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Winter Camp 2018 was this past weekend!!

Around 650 students from across all the FOCUS campuses made it this year, and even some visitors from campuses outside DFW!

God blessed us with Geoff and Jessica Mumley as our speakers this year at camp, who came down from our sister ministry CTF up in Bellingham, WA where we send our SICM students every year for training.

I've heard nothing but hugely positive things from our students, and this year felt very special. Geoff and Jessica taught our students on this theme we've been focusing on this year of being sent. They did a great job, and I'm confident God's spirit was working through them to bring realization of just how important and neat our part in being kingdom bringers to those around us is.



We had a really neat communion time, where we had a chance to remember Jesus, then go around the room and remind each other of truths that Jesus has told us and give encouragements to different people. 
Joseph and Matt, two of our corefas, and two guys I get to meet with every week and disciple. Love them and their incredible heart for the guys in their core at Collin. 

Joseph with Anthony (left) and De'Shavee, a couple of guys in their core who made it to camp. Joseph has gotten to meet 1-1 with these guys for the past semester and study the Bible with them and build a really neat friendship. 

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This is such an exciting picture for me. 

Joseph and Matt's core group at camp.


From top left to right: Trey, Christian, Sammy, Brian, Trevor, and Ryan. This is Christian and Ryan's core group with the guys who made it to camp.


Geoff Mumlet Teaching on being sent



Early morning at winter camp, with the worship band practicing for that first session of the day. 

What you don't see in these pictures is so much of what's so important about this camp. The hearts of people in the community being opened up to worship God in fresh ways; a growing desire in student's and staff's hearts to know God even more, to continue to peel back layers of his character through scripture and prayer; conversations between students who don't know each other well as they walk around camp, getting to know each other more and beginning friendships; students writing notes down voluntarily, eager to learn and grow in their faith. These are good, good gifts from God when we get to see these things happening in a community. It's by his grace that they happen, and i'm so thankful for that. Join me in praising him for that.

Some really neat things are happening with our new Collin Campus Ministry plant at Central Park campus in McKinney, TX. I really encourage you to go read the full story on my buddy Cody's blog here: cody.anyfocus.org

Prayer for the students as they start back into the school semester would be much appreciated by them. Pray that they would balance school and work and their relationships and ministry well.

Also please pray for them coming back from camp, that they would feel boldness to be sent as a missionary to their fellow classmates as we talked about all weekend at camp. We aren't interested in camp just creating emotional highs that make students feel something, but our prayer is that they would allow God to work through them to transform them and students on their campuses over time.

Happy New Year to all of you, I hope to hear from you with any prayer requests or anything else you have going on you want to share. I'm so very thankful for your continued support and prayers, it seriously means so much to me.

Ryan

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