Spring Is Here and It's Lovely :)

My friends & my team :)

February & March have been amazing months full of spiritual friendships being formed, connecting with new students and being reminded of God's faithfulness. 

Today in core, we had a great conversation on how anger can impact the way we see others & ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (verses 4 - 7)

We reflected on how our culture encourages us to be easily-angered and triggered by all of the pain we see in the world. Our culture encourages us to have our opinions read & on hand to throw at someone we disagree with. Our "opinions" are the truth we win with. 

Paul argues that the only thing to make ANY difference in the world is: Love. Loving one another. Patiently loving one another. Kindly loving one another. There is a freedom we have when we confidently decide to love & embrace our brother & sister as our own - especially in a world that is bent on dividing and judging. 

I know that I can be the chief when it comes to anger. I can be too quick to assume and lash out against those around me - especially the ones who are trying to love me! Oh, the irony. 

We have around 6-7 core meetings left. Please pray that as we engage with the scripture that the students hearts would be open to what God wants to share & press onto them. God's word is truly living and active! 

Thank you so much for believing in our mission, I'm honored to get to be alongside you all as we love & lead this next generation of college student. 

Enjoy the pictures below :) Your support is going a long way to connect students to the message of our living God! 

This June my wife and I will be celebrating our 4-year wedding anniversary. Wow! Time truly move so quick :) 

We had to cancel our staff retreat in January due to a small COVID outbreak. We ended up rescheduling our staff retreat to February and we had a great time!

Thankful for all of these wild crazy students :)

A few weeks ago it was just Bryan, Oliver and me in core. Even though the numbers were low, we had an amazing discussion! 

Haley, one of our Richland students, did an amazing job leading us through Investing In The Vision! 

Thursday Night Thunder has been such a blessing & a great time this year. It's hard to think that the school year is almost over. Please be praying that we finish the year well and that we have a great summer :) 

Our directors team making a decision about something important :) 

Spring Showcase was a blast! We got to raise a lot of money to help send students to SICM! It was a great experience and I got to remember how much I love playing guitar!

Thank you again for believing in me and our mission! I couldn't do this without you!

Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have anything in your life that you'd like prayer for!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

It's Been A While! (Much to share!)

 My friends & team! 

It's been a while and I have much to share but before I begin I want to say: Thank you! Thank you for believing in our mission to love college students and show them what a new life in Christ can look like. God has put so many brilliant, talented, and powerful students in our path and I am excited to be a part of their stories during their time at Richland. 

FOCUS Winter Camp was amazing (see pictures below)! We met so many wonderful students across our campuses who are living mission-filled lives during their time as students. I am touched by their openness and warmth towards one another. I'm grateful to get to be a part of the change happening in their lives. 

It is powerful to know that all it takes is one conversation to change the direction of someones story. We have been emphasizing and praying for outreach to be a core value in Richland FOCUS. Many of our students are afraid to meet new people and engage with them on a personal level. It is much easier to be glued to our phones and believe that all of our interpersonal connection should happen through technology. 

2020 taught many of us the limits of human connection via technology. We are relational beings who long for personal connection with one another. It is work to emphasize these things, but it is worth it! Pray for us as we lean into these topics and try to understand what God is calling us specifically to do as we love our students. 

I hope that you are all encouraged by these pictures. Your support has paved the way for so many students to be befriended and loved. Thank you so much for your support!

Our end-of-the-year Christmas service was great! It was so powerful to be a part of. 

I enjoy our Wednesday, 2pm core small group. The students are always willing to share & engage with one another. Bryan (2nd from the left) and I have been leading it together. I enjoy working with him so much! 

Our FOCUS Worship Class was powerful! I appreciated all of the students coming to engage and share with one another as we discover and discuss the history and tradition(s) of Christian worship.

Thursday Night Thunder is a gift because it creates a space for us to love and know one another. I am thankful for the students God has placed in our lives and I am thankful to be a part of this part of their Christian journey. It's a small part, but, college is such a unique and special time in our lives!

Our Richland FOCUS students at Winter Camp! It was a blast!

Winter Camp 2022 was such a beautiful experience. I am honored to have gotten to be a part of It! We have very special students in our ministry! 

A view from the back of one of our Winter Camp sessions! 

We brought in Rikk Watts, a retired New Testament professor who has taught at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. I appreciated the way he engaged and shared about the New Testament in an open & relational way. I picked him up from the airport and dropped him off so we got some time with each other to talk. I am grateful for him coming and speaking with our students! 

Our Richland FOCUS ministry; grateful for them and their hearts this year! They are a sweet & special group of students.

One of our Richland FOCUS alums, Josue Mulumba, recently graduated from UTD! I'm so proud of him. He was involved in Richland FOCUS in 2018-19. 

