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Fall Camp

 Hello friends and loved ones,


Thank you again for taking the time to read this update. I am so grateful for your prayers and your partnership in ministry and I hope that this short update gives you some sense of God's activity at UT Arlington and that it encourages you this morning.


For those of you who have been a partner with me from the beginning may recognize the picture up top. That is a picture from our first fall camp with UTA Focus 7 years ago. And the picture below is from our Fall Camp just last week. It is so encouraging to see how many students God is brining into this community every year. This doesn't show the full size of the ministry, but to see over 80 students use their weekend to take a retreat with their peers to worship God, play games, and get to know Jesus better through scripture and through the friendships they are forming here in this community is so encouraging to see! One of our students described the time as "I can't remember the last time I had that much fun" and another shared just how much the worship stations impacted him and how since fall camp he has been thinking about how God has gifted him to bless others more!

This is a closer up picture of me and a few of the guys who came to fall camp this year. Josh, Corey, Richmond, and myself. Corey is a master's student at UTA and Fall camp was the weekend before his 30th birthday. Corey had been lamenting all that he had not yet accomplished by 30 and had been feeling really down on himself all week. But as he was surrounded by good friends like Josh and Richmond and everyone that was there sang him happy birthday Corey was deeply impacted. And he realized that it's not worth lamenting over what he hasn't accomplished yet, but that he should be grateful at all that God has given him in this last year through the friendships he's made here and look forward to the future. I'm so glad that Corey is seeing that even though he is getting older, as we all are, his new life in Jesus is just beginning. Corey was baptized just 5 months ago. And I'm grateful God is opening his eyes to see the beginnings of what God may have in store for him over the next 30 years!

Beyond this, our core groups have started, and I'm already beginning to hear really encouraging interactions with students coming out of those. I will be visiting the different mens cores over the next month and will be sure to update you more with what I see there.
Love all of you, thank you again for all of your investment and prayer into this ministry. I hope this update served to show you the impact your gift is making.

In Christ,
Austin






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