UTPA BSM

Yesterday BSM students hosted the 2008 “Open Your Eyes” Fair during International Week at UTPA. During this event world causes were promoted and money was raised to meet specific needs in different parts of the world. From water wells, literacy programs in Africa, First Aid Kids, local food bank and more… all BSM students hosted the event and promoted the cause of their choosing.

We were blown away by the response of the student population.  A guy that came to the water well table decided to give $25 dollar on the spot after filling out the well sample with water.  Another guy from Venezuela decided to support the Children of Light cause because it was helping his people.  Some students bought African Jewelry made by the very women that are learning to read and write.  Ali and Yara’s journey group raised enough money to buy 2 First Aid Kits for communities in Africa. Money was raised for the local food bank and awareness was raised to stop human trafficking.  Two of our guys decided to raise money to help a buy a family an animal to help them make money for living.  Also, money was raised to buy shoes for orphans.

All in all this event was a success. We are proud of all BSM students. You guys and girls rock! Staying up late at night to work on your display was worth it.  We thank God for your commitment to think and take action for those in need.  Many eyes were opened and many lives will be touched because of your generosity.

Here are pictures of the event:

view a larger slide show here..

Living Proof performed at the Baptist Student Center last Thursday.  It was an evening filled with testimonies of God’s love and thought provoking songs.  The members of Living Proof were great to hang out with and very talented.  Students that attended the evening were impressed with the quality of singing and the attitudes of Living Proof.

The concert finished as the group lead us in worship and encouraged us to trust in the Lord.  BSM leaders presented the group with official BSM t-shirts in gratitude. We finished the evening hosting a coffee house for everyone that attended. It was a great time for good conversation, great goodies baked by many of you, and good coffee.

Here are some pictures of the event:

View a larger version here

I want to invite you to join us tonight for a wonderful night of music, fellowship, and testimonies of God’s grace. Thursday Nov. 13 8 PM

Last night’s prayer gathering for Africa went amazing A great group of students showed up and we prayed for about an hour for different needs in that continent.  We then went inside the chapel and worshiped and got an opportunity to hear an inspiring testimony from Sam (a missionary from Uganda in Kenya) and Moses (a pastor in Kenya). They shared with us what God is doing in their country and inspired us to live a life of service.

Here are the pictures: If you want to see a larger slide show click here.

Haven’t posted in a while. Not because of lack of things to report and praise God for, but simply because of lack of time.  Here is a recap of what God is doing:

• God continues to use BSM leaders to impact others.  It seems that all of us are learning new fresh ways on how to be intentional with our lives.  I am always encouraged to hear how our students hang out, to fun stuff and share life with each other.
• New students keep coming our way.  Even though not as many as in the first days of school, we are getting to know students and establish a connection that will grow into friendship over time.
• STC ministry is up and running.  It seems that Sharon’s prayer are working.  Over the last two weeks, they have had a great time with new students and finally and a thank God the BSM is now officially an organization at the STC campus.
• Discipleship is close to our hearts.  We continue to see students come to life as they discover truths about God’s love.

This week is going amazing.  Tomorrow we will have a Night for Africa. We wil be hosting two friends for Africa. Here is the promo:

Also, I want to share with you the BSM Times.  It is so encouraging to see God using the skills of students for his glory.  Here it is:

bsm-times

The BSM retreat was awesome. We had a great group of students that came to relax, have fun, and focus on Jesus.  Prof. Jones came on Friday night to share with us about what it means to believe in Jesus and not in our idea of Jesus.  We also had BSM Late Nite, we have so much talent among us.

Everyone made the discussion during break out session very interesting and all of us had blast.  We thank God for giving us the opportunity to have such a great time. Here are some pictures:

Lots of cool things have happened since our last post.  We just have been so into what God is doing that have not been able to post about it. So, here is a recap since last post….

Focus at San Antonio was great…

We had a blast and learned much about each other and what God wants us to do in our campus. Here are some pictures:

Campus Outreach

As soon as we got back we went over to campus to have an outreach event. As usual, lots of students came out to help so we had a blast as we met new students and invited them our weekly gathering. Many came! Pictures:

D&D for Athlete Students

Our Diner and Devotional for Athlete students is going great.  We have met great new students who represent our campus greatly in the area of Athletics. Go Broncs!

Free Lunch…The Tradition goes on…

Our building is up to capacity with the amount of students we have at our lunch. Every student we have met tells us how much they enjoy coming to the Free Lunch. Last week we had Calvary Baptist Church serving lunch. David showed up to grill burgers and then did a great job sharing with students about his missionary endeavors.

Friday Serving Project….

Sharon took a great group of students to the Children’s Hospital to perform skits, sing, and play with the kids. It was just amazing to see all of the students that showed up to go.

To top all of these cool happenings, Journey Groups met throughout the week and we had a great discussion on love during our worship gathering.

As you can tell we had a full week of blessed ministry. Thanks be to God for the way he is working among college students at UTPA and through their lives.

Our weekly worship gathering has been great this semester. Every week we continue to be encouraged to live freely in Christ.  This week we have a special guest coming to share with us about the way in which God has lifted him up from the darkest areas of his life. We will start at 8 PM.

CHOICE is also a good place to hand out and enjoy hanging out with others.  Last week we had a cup cake decorating spread. Here are a few pictures:

We love missions. What it represents and the impact that missions have on a person, a family, a community, a nation, and the world.  Missions is in our hearts because we are passionate about seeing people coming to know Jesus and experiencing first hand what faith in him can do in one’s life.

Last Saturday we got together to raise money for missions at Hestect.  It was great. Everyone that showed up understood what we were there for and kept the main picture in mind.  We can’t wait to see what God will do this year as we keep on focusing on being the presence of Christ on our campus and beyond.

Here are pictures of the event. I am also including pictures of a visit some BSMers did to minister to children at the Children’s Hospital.

[Show as slideshow]

One of the hardest things we will ever have to do is to trust in God in the midst of trouble.  Sometimes when you are right in the middle of it, it may even seem that God has completely turned away from your circumstances.  Let’s admit it, it is very hard to understand that what we are going through in some way will bring some sort of benefit. Moreover, even to think that we will better off because of it may even seem like we are pushing the envelope.

It is not easy to explain why some things happen in life.  It is equally difficult to explain how God can transform pain into growth.  However, God is able to bring something good out of what it may seem like a lost cause.  Time and time again, the testimony stands of the faithfulness and transcendence of God. It is this reality that gives us hope, that in spite of our circumstances God is able to see us through.

This song is shared with you in this blog for the second time. So that if you, or someone you know is going through a tough time, you will realize that there is hope, a living hope, the kind only God can provide.