Into A Valley of Worship

Hi! It’s been a very full end of the semester! Over the last 2 months I have seen God move in so many ways that I’m excited to share with you! While our ministry was at a leadership conference we learned some new songs, one of those was called Valley of Worship. I love how the lyrics encourage us to go to God with praise no matter what situation we are in! He really is the only one who can turn our situations from a valley of death into a valley of worship!

The end of the year has a different rhythm while students are studying for and taking all of their finals. It can be difficult to get as much time with them, but the girls in my core are so faithful and invested in their community that they didn’t miss a beat. We got to celebrate Jesus at an Easter brunch that Kaylie hosted, met Fran’s family at her birthday party, went bowling at the bowling alley that Gabby works at, got to play on hay bails for a weekend at Caleigh’s ranch, and shared many sweet moments during core prayer stations. I could not be more grateful to God for this group and all the ways that He is moving in and through them!

This year our Denton team went all out to throw a huge Y2K themed party for our students to celebrate the year. We had retro game stations, low rise jeans and layered tanks, a massive metallic balloon arch, a Brittany Spears dance battle, and so much more. It was such a success! The students love getting to dance and laugh and just relax after weeks of studying and finals.

We just got home from SICM! If you are not familiar, the Student Institute of Campus Ministry is a Christian leadership conference in Bellingham, Washington. Our students get to go sightseeing in Seattle for 3 days and then travel to Bellingham for a week of learning about things like evangelism, spiritual friendship, diversity, mission work, and so much more. It is such a valuable time for our students to be trained up in their leadership skills and be able to go back and have an impact on their campuses!

This year I got to host a group of five girls at an Airbnb and it was such a sweet experience! Another staff member, Cathryn, and I made all their meals and drove them around in a big van for the week. Would you be praying that Annika, Meklit, Laighton, Maddie, and Linda are impacted by this week and able to share what they learned with new students next year!

We recently wrapped up my classes for the year! I am so thankful for all that I have learned and the ways that I have grown through these things. I actually read the whole bible this year which is so cool, I learned about evangelism and eschatology, and I got to read a book called Elmer Gantry. It’s a satirical novel that reveals some of the weaknesses and dangers of working in ministry. I found the book very hard to read because of how realistic and terrible Elmer’s actions are, but I would say it’s worth reading at least once!

The summer is a much slower time for campus ministry because students are mostly home with their families or doing internships and working fulltime, but we still have a few things going on! The biggest is summer focus, a time where all of the students in FOCUS throughout DFW come together to worship, hear a sermon, and fellowship with one another! Would you be praying that students meet new friends, stay connected with community during the break, and remain close to the Lord while they are in such a different phase of the year?

Later this week I will be giving a sermon to our whole staff team to wrap up my apprenticeship. This is our final assignment and I am excited for it but also nervous because I want it to go well. I’ll be sharing about my three biggest takeaways from this year! Would you be praying that I am able to glorify God with the things I talk about and that I can minister to my team in a way that they need?

To close, I just want to share some about the things I have gotten to do recently! So much more of my life is becoming integrated with my new friends in Denton and I was able to go with a few of them to run a 5k at the Fort Worth Zoo and a couple weeks later to run a half marathon in Yosemite! It was really sweet to get that kind of relational time with them, and so fun to share those experiences. I also went to an adult spelling bee that some friends hosted, have been making my own matcha, celebrated many of my friends graduation from college, and get to spend lots of evenings on my porch swing with my roommates.

I am so thankful for the sweet little life God has given me in Denton after being so afraid to make that change. I am going to continue on mission at UNT next year and am excited that we get to continue partnering together in this good work. Thank you for loving and serving these students alongside me!

Love, Hannah