Why blog? What does 'blogging' even mean? For me, this resource is an opportunity to share with others the story of my life; where God is leading me. It is especially important that I am able to stay connected with my friends and family, and those who are supporting me as I venture onto the next chapter of my life: serving as a full-time missionary with FOCUS-The Fellowship of Catholic University Students. It is my intent to put forth a valiant effort in keeping the events of my work in serving college students up to date through this blog. With that, I would very much like to share my individual call to FOCUS and how I am now "Answering the Call."
It is through faith that I believe every individual in the world is called to live out a life and a mission greater than themselves. For me, it is through my Catholic faith that I believe I was created by God to strive towards sainthood- to keep my eye on the eternal bliss that is Heaven, and to live as virtuous and holy of a life as possible. Along with this responsibility, it is my duty to bring along as many souls to Heaven as God allows. Right now, I cannot deny the truth that I am called to serve and live out this mission through FOCUS.
FOCUS has been reaching out to college students for almost 13 years now and I am grateful that I was one of those students. Today, the organization has had over 300 missionaries serving thousands of college students on 58 campuses in 28 states. I will be serving alongside three other missionaries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Ma. This is quite a jaunt from my upbringings in rural Missouri (1,292 miles to be exact), but I have complete trust in what God has in store.
Growing up I was always challenged by my family to work hard and live according to what will bring the most happiness to all. Much of what I learned about life stemmed from the education received from the Catholic Church. Of course, as I grew up and matured I was able to make my faith my own and accept it for the truth I believe it is. Being the youngest of 4 children, I also had a great opportunity to learn from my siblings. My older sisters and brother excelled in many different areas of life, and I too felt the need to do that. Fortunately I was blessed in experiencing success in many areas, and by the time I graduated high school in 2008, I felt very prepared for college.
It wasn't until I was faced with the challenges of the world and the typical influences on a college campus that I began to stumble in my faith. There was clearly a life that was tempting to me that I wanted to be a part of, and while I did falter, it became clear to me that I was seeking out happiness in a very disordered way. FOCUS radically re-directed my thoughts and worldview to that of the person of Jesus Christ and I began to experience the world for what it is meant to be. I saw how my closest friends were being affected from living life according to what our society tells us is going to bring us the most happiness and wanted to help, so I became more involved in FOCUS on my campus. Graduation from college was quickly approaching me, and while I loved school, I had decided to graduate a year early in May of 2011. It was hard for me to see where I needed to be in life after graduation. There were so many options: work, internships, graduate school, study abroad, etc. I was definitely keeping a blind eye to serving as a missionary, but I quickly found out that is what God was calling me to.
I attended my second FOCUS National Conference in January of 2011 in Denver, Co and it was there that I finally surrendered to what was needed of me. After hearing a very eye-opening talk by Dr. Jonathan Reyes (Augustine Institute) I was reminded of our eternal call to holiness. For me, I questioned what I should be doing in life because God had allowed me to participate in many of the blessings His world has to offer and I honestly wanted to pursue all of them! But it was something Dr. Reyes said that really opened my heart, "Sometimes God calls us in radical ways to develop gifts we never dreamed we'd have." It was at this moment that I finally felt that it was possible God was leading me to serve as a missionary. With my heart and mind fully open and fully alive, I saw the signs loud and clear.
Immediately after the talk by Dr. Reyes, I was able to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist with nearly 2,000 other college students. I fully believe that scripture will teach us a lesson if we are attentive enough, and on that cold day in January I was listening more attentively than ever. I recall sitting there before Mass thinking in my mind and directly asking with all of my heart, "God, where do you want me? What do you want me to do?" It was honestly the first time in my entire 21 years that I explicitly asked God this question. And as I sat there among many tired college students I was fully alive for the first time and I heard the Gospel in a radical way. The reading for Mass that day was from Mark chapter 2:13-17:
"13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)
It is through faith that I believe every individual in the world is called to live out a life and a mission greater than themselves. For me, it is through my Catholic faith that I believe I was created by God to strive towards sainthood- to keep my eye on the eternal bliss that is Heaven, and to live as virtuous and holy of a life as possible. Along with this responsibility, it is my duty to bring along as many souls to Heaven as God allows. Right now, I cannot deny the truth that I am called to serve and live out this mission through FOCUS.
