November Updates!

Hey y'all!

This month has been a lot of work but has also been extremely rewarding! One of the highlights of this month is that I finished reading the entire Old Testament. It's so crazy to think that I read all 39 books in four months! I had only read bits and pieces of the OT, so reading the story in its entirety allowed me to understand so much more. I got to see through my reading how we (just like Israel) mess up all the time, but God is always faithful to return our hearts to him.

We've also been hard at work trying to plan our Christmas party! Due to our size increase this year, it's been more of a struggle to find a venue, but we are officially having it at the Greater Denton Arts Council! They put me in charge of the food, so I hope the students will like only Takis and hot Cheetos. It'll be so much fun, and I can't wait to update you guys next month about it.

Core has been great too! We have had a few more guys join our group, and everyone has started doing a one on one Bible study called Focus on Jesus (FOJ). We believe that "one on one is how it's done," so FOJs are a very important part of our ministry. I get to do 7 FOJs with guys from our core, and it's a great opportunity to foster friendship and talk about God.

Before Thanksgiving break, we were paired with two other cores (one of which we won the Camp Cup with - throwback to Fall Retreat!) for a Friendsgiving core. It was a time of fun, fellowship, and good food.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, I got to go to Medicine Park, OK with my wife's family! Medicine Park is a place that I've visited multiple times, a small town reminiscent of the town my parents grew up in (shoutout to all the Zapata natives!). It was beautiful and a time well spent. I also got to fish and even caught a rainbow trout!

As we head into December, I am now preparing to give my first sermon for the Apprenticeship. I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare for it, and I can't wait to share all about it next month!