Getting the Story

These are our Tdub girls at FNF!

TWU FOCUS

Our TWU students are so much fun. They are laid back and serious about Jesus at the same time. Getting to be a part of that ministry has been an honor! God is doing beautiful things in all of their lives.

I was originally nervous to go there. My own fear and perfectionism caused me to question whether or not I was the right person for the job. Psalm 127:1 says: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." For whatever reason I'd forgotten that God had been building something there long before he asked me to show up, and that he'd be the one to see it through.

My Peer Team Loves the Bible 

I get to meet with Bridgett, Hannah, Nicole, Claudia, Michelle, Opal, Angel, and Coral every week. I spend about an hour with each of them; and we talk through how their ministry is going. So many of them are beginning to be freed from insecurities they've walked with for such a long time. The Spirit has been speaking to them about their identities, as beloved daughters of God.

I've been struck by how rare it is for students to encounter the story of God. Our insecurities and self-worth problems don't have strength to stand against the story of scripture. I'm working with them on being able to live out of that story, to look to scripture for identity and worth. So often, students get to college and only grow in their intellectual understanding of their major. Their capacity to understand science, or literature, or business grows a lot, while their understanding of scripture remains at an elementary level. When this is the case, and it is more often than not, the truths of God become boring to them. The stories of scripture are either not intriguing enough, or not important enough. Still others find that  even if they were interested in understanding God through scripture, they would not be willing to do the necessary and humbling hard work of starting from scratch. After all, they've been educated. To search the scriptures for truth now would be a blow to the ego, as well as inconvenient in a world were relative-truth is comfortably at arms' reach.

Not so with these students. They hunger and yearn for God's word. I'm eager to see what the Lord can and will do through this new generation, who values what he has to say enough to do the work of listening. They are beginning to understand how essential his story is for their lives; and my prayer is that they will be forever transformed by it.

Crystal, Michelle, Hannah, and Bridgett at one of our leader meetings. What a group of girls.

I ran into Claudia at a local coffee shop. Here she is studying with Sophie, her little sister. Claudia is a leader at TWU. Her desire to want to be like Jesus is so sincere. Even in the midst of doubt, she steps out in faith. It's been a joy getting to befriend her.

We tried doing the Human Knot at one of our TWU Wednesday Fellowships. These goobers won twice before the other team could finish once. 

Remember Story Time? It's real! Here students at UNT are gathered for a few short stories followed by group discussion. This is the center of campus, and students we don't know regularly stop to hear a story and check it out. It's so unusual and intriguing to people. What a neat outreach experience!

Here's our Denton staff team, + Jon and Nicole, - Brittany, at a trampoline park on a Sunday evening. Getting to work with them has been a great source of comfort, and has spurred me towards Jesus. 

Prayer requests:

• Ask the Lord to continue building his house at TWU, and that he'd give all of us the ownership and the wisdom to join in what he's doing there. 
• Ask the Lord to kindle a burning desire for the scriptures in our students. Ask him to help them want to know and understand and live his story. 

For all of you who support me, thank you! I have the best job I can think of having. I get to do what I love, and see God do beautiful things, because you are all faithful to what he's asked of you. Thank you so much for your generosity and prayers. 

With love, 

Kristen