May 2025

If you’re not aware (because corporate America does not function this way), school’s out! Though summer is delayed as the rain persists, even though it’s around 90 degrees. It’s like a warm shower, but you’re fully clothed… yay.

A few of our students organized a 5K fundraiser for SICM (if you don’t know what SICM is, keep on reading my blog!). We had a great turnout and the day was beautiful! (Granted, we had to reschedule the original date because of the weather.) It was so encouraging to work with students who are bought in to disciples making disciples that they took the time to organize a whole big thing to help raise funds to further the mission!

When me and Steph moved into our house 2 years ago, there was a park a stone’s throw from our front door. It had an aquatics center, rec center, pickleball and basketball courts, and more. But just when we moved in, they shut it all down to demo and rebuild. Finally, 2 years later, they’ve finally finished it and reopened! I’ve used this park a number of times already to have friends and students over to play pickleball and volleyball and we’re excited to visit the aquatics center during the hot summer months, especially as Steph enters the third trimester.

This is my friend, Hannah. She graduated college this year and is going to do the FOCUS apprenticeship in Denton this following school year! The apprenticeship is a 10-month commitment to vocationally pastor on a college campus. Apprentices fundraise their salary, take seminary-level classes, read the whole Bible, lead small group, meet with a pastoral supervisor, and really get a feel for campus ministry. As we transition between school years, please be praying for our pastors that are transitioning off of our team and for those about to join!

Happy Mother’s Day! Steph, her sister, and I took her momma out to lunch to Maggiano’s. It’s always fun to go to Maggiano’s as it’s a reminder of when me and Steph got married. (Did you know we legally got married at a table in Maggiano’s?) I’m so blessed to have so many wonderful mothers in Texas who have taken me in and taken care of me since I moved here almost 9 years ago, including this one! Thank you to all the mothers out there, biological or relational!

Gerald is one of my oldest friends, I think I met him in grade school. It all kinda gets blurry when I go that far back. We don’t talk much anymore, but when I go up to Washington for SICM, I try to always grab a meal with him! And man, do I miss the food from Seattle. Gerald was recently in an accident where he was hit by a car while biking and has undergone a number of surgeries to fix his body. He told me that when he got hit, he was not sure if he was going to survive. Praise God that he did! Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to recover as he will be in PT for a year or longer to teach him how to walk and move properly again.

While in Seattle, I took a number of our students to UW to walk around and see what the campus is like. At the end of the “tour,” I took the students that stuck with me the whole time to take a picture by the W. It’s always fun to stroll around campus again, but it’s also a reminder that it’s not about the place, but the people. Whenever we go to Washington, students always ask me if I’d want to move back, if I miss the beautiful nature and sights. And of course, I miss it, the Texas scenery is not something to write home about. But I tell them, I don’t stay in Texas because of the weather or the nature; it’s all about the people.

At SICM, I have the opportunity to host a group of guys (with Peter and Brandon typically) from UTD, as they don’t have enough host families to house all of the students we bring. Every year, this group of guys is a sweet blessing and I come away with so many funny stories to tell. If you’ve been going to Northeast Church for a while, you’ll notice Travis Thomas in the middle. It’s so surreal to see Travis at SICM and get to know him as he is now, compared to how I knew him when I first moved to Texas. And if you know, you know how much of a God deal that is.

SICM or the Student Institute of Campus Ministry is a conference run by Chi Alpha. It’s a week of intensive learning to help impress a vision of disciples making disciples on campus while they are still students. Many of these students will go on to lead their own small groups. But the applications go beyond the college campus and I’ve heard of stories of how this training has served our alum well in their respective career fields and communities. So thank you for investing in these students, whether through your partnership with me or by contributing to a scholarship for SICM!

This is Tiara with CCF (Chi Alpha ministry that runs SICM). She is one of the admins behind making sure SICM goes smoothly and someone I wholly love working with. I think she’s one of the only ones that can viscerally understand the things that I experience as an admin for FOCUS, but she still has such a sweet and servant-hearted attitude to serve the pastors and students in her community well. She really is an inspiration to me in the way she organizes and serves and is a gentle reminder of how much I have to learn. Fun fact, we both play the bass for worship, among our many other similarities.

Update on Steph: She is doing great! The biggest thing right now is that she can have some trouble sleeping, but other than that, there have been minimal complications. I recently felt the baby move and it’s crazy to think that we’re about 3 months from a whole new world, one with a baby girl in it. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.