April Ministry Update

Hello friends and supporters!

It feels like it's been forever since I wrote my last blog. And since my last correspondence with you was me letting you in on what's been going on in my life, I'll start there.

Firstly, I want to thank you for your prayers and give all the praise to God that the anxiety I've experienced is completely gone! I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of so many of you and was merciful with me. I learned a lot in the past few months from this experience, not least of which was that it's necessary for us to go through "pruning" seasons that may be painful for a while, but that refine us and make us stronger in the end. I'm overjoyed, I'm thankful, and I'm praising God.

Secondly, and more importantly, my wife Erika and I are (drumroll please)....PREGNANT!!! Well, technically, she's the pregnant one, but it's hard to say that any other way. We're expecting our first child in October of this year and we couldn't be more excited and thankful. I can't wait to be a dad; I know it holds challenges that are beyond my ability and joys beyond my understanding, but I trust God will provide and refine. Your prayers for Erika and the baby are much appreciated!



On a different note, but no less encouraging, we had a staff/student team from Bellevue College in Washington state come down to Collin College on their spring break and spend the week reaching out to students on our three campuses. First of all, how cool that that's the way they chose to spend their spring break. Secondly, it was such a blessing to have their staff and students here. They got to know our campuses, boldly spoke to students they didn't know, prayed with them, witnessed Christ to them, and invited them in to community and relationship with God. Our students at Collin got to do this alongside them; it galvanized our community and was life-giving to our entire staff and community. We are so thankful for these folks!

Finally, I can't believe I'm saying this already, but classes are about to wrap up for the semester which means we're heading into summer. For me that means I have some work to do. One of the hardest things for me to do as a minister is raise my own salary. I'm not particularly gifted in this area and I've always hated feeling like a burden to people. I'll need to get over that, though, because as Erika has our baby she obviously won't be able to work as much. She's the breadwinner of our family, but won't be able to play that role any more. That means I'll need to fundraise more in order to pick up the slack from her not working. I trust God's provision, and rely on him to give us exactly what we need. As a part of that I'd like you to prayerfully consider either joining my support team (by giving monthly or one time), or increasing the amount you give. I know that's a big ask. I hope you can see that it goes towards real, life-changing campus ministry and find it worth your investment. If you are interested please email me at garrett@anyfocus.org and we can go from there! Thank you for considering this. Your prayers and support mean so very much to me and the Collin College community. Thank you so much for your continued support and love. We could not do this without you!!

Yours on the campus,
Garrett