Claire Umstead Ministry Updates

The Richland Team!!! Hello! Happy New Year!! Can you believe we are in 2023 now? I pray that all of you have had a good start to the year. I want to share this scripture in hopes of encouragement and comfort. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:16-19 If you haven't read through the book of Ephesians before, I highly encourage it! It is a book of encouragement and sweet reminders of the truth. I have been reading through it with a student this semester so I wanted to share with you what has been laid on my heart.  Christmas Party a...

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I went to Taos, New Mexico with my family and we stayed in a cabin in the mountains. It was a beautiful and refreshing break! This month was full of joy and thanksgiving being in community with these students. Thank you so much for your investment in these students. Above is a picture of a Thursday Night FOCUS sermon! Hangout at Sandra's!!!     Sandra, my fellow woman's pastor,  lives about 7 minutes from campus. She has graciously been welcoming students into her home once a month for a home-cooked meal and fellowship. We have a good amount of Vietnamese students in our ministry, so we made Bahn Mi which is a sandwich with usually pulled pork and pickled veggies. It was delicious!  Below is a picture of two of our Vietnamese students. Jimmy on the right actually made most of the food for this hangout. He is an amazing chef and has such a big heart for others. He has grown up Buddhist but has recently been studying the ...

     Hello! Happy November! really has flown this year. The picture above is from our Fall Camp this year! I talk about it more below.      Thank you for your continued support. As always, send me any prayer requests or updates on your lives. Let's jump in! Keep Focus Growing What is this about? Our missionaries raise support, but it takes a lot more than that for us to do ministry! Outreach activities/materials, administrative support, planting new campuses, health/retirement benefits, etc. This is about being around for the long haul and expanding our reach. What does our theme, “Faithfully Local,” mean? One of our core convictions is that we go TO the students and do ministry where they live, eat, study, and play. We move into the neighborhood, so to speak. We contribute to the good of the campus, seeking to improve the culture and experience of each place, and we do so for the long-haul–something especially unique at community colleges that have few lon...

  Hello! I hope all has been well with you. Above is a picture of one of our first Thursday Night FOCUS meetings. Already we have such a sweet group of students joining our community. I am so excited about what this school year holds for us! Thank you for investing in these college students!!  As always, feel free to send me any prayer requests so I can be praying for you and your life.  Staff Retreat     At the beginning of August, all of FOCUS staff went to Riverbend Retreat Center in Glen Rose for our annual Fall staff retreat! I was looking forward to it this year because I know most of the staff and what to expect during our retreats.      We had a lot of fun together as well as some good teaching to reflect on and ready our hearts for the school year. Some of the topics we talked about were Self-Denial, and Loving from the Heart. They were helpful reflect on going into school year. Leadership Training     When we got back from Staf...

Happy Summer!       Tuesday, May 31st was the last official day of the apprenticeship! I am now on full-time staff for the next 3 years! These past 10 months flew by. Thank you for partnering with me these past 10 months. Without your generosity, I would not have been able to have this opportunity to learn and grow the ways I did and am continuing to.     As always, feel free to send any prayer requests you might have or ask any questions. Fundraising Update      I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am for your partnership in campus ministry. Now in my second year of fundraising, I often think it is only a necessary part of doing ministry and am entirely too focused on how I feel uncomfortable instead of seeing it as an extension of my ministry and blessing others. The Lord is changing my heart towards fundraising and I'm so thankful He is doing so. In the words of Nouwen "It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other p...

  Happy April!     Time just seems to be flying! I have less than 2 months left in the apprenticeship and I still can't seem to wrap my head around that. I want to thank you for being on my support team these past 8 months. All of this would not be possible without you and your support. In this month's update, I will share about some of my classes, what I have been learning, and how ministry at Richland has been going overall.     As always, feel free to send me prayer requests and any questions you might have. Classes and Takeaways     During the month of March, two more classes were added to my schedule of three consistent classes (New Testament Foundations, Questions with Ronnie, and Maturing with Mandy/Spiritual Leadership with Brandon). Feel free to ask questions about any of the classes I mention, if you would like to know more! I would love to talk more about what I have been learning throughout the apprenticeship.     One of the new c...