December!

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year! I hope you were able to spend some good time with the people you love for the holidays. I honestly really enjoy the first few weeks around the new year because it feels so fresh and just naturally provides excitement for change through any resolutions I may set. I think there is something about this idea of a new start that naturally draws my attention and gives me hope. Similar to why we are naturally drawn to the middle of Lamentations reading that God's mercies are new every morning. But change can take a long time, and that is immediately what the author or Lamentations reminds us that "'The Lord is my portion' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him. I like to be nostalgic and reflect on my previous year at the start of a new one. Whether you are eagerly going into 2026, excited for what could be in store, or barely making it out of 2025, be encouraged that change can be a slow process. God could change and grow me in ways that I cannot even anticipate yet, but I can see his faithfulness all throughout 2025. So going into this new year, I will stay patient and full of hope, because He has done and will do so much more than I could ever imagine. But now looking back to the end of 2025, here are some updates from December!

We had our Christmas party super early in December because students often start leaving for break before finals are officially over. We were able to offer a free meal, had tons of board games and karaoke, and ended the night with a candle light service as we read through different parts of the Christmas story from scripture. It was hard to tell how many students were there because we did not charge for the meal, but we had over 300 plates set out, and we had to go buy more by the end of the night!
These are the guys from my small group who were able to come. Please be praying for this group going into this semester! I am so encouraged by their growing love for God and friendship with each other. But also please be praying for their classes and schedule. There are a lot of responsibilities in life, and part of growing as a disciple in college is learning how to prioritize and navigate them.
Here is our yearly staff photo at the Christmas party. I love all these people so much. It is such an honor to work with them. Shoutout Brandon Worsham (bottom left) for being my supervisor, friend, mentor, boss, CEO....he wears so many different hats but I am grateful for them all. Please be praying for our staff retreat this next week as all staff from all the campuses will spend a few days together to reflect on the school year, grow closer together, and direct our hearts towards the upcoming semester of ministry on campus.

The last core small group of the semester :( But with this being about three weeks ago, I am already excited for core and my FOJ bible studies to start back up again. Please pray for me and my co-leader Felipe as we start planning out this next semester. There can be a lot to talk about, but only about a dozen planned meetings for the semester.
I had to include CK. He works at SMU now, but was at UTD last year with me. I did not know him at all before working with FOCUS, but he is hopefully a life long friend, God willing. 
During the second half of December when students are on break, ministry looks a little different. It kind of feels like college ministry during the summer because only about half of the students are in town, and a lot of their time (and my time) is spent with family for the holidays. But, we find ways to meet together with who is in town through things like going to see a movie or playing volleyball. Here, a group of us went to see the new Avatar movie. I am unashamed to say that I have seen it twice.

This is not ministry related, but at the end of this, I just wanted to share a new hobby. Looking at leaves!!!! These are some that my friend Andrea and I found. I loved looking at the trees this month, and then individually at the design God made on each leaf. 




Finally, please be praying for our quickly approaching Winter Retreat. This is our biggest event of the year, and has taken a lot of our ministry's time this past month. We are inviting Marty Solomon from the BEMA podcast to come talk for part of it! We are expecting around 800+ students, so please be praying for safe travels to camp and that God uses that time powerfully.

Love you all. Thank you for being a large part of this year with me.
Paul M


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