For Everything There is a Season

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every affair under the heavens." -Ecclesiastes 3:1 

It's amazing to me how fast these past six weeks have gone. One minute, we were in the midst of Fall Outreach season, and now it's the middle of October: our Bible Studies have been meeting for almost four weeks now, we have our first ever student-led Bible Study underway, and I'm jetting off to Rome for a week on Sunday. With how fast the semester is going, I've been reminded of this verse from Ecclesiastes-- how in everything there is a season. As we move out of the "fall outreach" season and into the "deep investing" season I can only trust in God's divine providence governing everything we do, especially the movements within the hearts of the students we're investing in.

God has blessed us greatly in so many ways and it's very clear to see His fruit in all things. My team of missionaries are hard at work making deep relationships with the students God has entrusted to them and encouraging students to take that next step in their faith. We have a student named Sarah, a senior, who so graciously volunteered to lead a Bible Study with us since we had so many young women interested in these groups. I went to Sarah's first study last week and was overjoyed with how much God has been working in her heart and moving in her life to get her to this point.

I will be traveling to Rome, Italy from Sunday October 21st- Sunday October 28th with 100 other of my fellow FOCUS Team Directors, Regional Directors, and Directors of Collegiate Outreach to be present for the Synod on the New Evangelization, which is led by Pope Benedict XVI and includes the founder of FOCUS, Curtis Martin, as a key participant. We will be praying, fasting, sight-seeing, and partaking in any way that God allows for this historic moment in Church and world history. Please keep my travels and the Synod in your prayers. For more information, check out this article from the National Catholic Register: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-synod-and-the-new-evangelization-why-its-important-for-u.s.-catholics/

Another exciting event coming up not too far down the road is FOCUS National Conference 2013, now called "SEEK 2013". This is a five-day conference in Orlando, FL at the beginning of January open to all college students, young adults, and anyone else wanting to have a deeper understanding of their faith. Held every two years, FOCUS is planning for its biggest national conference ever, with nearly 8,000 people in attendance. We have been hitting it hard here in La Crosse with promoting student attendance to this conference. Our goal is to bring 50-60 students from La Crosse, which is a bit of a stretch goal for a new campus, but we believe the Lord is truly calling for a huge transformation on the campus of UW-L, and that this conference may be the pinnacle. To promote the conference, my team went out on campus last week and made a video of student opinions regarding the issues of purpose. Check it out here: SEEK Promo Video

As always, thank you for your prayers and support of this mission. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! :)

FOCUS Team UW-La Crosse with our Director of Collegiate Outreach, Mark Bartek during his visit to La Crosse