Ministry Blog for November

Another Month Gone!

I can't believe that it's already December!! This month has been so sweet as we've been wrapping up the semester with our students, so I'm excited to share what has happened. Thank you again for your support in God's mission on the SMU campus and your investment in my development as a minister.

Discipleship Class and Pizza Theology

This month we finished up our Discipleship Class (D-Class) for the semester that we offered our students once a week before our large group gathering. Laurence, the head staff person at SMU FOCUS, and I took turns leading the group through the book of John, going over one chapter a week. I got to teach on John 3 and dive deep into the theological and pastoral implications of Jesus' interactions with Nicodemus as well as John the Baptist's testimony about him. This was such a cool opportunity for our students to interact with God's word on a more academic level; they learned how the context and culture of John's Gospel help in understanding more about who Jesus is and how we should respond to him. 

A picture of one of our D-classes! (Laurence is to the far left)

We also put on our semesterly Pizza Theology, which is a five-hour event with four hours of lecture on a deeper theological topic and an hour break to eat pizza. This is one of our largest events of the year, with over 300 students in attendance. This semester, two of our pastors taught on the topic, "How to Think Like a Christian." If you are interested in listening to some of it, here are the links to both parts below:

Part 1:

https://anyfocus.org/media/how-to-think-like-a-christian-part-1/

Part 2: 

https://anyfocus.org/media/how-to-think-like-a-christian-part-2-2/

A picture of the audience we had for Pizza Theology

Discipling Ministry

One really sweet experience that I had this month was getting connected to a girl named Raagini through a student at SMU. The mutual friend we had wanted us to connect over the phone since she knew we were both Christian (she herself is Hindu). So, we set up a phone call with a 12-hour difference and I got to learn her touching and encouraging story. Raagini grew up in India as a Hindu but never took her faith very seriously. In a time of depression and uncertainty, she started seeking spiritual answers and found the Truth of Jesus through an acquaintance of hers. Though we grew up in completely different cultures, Raagini and I found an instant connection through our shared faith and were able to pray and encourage each other with scripture. This reminded me of God's global vision for the church and how he cares about every person, no matter their culture, ethnicity, or life experience. 

I have loved continuing my FOJ (Focus on Jesus) Bible studies this month with Suvwe, Kyndal, and Melanie and Helena. We have been able to share about our lives more and support and encourage each other through our own self-reflection on our sin struggles and our current circumstances this semester. I am so glad I can call these girls my friends and have the opportunity to remind them of God's love and power each time we meet! Thank you again for your support of these sweet spiritual friendships.

Here are some photos of the girls involved at different events:

Some of our girls who hung out together at SMU's Celebration of Lights

We had an emo night for our girl's night where we dressed up and shared angsty poetry from our teenage years

Wrapping up Classes

We are finishing up our classes for the semester, including my Old Testament Foundations class. Our final paper for the class was about how Christians should read the Old Testament well, which gave me the opportunity to talk about the themes of Creation, Covenant, and Redemption that point to God's character and plan for the world. I'm so thankful to have been able to take this academic class and understand my faith at a much deeper level!

I'm so thankful to be able to take classes with the other amazing Apprentices!

Prayer Requests

-Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my core! We have done a couple of outreach events on campus and have been able to meet a handful of girls through that, which is so exciting! I would love prayer specifically for Bailie and Melanie, two girls we met that seemed interested in friendship and community. Please pray that they have the motivation to get involved and are open to talking about faith.

-Please be praying for our students as winter break approaches! Going home for a month can be hard for students who don't have stable home lives or are at risk of falling into old sin patterns (plus it's easy for everyone to become selfish once we have that much free time). I want it to be a restful and refreshing break where the community stays connected.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break! Please email me at siena.walter@anyfocus.org with any life updates or prayer requests you'd like to share. I'd love to hear from you!

In Christ, 

Siena