Thank you so much for your support and for believing in what we do! I am honored to get to serve alongside such brilliant other staff and students. Please pray for our Richland FOCUS ministry - that we would be attentive to the needs around us and LOVE our students in the way Jesus would!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

A Restful Break & Re-Charge

 My friends & my team! 

I hope that you're all having a restful December. This has been a very restful month for me. God has been good and has been reminding me of his faithfulness and providence. 

About 3 weeks ago I began a 1.5 - 2 month sabbatical. I have absolutely loved getting to serve college students since 2012 and it has been intrinsically rewarding like nothing else I have ever done. I have seen so many lives impacted on the college campus and I'm always encouraged to reflect on God's faithfulness at the end of the semester.

Me & my directors decided that it was a good time to rest and take time to seek God in this season of ministry. 

It was a little stressful to begin with, but, I have been reminded that our Richland ministry is in good hands with our team: Sandra, Joey, Claire, and Connor! They are deeply connected with our students and have been doing an amazing job! I have missed getting to see them each week but I appreciate their diligence and faithfulness in the work that God has entrusted us with.

God has given us such a sweet group of students. They are committed, friendly, and consistent in building spiritual friendships on campus. I am currently in Eugene, Oregon visiting my friend, Daniel, and on my way out I ran into one of our Richland FOCUS students at the DFW airport at 6:30pm on Sunday! What a small world...

Thank you so much for your support & for believing in our mission. I'm blown away to get to serve this next generation of students as they grow and are formed into followers of Jesus.

I've loved getting to lead core w/ Bryan (to my right). He's been an awesome partner to get to serve students with. 

At our end-of-the-semester Christmas party, Joey did an awesome job sharing the Christmas story with our students and sharing his heart with us. Grateful to work with him!

Our Christmas party was a great time! The students were excited to share & celebrate what God has done all semester long. I am so encouraged by this group of young adults that have been showing up consistently all semester. I'm excited for what spring 2022 holds for us!

As always, thank you so much for believing in our mission to love college students. This has been a peaceful time of rest for me and I am encouraged knowing that you all have believed in me for so long. Thank you!

I hope that the rest of 2021 is restful and purposeful for you all. These years continue to fly by - my prayer for us (and myself) is that we are present & available for what God is doing in our hearts :)

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

We're almost at the halfway point of the year!

 My friends & team!

Just over 50 days left until 2022 and ministry at Richland is in full swing. Thank you so much for your support and believing in us as we have loved & pursued the students that God has put in our path. 

This has been a tough year for some of our student leaders at Richland College FOCUS. A couple of them have stepped down from leadership due to personal reasons. We know that God is good and that he has his hand on every student that enters our ministry. God has provided awesome students that can potentially step up into leadership moving into the spring semester, so please be praying about that! 

Our ministry model is 100% rooted in getting students to minister to their peers as they are developed and shaped into students who do not just attend classes - but are missionaries in their classes! Leadership is hard but it is rewarding! We are so excited for what God is doing in the hearts & minds of the students in our group.

A photo from the back of one of our Thursday Night Thunder meetings! Thursday nights have been such a powerful experience for our community to worship and connect with each other. 

Every Wednesday Bryan (standing next to me) and I get to lead our Wednesday 2pm core. The guys have been consistent, faithful, and engaging with our time together. It's been a great experience getting to know them :) 

I attended SMU FOCUS last Thursday night to visit and check out what is going on at our other FOCUS ministry. Amber, Laurence, Sienna, Jacob, and Ashlyn all do an amazing job connecting with and loving those students. I felt touched by Jacob's sermon and the ideas he shared!

As the semester begins to come to a close please pray for: 

• Our FOCUS apprentices and their hearts - this has been a challenging semester for many of them and they are discerning a lot about work, vocation, and ministry.
• Our Student leaders - it is a challenge for many of them to balance so many aspects of their lives, but, I know that they are learning a lot about who they are and where God has them. Pray for them!

Thank you all so much for believing in me and for your support. I couldn't do this without you!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

Sirak's October 2021 Update (LOTS OF PICS!)

My friends & my team! 

Can you believe that we're already halfway through October? God has been so good to us as a ministry and I just want to say: THANK YOU for your support & for believing in our mission to love college students. 

We made it through welcome week and our Thursday Night Thunder meetings, cores, 1-on-1s, and outreach days are all off to a great start! I'm blown away at how open & receptive students are now that we are back on campus and getting to meet with them face to face. 

We just finished our Fall Camp 2021 and it was a blast! Our students connected with each other and were so engaging during our sessions. Fall camp is always an encouraging time to be reminded that God is working in the hearts of our students even when we do not see it! 

Thank you all for believing in me and walking alongside me through the years. I love what I get to do with these students and I'm honored to have you all on my team :)

Thank you for your support and I hope you are encouraged with the pictures below in regards to what your support is helping build on God's college campuses: 

Fall Camp 2021 was a blast! Thank you for your support helping make this happen :) 

Connor, one of our apprentices this year, has been doing an amazing job helping pioneer Brookhaven Campus! 

