think you for your partnership - let's have a great break and spring semester!

Your missionary,

Sirak

Happy Halloween & An Almost New Year :)

My friends! My people!

I can't believe we're in November already. October was a month full of energy and life-changing conversations with the many students on our campuses. Just yesterday I was talking with a student at Richland College who asked me, "What does it mean to be a Christian?" I said, "It means to follow Jesus and call him Lord." He said back to me, "I question the bible too much." "Would you like to study the bible together?" I asked. He said that he would consider it. Our college campuses are full of stories like this one - students ready and eager to learn more about our Lord and experience what it means to trust and follow Christ.

I posted many pictures that sum up what the last month has looked like. In these pictures you'll find our UTD large group gatherings, our Richland group meetings, our (2nd Place!!) UTD FOCUS Flag Football Team, an outreach day we had at Richland, our UTD men's leader team strategizing final plans for camp, and a selfie of our Richland FOCUS students. I hope that these pictures encourage and remind you of how faithful our God is and what your support is going towards. I am so thankful for each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

One of our UTD FOCUS large group fellowships during October. 

During Richland FOCUS we've been discussing the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and our students are broken up into small groups discussing Jesus' teachings!

Our FOCUS Flag Football Team! They made it all the way to the finals and lost to the UTD baseball team; they were composed and show Christ continually on and off the field.

At Richland College they had a take-a-break-from-midterms event outside in the heat but it was great! We met a ton of students had a few show up to our FOCUS meeting & core. 

Our UTD male leader team planning through the different events we have coming up and talking through how we can best minister to our small groups. These guys have done such a great job this year spending 1 on 1 time with students and being faithful tools for God to use on campus at UTD.

Our Richland FOCUS group! We have such a diverse group of students that love each other and are committed to learning about Jesus on campus. 

We did an outreach event on campus at Richland and our interns did such a great job setting it up and talking to/meeting students. Students walking by were encouraged to write down who Jesus is to them and it opened the door for many uplifting conversations to happen!

Throughout the day of outreach we had over 50 students stop by, look at our board(s), and be engaged by some of our FOCUS students. This was such a success that the office of student life said we are welcomed to continue having outreach events on campus! God has been opening up so many doors.

Once again, none of this is possible without partners like you all who are committed to bringing God's kingdom to his college campuses. Please continue to pray for us as we move into the holiday season. There are many students who do not have healthy family lives and we are going to try hard to make them feel loved and wanted as the holiday season approaches.

Thank you all again for your support and commitment to campus missions. God isn't finished here yet and I mean it when I say: we're just getting started!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can be praying for you about in your own life!

You campus missionary,

Sirak

September Was Great :) But The Best Is Yet To Come...

My Friends!

This year is off to a great start! Thank you for your partnership and commitment to what God is doing here on his campuses and for being such an encouragement to me!

September was a great month full of new students, organization fair info-tables, outreach, open-mic nights on campus, pick-up basketball games, fall retreat, more new students, leader meetings, baptisms, surprise b-day parties, and 1-on-1 personal discipleship relationships! I think I covered about 50% of what happened - but hopefully you'll get a better idea from the pictures below :)

Thanks to your support we hit the ground running at Richland College and have been meeting new students every day that we are there! I think leading the ministry at Richland has been one of my most fulfilling experiences up to date. God has been teaching me a ton about thinking pastorally, setting the tone, and keeping an optimistic mind regarding what God has planned.

My intern, Nicki, is also doing a great job (she's in the last photo towards the bottom of our staff). She has befriended several of the girls in the ministry and has been a solid rock for me to bounce ideas off of and share the experience of ministry with (see pictures below of our Richland FOCUS ministry).

(From left to right) Hazel, Cameron, Wyatt, myself, and Chad all helped out with our Richland FOCUS info table. We had over 100 students sign up and show interest in being a part of our group.

One of our first Richland FOCUS meetings. Karlo (one of our student leaders) led us in worship and we had a great discussion on vision. We've been encouraging our students to develop a vision for their campus and the people around them. 

We had a Pizza & a Movie day for one of our large group meetings and a lot of students showed up! It was a great success and we met new people. Please be praying as we try and discern what would help serve our campus in addition to building new friendships. 

Our first worship session at FOCUS Fall Camp! This was our largest fall camp to date!

Shot from the sound booth at UTD FOCUS at one of our Friday Night services. We have been going through 1st Corinthians and our students are really enjoying the content!

Side-shot from our Friday Night FOCUS service. 

A picture of our UTD/Richland Staff! Back row: Myself, Brandon, and Laurence. Front row: Peter, Nicki (my intern), Carmen, Danni, Mandy, and Victoria. It's been such a blessing to work with these ministers this year!

Thank you all so much for your commitment to our mission to reach students on campus for our Lord, Jesus. As the months go by I am continually grateful for people like you who have decided to join in with us in the work of the gospel and walk alongside us. The year is just getting started and we know that the best is yet to come! 

Please be praying for our Richland ministry - pray that God would stir a need for him and his Son on campus and that we, as God's people, would be faithful with every situation he puts us in on campus and elsewhere. The mission is far from over and there are many more students to reach!

I love you all dearly, and you'll be hearing from me soon!

Your campus missionary, 

Sirak

The First Month Done & God is Just Getting Started!

My friends! My team! 

I hope that August has been a fruitful and productive month for all for you! Right now I'm sitting here on campus at UTD with my one of my old college roommates, Michael Howell, and we've been reminiscing on our time together as students doing ministry those many (three) years ago. It's amazing how time moves along with God's good plan. We are so grateful to the many men & women who came before us here and had a vision for making a presence for Jesus on campus. 

In meeting the many students so far this year it's so encouraging to know that through campus ministry we can build something great for God and for the students who are going to be walking on campus this year and for all the years to come! Praise God :)

I know it's only August but God has been up to so much already! Our leaders have been busy meeting hundreds of students and inviting them to our core small groups. UTD has been very busy - they've had over 25 welcome week events for these first two weeks alone and our students have attended mostly all of them. 

Please be praying for all of our students at Richland College. I am leading the FOCUS ministry on Richland's campus with Nicki Escutia. This is her first year on staff as an intern and she has been such a great partner to work with and share ministry with. We are working with a new group of students and there is still so much yet to be seen! I hope that our faithfulness to the gospel will prepare the way for what God has planned for years to come.

Enjoy the photos below of God's faithfulness and our mission together!

First day of campus! I spent time with our FOCUS leaders walking around meeting students inviting them to our welcome week events.

Rhett Hayes, one of our student leaders volunteered to be in a video we'd be playing at our first Friday Night Fellowship meeting!

Before the school year, ICF (International Christian Fellowship) put on an "International Student Party". This was a great time to meet the hundreds of international students who walked into America for the first time. So many friendships were started at this event!

We had an All-Campus Worship Night before the year began with several other of the campus ministries and it had such a great turnout! 

Our FOCUS Ministries are now at eight different campuses and we got all of our leaders together last Saturday for our leader day training! We are so thankful for their service and commitment to God's work on his college campuses. 

We had an outreach event at Richland during lunch where we played board games and invited students in to join! It was a great success. Please be praying that God would open up the doors for friendships to be made and for his Kingdom to come in the lives of the students there!

Please be praying that our Richland ministry would be an outlet for the many students on campus there who are looking for authentic friendships and God's presence.

I hope that these photos encouraged you and gave you a visual representation of what your support is going towards on campus. The lives of these students will never be the same thanks to your support and partnership. You all are such a light in my life and are always on my mind as I do the work of a campus missionary. Go in peace and may the Lord continue to enrich your lives!

Your campus missionary,

Sirak