As many of you may have heard, my dad is going on day 11 of being in the ICU. He and my mom caught the Swine Flu. My mom got better because she had received a flu shot, but my dad didn't. He got worse and developed pneumonia and then Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. He has been on life support for 10 days and we don't know when they will take him off the ventilator. I have been going back and forth between Plano and Houston to be with my family, and needless to say, it has been difficult.
The Lord has been good to us though, and I have seen his mercies in so many new ways every day. The support of our family, friends, and church has been immeasurable and I am completely humbled and grateful. My heart goes out to the people who have to face things like this alone, without any support. We have met different families in the ICU and it has been difficult to see the ones who have little to no family with them. There is one patient close to my dad's room whose family had to hire strangers to stay with him 24/7 because they couldn't be there. I can't imagine how hard that must be! I have been so blessed to get time away from my work in order to be with my family, and especially with my mom. I am also so grateful for technology that allows me to stay involved with what's happening in my ministry even when I can't be physically present. If you could keep my dad and my family in your prayers, I would so appreciate it!
To update you on what's been happening in our ministry, here is a look at the past month in pictures:
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| Our staff went on retreat and invited Brady Bobbink, a friend and partner in campus ministry. Brady directed Campus Christian Fellowship at Western Washington University for many years and we have modeled a lot of our ministry after his. We send our students up to Bellingham, WA every summer to learn from him and his staff. |
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| All 5 of our churches came together to hear Brady speak and to celebrate what God has done in our community. Our pastor had a vision to plant 20 churches by 2020. If you include all of our church plants and campus ministries, we have 16 communities! God has grown our body tremendously. |
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| Collin College students at Winter Camp! |
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| More Collin College students at camp, including some girls that I mentor on a weekly basis. |
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| The whole group at Winter Camp 2020, from 11 different FOCUS ministries across the DFW Metroplex. We had around 580 people there! |
Coming up at the end of this month (Feb 29) is Showcase 2020, our annual fundraiser to send our students to Student Institute of Campus Ministry in Washington. I'll update you with more details soon but please consider coming out to this concert and art show! It is always a fun time and we have many talented students in our community that love to perform. Go to
anyfocus.org/showcase to get your ticket now!
Thanks for reading and for all your prayers
<3 Danielle
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