Gambling can be a good thing!

God is moving! I wanted to share with you two graces from my week so far:

1. We will exceed our goal of taking 100 students to conference! We will fill our 2 coach buses and more than likely end up with stragglers who will caravan behind in vehicles. PRAISE GOD! We are now just working on raising the funds to provide minimal food and pay the bus fees. We are confident God will provide abundantly just the same ($17,000).

2. In addition, I have an agnostic student who attends my bible study. Raised in a catholic school, she has all of the answers, but does not have a personal relationship with Christ. She is a product of society and the relativistic mentality of "what works for you, may not work for me". In discussing objective truths (those truths that are true at all times, in all places, in the same way) she denied God as a potential objective truth. My argument to her was that God cannot both exist, and not exist at the same time. He either exists for all people at all times, or He does not exist at all. Her challenge has been to find the answer to that question: Does God exist?

In asking this student to consider joining us for conference in Orlando, FL this winter, she offered a bet:

Student: "I will go to conference if you call and convince my dad to pay for it."
Kate: "Give me his number."

After a short conversation, I had grabbed her father's attention and made him aware of this need for his daughter. The following day he returned my call and notified me that he would be registering his daughter for the conference that evening. Sure enough, she is on the list!

I am happy to share with you one of many success stories. Please pray for Kiki and her experience this winter at FOCUS national conference in Orlando, FL.

Bundle Up!

Something I never thought I would hear...

Two older ladies sat near me at a local coffee shop. their conversation included the following:

"Can you believe this weather?"
"It's cold! It's supposed to warm up to 10 degress! Won't that be nice?"
"Oh yes! 10 degrees doesn't hurt my face!"

...10 degrees? seriously...

Nothing says, "Welcome to Duluth", quite like the locals!

Answered Prayers - Bishop-elect Paul Sirba

Great news! We have a new bishop who will be ordained December 14, 2009! He is fond of FOCUS and is in strong favor and support of youth ministries. We are very excited and so blessed by Bishop-elect Paul Sirba's servant's heart and willingness to answer God's call to lead the diocese of Duluth.

Thank you for your prayers - God truly hears our plea.

Personal: Missionary Engagement

I am so thrilled to share with you the exciting news of my engagement to Paul!



We are looking forward to a wonderful life together.
I ask for your prayers as we prepare to say our vows this coming spring.
Happy Holidays!


(p.s. the missionary work God has called me to through 2011 will continue)

UMD Student Testimony

One of the girls in my bible study has experienced a convicting conversion and has been striving for holiness/excellence in a radical way in the past two weeks. I asked her to share her story with you...


Wow! God has really been working hard in my life in the past couple months. I was asked into a discipleship with a FOCUS missionary, and through discerning that relationship with her, I realized that I was not giving God my all. My discipler and I decided that was the first thing we had to change,so we got right on it!
The biggest thing was making sure I was eating right and getting enough sleep, so we set my "bedtime" for 10pm every night, and my task before bed is to pack a lunch and/or supper for the next day. It is AWESOME! Seriously, I never would have imagined that I would look forward to my bedtime routine, but it has been a huge blessing!
One other major part was giving God the unhealthy relationships in my life, so after some tough conversations with people, I ended some of them. I have realized that I am a lot like Abram (later known as Abraham), from the Bible. When God instructed Abram to leave everything and go, Abram took his nephew with him as a way to make sure that he would have an heir! He didn't trust that God would follow through on his Word. I was using my relationships, work, school, etc. as "insurance policies" to make sure that I had something in my life. I didn't trust that God would take care of me and follow through on His Word either. But, like Abram, I decided to give it all to God, and God has transformed me!
To be honest, I cannot tell you a time that I was this happy, joyful, motivated, and excited about life...ever. To sum it all up, in order to live for God, you MUST give Him your all, and he will bless you in all that you do :)

Happy Halloween

One of my girls and I decided to dress up as....

yup! badminton birdies!

the rest of the team included Cowboys and "Indians", the Morton Salt girl, and a "Minnesotan"...

Hope you enjoyed your All Saints and All Souls days as well!

Made for More - A Student's Testimony

"Come, Follow Me"

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Mark 1:16-18

Students drop their nets on UMDs campus to answer God's call to attend FOCUS National Conference this winter. Please pray for those students as their lives will be transformed in some way by the workshop speakers, time in prayer, and fellowship with other faithful young adults.

discussing Conference


watching the promotional conference video


registering online to attend

Stood Up.

Life as a missionary has its perks: Work is...
- ice cream socials...
- bonfires at the lake...
- coffee dates with students

Sometimes those perks lead to pains... I can now join the "I got stood up" club.

If that wasn't lucky enough, my team member spotted the look of a stood up missionary and captured the moment...

as irony in life has it...
she was stood up shortly following that :)

FOCUS National Conference

4,000 College Students/Young Adults
December 30 - January 3
Orlando, Florida
UMD Goal: 100 Students

Special Guests:
Mathew Kelly- Author/Speaker
Father Benedict Groeschel- Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (FFR)
Matt Maher- Music Artist
Matthew West- Music Artist
Tim Hawkins - Comedian
and more...



Change a life... Sponsor a Student
Contact Kate: kfehrenbach@focusonline.org

http://www.focusconference.org/

On Your Mark... Get Set...

There is no better way to compare Outreach Season (the past three weeks) than with a sprint race. Building the sweet anticipation of being on campus is exactly like the nerves you feel as you reach your starting position. As adrenaline in your blood builds, you try to suppress it, however it packs down so tightly that upon gunfire, you explode off the starting line like a rocket in flight. Days are packed with prayer, on-campus evangelization, and (my favorite) one-on-one coffee dates with students. A story and prayer request to share from outreach season:

Rachel
I attended a freshman talk (don't ask how i managed this one..) during welcome week titled, "Unpacking Your Faith at College." You can imagine as at any university there was some hostility when the guest speaker walked the students through philosophical reasoning as to whether God exists or not... One student in particular responded to the group stating that,

despite her strong belief in Jesus Christ, she could not be more ashamed and disinterested in the hypocrisy of Christianity.

Naturally, curiosity killed this Kate, and I made my way back to her row at the dismissal of the session. In a short conversation I learned this stunning, young woman desired to know a deeper Truth and had countless questions. It was as though she was lined up at the start line, waiting for the gun to go off. With one invitation, she attended an opening outreach event - followed by another, followed by mass, followed by a Theology of the Body conference, got plugged into a small group bible study... and every day, coming back for more...

I love the sprint, don't get me wrong, but I am happy to see these successful three weeks soon come to a close. After a few days of rest, we will begin the marathon that is "build season", the educating and lifting up of students to make the decision to live their lives for our Lord.

Meet the Cleavers!

The University of Minnesota Duluth FOCUS Missionary team!

Lucy - team director, second year at UMD
Kate - (Me), first year at UMD
Kari - missionary/grad student, second year at UMD
Phil - (joined by wife, Suzee, and son, Joseph), first year at UMD
Declan - second year at UMD


*your prayers for these Bulldogs are greatly appreciated

Can you hear me now?

Like the Verizon Network, the Horizon Network, is a team of individuals committed to the best service for their customer. Lucky for us, the service we provide is grace and the customer is the soul.

Let's venture together (I'll be the dude in the glasses, you be the one in the hardhat) on University of Minnesota Duluth's campus through stories, pictures, and testimonies. Join me by providing your comments, insight, encouragement, and witnesses as we provide clearer reception for students to hear what the Lord is calling them to...

Can you hear me now?