FOCUS has been reaching out to college students for almost 13 years now and I am grateful that I was one of those students. Today, the organization has had over 300 missionaries serving thousands of college students on 58 campuses in 28 states. I will be serving alongside three other missionaries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Ma. This is quite a jaunt from my upbringings in rural Missouri (1,292 miles to be exact), but I have complete trust in what God has in store.
Growing up I was always challenged by my family to work hard and live according to what will bring the most happiness to all. Much of what I learned about life stemmed from the education received from the Catholic Church. Of course, as I grew up and matured I was able to make my faith my own and accept it for the truth I believe it is. Being the youngest of 4 children, I also had a great opportunity to learn from my siblings. My older sisters and brother excelled in many different areas of life, and I too felt the need to do that. Fortunately I was blessed in experiencing success in many areas, and by the time I graduated high school in 2008, I felt very prepared for college.
It wasn't until I was faced with the challenges of the world and the typical influences on a college campus that I began to stumble in my faith. There was clearly a life that was tempting to me that I wanted to be a part of, and while I did falter, it became clear to me that I was seeking out happiness in a very disordered way. FOCUS radically re-directed my thoughts and worldview to that of the person of Jesus Christ and I began to experience the world for what it is meant to be. I saw how my closest friends were being affected from living life according to what our society tells us is going to bring us the most happiness and wanted to help, so I became more involved in FOCUS on my campus. Graduation from college was quickly approaching me, and while I loved school, I had decided to graduate a year early in May of 2011. It was hard for me to see where I needed to be in life after graduation. There were so many options: work, internships, graduate school, study abroad, etc. I was definitely keeping a blind eye to serving as a missionary, but I quickly found out that is what God was calling me to.
I attended my second FOCUS National Conference in January of 2011 in Denver, Co and it was there that I finally surrendered to what was needed of me. After hearing a very eye-opening talk by Dr. Jonathan Reyes (Augustine Institute) I was reminded of our eternal call to holiness. For me, I questioned what I should be doing in life because God had allowed me to participate in many of the blessings His world has to offer and I honestly wanted to pursue all of them! But it was something Dr. Reyes said that really opened my heart, "Sometimes God calls us in radical ways to develop gifts we never dreamed we'd have." It was at this moment that I finally felt that it was possible God was leading me to serve as a missionary. With my heart and mind fully open and fully alive, I saw the signs loud and clear.
Immediately after the talk by Dr. Reyes, I was able to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist with nearly 2,000 other college students. I fully believe that scripture will teach us a lesson if we are attentive enough, and on that cold day in January I was listening more attentively than ever. I recall sitting there before Mass thinking in my mind and directly asking with all of my heart, "God, where do you want me? What do you want me to do?" It was honestly the first time in my entire 21 years that I explicitly asked God this question. And as I sat there among many tired college students I was fully alive for the first time and I heard the Gospel in a radical way. The reading for Mass that day was from Mark chapter 2:13-17:
"13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)
As I sat there listening to the call of Levi I began to feel the Holy Spirit fully moving inside of my soul. Tears were running down my face and I felt in my heart that God was truly sending me a sign and I was prepared to answer that call. After traveling back to school and filling out the application to serve as a FOCUS missionary, I prayed harder than ever. I attended an interview weekend, and was offered the opportunity to serve as a missionary. I was challenged by FOCUS as a student and will continue to be challenged as a missionary in many ways. I finally feel that what my heart desires and wants is exactly what God needs and wants from me. While it is a beautiful feeling, there are certainly many questions about life and my faith that I am still seeking to find answers to. But I know God is always guiding us, and it is simply up to us to listen for His calling.
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