70% Through the Apprenticeship!

This scripture has been on my mind a lot recently:

Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

This scripture has been written on a whiteboard in my room for almost four years (it won't come off anymore). God has used this constantly throughout my time as a Christian to give me peace, objectivity and clarity about the things going on in my life. 

Recently, I've been trying to think of ways the Lord has been good, and give Him thanksgiving and praise, amidst the negative parts of life.

We recently went over a part of this scripture in our Collin staff meeting. I'm thankful for a workplace that cares about each other's individual growth and relationship with God and His people!

I pray that you can also rejoice in the Lord, giving Him thanksgiving and thinking of whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy!

Philippians 4:4-9 written on my whiteboard, at the moment hidden behind a drawing and some magnets/pictures (I should probably reorganize my whiteboard).

We hosted our Pizza Theology on the book of Exodus, where some of our FOCUS staff broke down content from Exodus in four hours. At the end, we had a Q and A session over the lectures and Exodus.

Students were provided with the speaker's notes and some space to write down things that stood out throughout the lectures.

 Our staff covered topics from Exodus such as the Tabernacle, Mosaic Law, the relationship between the Israelites and God, and how it all ties into Jesus and the present day.

Family Night was a blast! I loved getting to meet our student's friends and families come and see what our ministry is all about. Brandon, one of the student leaders at Preston Ridge, shared about the impact God had on him through a community like FOCUS.

As always, the apprenticeship has blessed me with some awesome people I get to spend time with regularly. Here are candid shots of Danny from my core, and Cody, my supervisor. We get to talk about our lives, relationship with God, and everything in between.

(No, Chick-fil-A does not sponsor me, it is really just coincidence that I met both of them on different weeks at different locations.)

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this and support me in the various ways that you do.

Alex Garcia

Prayer Requests

• Our FOCUS director at Collin, Garrett, and his wife Erika, are expecting their second child in about 3 weeks! Please pray for health and peace for the excited couple!

• Students from a ministry we partner with in Washington state are coming down for a week to do outreach/evangelism on our campuses this month. Pray for their travels and opportunity to show Jesus to students at Collin!

March's FOCUS student testimony!