February 2025 Ministry Update

 

Arianna’s February Ministry Update A time for planting and a time for reaping… Hello Friends! Are you shocked to be hearing from me so soon? This month has been busy, full of highs and lows. I recently read through the Wisdom Literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and have been reflecting on Ecclesiastes 3- “A Time for Everything”. In many ways, I’m learning that campus ministry can feel cyclical: fall is the time for planting (reaching out to students, starting Bible studies, forming connections) and spring feels like the time for reaping (finishing Bible studies, baptisms, sending students with leadership potential to Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM), etc). And while it is true that there are general patterns that ministry can follow, I think God has shown me this year that everything is in His time. The students that I meet with are maturing and learning about God in His timing, not mine. The friendships that are being formed are growing in God’s timing. As I reflect on this last month, it really was a month where there was both planting and reaping, both laughing and mourning. It’s been a month of events! Here’s a couple pictures from a Super Bowl Party and a Galentines event that I helped host. There have been lots of joyful moments this month! The Super Bowl came and went, and although I wasn’t exactly rooting for either the Eagles or the Chiefs, I did help put together a Super Bowl party for our students. We had wings, pizza, and almost 80 students show up to watch the Super Bowl together. It was a little overwhelming trying to figure out how much pizza and wings to buy to feed everyone, but we managed in the end and the party went well! We also hosted a couple of Galentines parties at my house this month! I love any reason to hang out/ celebrate, and Galentines is such a fun way to spend time with each other and bring joy to a holiday that can feel pretty isolating for many of our single students. I included this picture in January’s blog, but Vanessa (to my left) is a freshman at UTD and attended Winter Retreat just a couple months ago. With the joyous moments, there have also been some times of profound sadness and grief. There are several families at my church and students in our ministry who are dealing with illness, difficult family situations, and walking through grief. One of our students, Vanessa (in the picture above), had to be taken to the hospital for dizziness, blurred vision, and weakness in her legs in early February. Within a couple days she was admitted to the hospital and had lost all function in her legs. Over the course of the past month she was transferred to a rehab facility and given a potential diagnosis of MS (although that hasn’t been confirmed by a neurologist). She was recently released from the rehab center to go back to the dorms at UTD, but she’s now in a wheelchair and has a long road to recovery- thankfully her doctors are optimistic about her regaining the ability to walk. This has been incredibly difficult for Vanessa, and it’s heartbreaking to watch her suffer. But even in the suffering, this has been an opportunity for our community to surround her with love. Our students went above and beyond in showing up for her- bringing her notes, flowers, visiting at all hours, one girl even came and did her nails and lashes so she would feel put together while stuck in the hospital. I was blown away by how generous and thoughtful our students have been, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job at showing just a glimpse of God’s love for Vanessa. We really crammed as many people as possible into Vanessa’s hospital room! This is a blurry picture, but I had to include it. One of the guys cores (small group) visited Vanessa around Valentine’s day and brought a poster that said “Will you be our valentine?” as well as a bubble gun. She LOVED it and it was so sweet to see these guys show up and make her smile. Toward the end of this month, we had our Pizza Theology event. This is a 4 hour teaching time broken up with an hour for dinner where all of our campuses come together to learn about a certain topic. This semester we learned about how to think Biblically about our finances, and I had the privilege of teaching some principles from the Wisdom Literature (also why I was reading and reflecting on Ecclesiastes this month). I was so honored to be asked to speak, and I feel like through preparing for this talk I learned so much about Biblical principles about money, generosity, saving, and spending. If you’d like to listen, I included the links below! The entire teaching was 4 hours, but my section is a little less than 30 minutes. Spotify Apple   My roommates and I are pretty settled into our new house! Guess which one was edited into this picture?

God keeps reminding me that He is good and He is in control. He’s the one guiding our steps- in both laughing and mourning. Please be praying for Vanessa as she readjusts to being at home in a wheelchair and begins home health PT. Pray that God would be with every doctor, nurse, and healthcare worker and that she would feel peace knowing that the Lord is with her. Here’s another big update that I almost forgot to include in this email: I am staying on staff with FOCUS at UTD for the next 2 years! I am so excited to continue to partner with God in what He’s doing on campus and am excited to share with you all what the next couple years will look like. As always, I am so grateful for each and every one of you- both your prayers, and financial support, and I look forward to speaking with you all soon! Much love, Arianna