Each year for the 1st week of school we set up a volleyball net on campus to meet & engage w/ students! This year we had an amazing time getting to engage with new people passing by :)

One of our first Thursday Night Thunder meetings of the year! These students have been great to get to know!

Joey, one of our apprentices, did a great job preaching on "Life To The Full: A Life of Outreach" - he has a heart for meeting new students and befriending them! 

At Fall Camp, we did a devotional sharing time and then took communion with each other! It was encouraging to hear how our students each remember Jesus in their own personal way.

Thank you so much for your support and for believing in our mission. The lives of students are being changed & shaped every day on campus thanks to supporters like you who partner through prayer & monthly donations!

I'm honored to have you on my team but I'm even more honored to call you my friends!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

The Start of An Amazing Year! (lots of pictures!)

We are officially 100% back! 

It's been a long year and a half, but I am excited to say that we are back on campus, back in the lives of students, and back making an impact every single day. 

Words can't express how happy I feel to be engaging and interacting with students face to face. Even walking through the cafeteria and looking at the men & women that God has brought our way has been a deeply encouraging experience!

It feels good to be back on campus, meeting new students and being faithful with what we have right in front of us. 

I began a 1-on-1 Bible study with a student named Yoni. He is a sophomore studying Information Technology and he is excited to jump into the scripture as we study Focus on Jesus.

I can already sense a lot of momentum in our ministry. Students are excited to be interacting with one another and being a part of a community on campus!

We have a lot of time to make up for the 1.5 years we were unable to be on campus. Please pray for us and our students as we build new relationships and open ourselves up to what God wants to do in our lives.

Enjoy the pictures below and THANK YOU for your support! 

This year we hosted our own Texas-SICM and it was an awesome experience! I loved getting to be with all of the students and prepare for an awesome year :)

Another pic of our Texas-SICM!

This year we are planting a FOCUS at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus! We have been at the Richland Campus for the last 8 years, but now we are expanding to another one of our Dallas College campuses! Connor (at the table) is one of our FOCUS apprentices! 

We've loved getting to engage and meet new students! Rinsy (right of Connor) came and helped us connect with students throughout the day.

Meanwhile at Richland Campus we set up volleyball nets the first week of school to meet students, engage with them, and make space for new spiritual friendships to grow!

Thursday Night Thunder!!!

The students that have been coming to Thursday Night Thunder are engaged and have an amazing attitude. I can tell that they are excited to be there to learn about Jesus and serve in our ministry!

We're off to a great start and I'm honored to be back with our students. It's been a long year and a half - but we are excited to be faithful with what God has given us! 

Thank you so much for your support! I am so grateful for your friendship & partnership. I'm excited to see what this year brings!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak

Staff Retreat and The Beginning of Another Year!

 My friends! My team!

Here we are again! It's August and in just a few weeks there will be thousands of students walking onto campus for the first time after the strangest academic year that they have probably ever experienced. I cannot fathom how hungry they are for social interaction and I am excited that FOCUS will be one of the first people that meet them as they walk onto campus!

This year we are pioneering FIVE new FOCUS ministries! We will be planting 2 at the campuses of Tarrant County College, a new campus for Collin College, NCTC in downtown Denton, and Dallas College Brookhaven Campus. We have an amazing group of incoming apprentices and we are excited to get going on these campuses!

We got back from our staff retreat last week and it was such an encouraging time! Our staff spent time bonding and getting to know each other before the beginning of a crazy year. This is the biggest our staff has ever been and I am honored to get to serve with such brilliant men & women of God.

Dallas College has gone through a lot of organizational transitions so we (at Richland College FOCUS) are still figuring out our status as an organization at Richland Campus. I think that everything will work out, however, if you can please PRAY for us that all of our administrative tasks & duties will line up before the year begins, that would be amazing!

THANK YOU for your support and for believing in my all of these years! I can't believe that I am beginning my 9th year on staff. I am honored to get to serve alongside the amazing staff & students that God has placed before me. I'm excited for our Richland FOCUS team to get on campus and begin loving students!

I hope these pictures encourage you and cast a vision for what God has planned this year!

Our incoming group of FOCUS apprentices! I am blown away at how many apprentices will be serving this year! This is our biggest year yet - pray for them as they learn in their classes and reach out on campus.

Staff retreat was encouraging. I'm glad that we all got to worship together and share what our vision is for the year. It has been a good summer of fundraising and I'm excited to kick the year off!

Our staff hanging out during one of the breaks at retreat!

The staff that whose contracts were up for renewal all made commitments at our commitments ceremony. Thank you to everyone who came or live-streamed the event!

Thank you all so much for believing in what we are doing! I am honored to get to be on campus this year side-by-side with you. Thank you for your prayers and consistent support :)

Please don't hesitate at all if you need prayer for anything!

Your brother & campus missionary,

Sirak