December Ministry Update: Happy Holidays!

    Hi everyone! I hope you have had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Here is an update of what all FOCUS has been up to in December:

    Core

    It has been a blast and such a blessing to get to meet up with the guys each week to study God's word. We closed out the fall semester with a study series on the life of Jesus in a sort of reverse order - one study on the crucifixion and resurrection, one talking about some significant miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry, and closed with one about the Nativity to lead into Christmastime. I am so grateful that these young men have devoted time each week to spend with Christ and in intentional discussion with each other. We have taken a small hiatus for the holiday season but will be back to meeting up on Monday nights at 6:00 again when the school semester starts again on the 21st of January! Thank you so much for praying for us each week - it was encouraging to hear that you all have been setting alarms and praying for the guys in our group by name! God has been using these nights in changing hearts and spurring on growth this semester and I am sure he will do the same in the spring! Here are some pictures of us guys at our Collin FOCUS Christmas Party and at a combined Bible study night with a girl's core to celebrate Christmas!

    Thursday Night

    Thursday nights have been a highlight of my week this year. We took a break for Thanksgiving but met on December 5th for the last TNF (Thursday Night Fellowship) of the semester. We are back to meeting in the Cougar Cafe and will be hosting TNF there next semester as well. While the lecture hall was a lot easier to set up and helped cut down on technical difficulties, the cafe has more room to hold more students! We had begun to run out of chairs to sit in at the lecture hall, so the move to the cafe was a blessing in disguise. The power went out across the Plano area during TNF on the 5th in the middle of TNF, but God used it to create a really cool moment! We crowded together around the "stage" and sang using our phones as lyric sheets - it was really sweet to worship God even amidst the craziness. Here are some pictures from that last worship session (I took the one of Stian closer to the center - I am not as sneaky as I thought I was 😂):

    Please pray for us as we plan TNF for next semester - we have finished our series on 1 Corinthians and are praying for God to guide us on what sermon series would best serve our students!

Happy Holidays from the FOCUS Staff!

    The first semester of the apprenticeship has come to a close and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. We wrapped up our first semester of classes and even gave little 30-minute sermons to the rest of the FOCUS staff. Our apprentice class has grown pretty close and they have become close friends of mine. If you would like to hear the sermons, let me know and I would be happy to send you the link to watch! Here is a picture of us after we gave our sermons (from left to right: me, CK, Madison, Paul, and Alex):

    I am also really thankful for the rest of the Collin staff. They have been so amazing to work with this semester and really love the students we interact with every day. I can't picture myself at any other campus! Here is a picture of us at an all-staff dinner for the FOCUS staff (Back row from left to right: me, Sarah, Stian, Kevin, and Pedro, front row from left to right: Jacy, Adriana, Mackenzie, and Eileen. Tania was on a mission trip to Kenya during this picture, but she is a big part of our team too!):

    Once again, I can't thank you enough for being a part of this year and for the support. Getting to see many of you back in Cypress this break was such an encouragement for me and a reminder that I am surrounded by really amazing brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying for our ministry. I hope you know that you are appreciated and that your gifts do make a difference! Some of my favorite verses from the nativity story comes from Mary's prayer towards the end of chapter 1:

"for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

- Luke 1:49-50

    I can't help but feel like God has done great things in my life and in the lives of these students at Collin. He has been so merciful, loving, and gracious this semester, and you all have been a part of that! 

    Please continue to pray for our ministry as we head back from break. We are gearing up for our Winter Retreat, a weekend where students from FOCUS ministries across the DFW metroplex gather to worship Christ and learn about Him together January 17th - 20th! It is an awesome weekend but is a lot to put together for our staff. Please pray that we would be able to get all of our ducks in a row and that God would really move! One of the guys in our Bible study had his grandfather pass away over the Christmas season, so please keep him and his family in your prayers as well - that God would bring them peace and understanding amidst a really sad time.

    I sent each of you a Christmas postcard, so if you have not received yours yet please let me know and I would be happy to send you another one. As always, you can see this post in a browser format and check out previous blog posts at mick.mcafoose.anyfocus.org. Attached below is a student testimonial from Emily, an alumni from the FOCUS ministry at UTA. If you have any questions or would like the link to view the sermons our apprentice class gave, please don't hesitate to contact me! My email address is mick.mcafoose@anyfocus.org. Thank you for the prayers and the support this year. I am so excited for this coming semester and how God will move! 

Blessings,

Mick