So I realized that I've shared a lot about how awesome everything is, but haven't talked much about what it's actually like on campus. So what is it like here in a great, big, secular setting? Well, let me share!
First of all, there's a lot of immorality. I guess what's saddest is that it's really ENCOURAGED immorality, as if college students are a bunch of animals that are destined to hook up and can't control themselves. At one of the opening campus-wide events back in August, there was a table giving away free condoms. Great, thanks people! Why don't you just tell all these students to go and flush their physical and emotional well-being down the toilet?
At the same time, this forces students to make a choice. I've had a lot of really good conversations with students about chastity and why it's important. We had an entire night for women talking about modesty and why it's important, using letters from guys who loved them as sisters in Christ and wanted to respect and protect them. This allowed many of the women here to understand why they should save themselves for their future spouse, and to really WANT to do this.
Second of all, there is a definite gay-agenda that's continually advocated. At this same beginning of the semester event mentioned above, there was a HUGE stand promoting the legalization of same-sex marriage. This same agenda is promoted in the classroom. One of the students that I'm mentoring had a "man" come and speak to them about how she always "knew" that her body did not reflect what she was in her head, so she had all the necessary surgery done to make herself a male. Traumatizing class? Um, yeah...
At the same time, AWESOME opportunity to have a GREAT conversation about human sexuality and how it is a part of our very essence as human persons, as well as why it is a gift that should not be rejected as if it were instead some sort of a curse.
So even though there are a lot of negative activities promoted here at UNL which are ultimately extremely harmful to the moral, physical, and emotional well-being of the human person, the prominence of these activities forces a lot students to be educated about these realities and come to understand the truth. Ultimately, we are called to love the sinner yet hate the sin. When a "man" comes to talk to your class about how Christians tell her that she's going to hell, there is a good opportunity to put what you preach into practice.
God bless!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
So I pretty much love this whole evangelization thing...even with its challenges!
When I first heard about the mission of FOCUS, "To know Christ Jesus, and to fulfill His great commission by first living and then communicating the fullness of life within the family of God, the Church," I got pretty excited. I mean, REALLY excited. I remember "studying" Metaphysics in the library at school while really researching what it was like to be a missionary and wanting to CRY because the idea of doing that for at least the next two years of my life was so radical and incredible! Why? Because sharing God's love through evangelization is AWESOME!
So I suppose the question becomes, is this all that I was hoping it would be? Is life just dandy and perfect? Well, like many things in God's plan for my life, it's much more than I could EVER hope for, and much more of a struggle than I could have anticipated! But that's ok, because that's all part of God's plan too. I wanted to share some of the surprises that I've experienced since I've gotten here, simply to demonstrate how God's plan is SO MUCH bigger and better than my plan, and that He really takes care of us when He calls us to do certain things.
First of all, the struggles. I suppose one would be the hours that we keep. Today, I began the day with a run with a student at 7am, and will end the day by locking up after a 9-10pm Bible study and driving a student home around 10:30. Last night, I was watching a movie with students until about midnight. Overall, this sort of lifestyle is pretty average for us as missionaries. While here, we are called to be radically available to the students, and that involves keeping their hours and sharing life with them at all hours. It's tiring, for sure! But the conversations that you have running at 7am and the trials that they are going through which you are able to bear with them over s'mores at midnight TOTALLY make it all worth it!
Another struggle is one that I was warned about, but still surprised by. When I was interviewed, a missionary told me that often particular difficulties that you've faced dealt with throughout your life can surprise you again, which can be discouraging and difficult. Has this been true? For SURE it has! But, as an awesome priest here in Lincoln pointed out, our weaknesses can help us to recognize our total dependence on God in a much deeper and very needed way, and that's pretty darn awesome. Ultimately, we're nothing without Him, and continually seeking His help in our re-occuring weakness reminds us of this truth.
What else has come as a surprise? God has been equipping me for this for the past 8 years!!! I was reflecting on this, and blown away by it! First of all, God was good enough to teach me some tough but important lessons during high-school that have been really instrumental in allowing me to relate to many of the girls here, which has been such a gift! Additionally, many of the students are THIRSTY for the philosophical and theological insights that I was so blest to learn while at Ave Maria, and it's been such a blessing to pass these on and help their minds to be blown away by some of the same things I was when I encountered the depth and rationality of the Truth for the first time!!
Most of all, the JOY that has come with missionary life has blown me away! So many students involved in what we're doing have the same zeal for souls that God placed on my heart, and I've learned so much from them!! They are having meaningful conversations with other students, just like us missionaries are, and we're truly sharing Christ's love together. Hearing how FOCUS has been instrumental in bringing them to this point has been really great, and their examples really attest to how God is working here at UNL.
Pray for me and the other missionaries, PLEASE!!
God bless! : )
So I suppose the question becomes, is this all that I was hoping it would be? Is life just dandy and perfect? Well, like many things in God's plan for my life, it's much more than I could EVER hope for, and much more of a struggle than I could have anticipated! But that's ok, because that's all part of God's plan too. I wanted to share some of the surprises that I've experienced since I've gotten here, simply to demonstrate how God's plan is SO MUCH bigger and better than my plan, and that He really takes care of us when He calls us to do certain things.
First of all, the struggles. I suppose one would be the hours that we keep. Today, I began the day with a run with a student at 7am, and will end the day by locking up after a 9-10pm Bible study and driving a student home around 10:30. Last night, I was watching a movie with students until about midnight. Overall, this sort of lifestyle is pretty average for us as missionaries. While here, we are called to be radically available to the students, and that involves keeping their hours and sharing life with them at all hours. It's tiring, for sure! But the conversations that you have running at 7am and the trials that they are going through which you are able to bear with them over s'mores at midnight TOTALLY make it all worth it!
Another struggle is one that I was warned about, but still surprised by. When I was interviewed, a missionary told me that often particular difficulties that you've faced dealt with throughout your life can surprise you again, which can be discouraging and difficult. Has this been true? For SURE it has! But, as an awesome priest here in Lincoln pointed out, our weaknesses can help us to recognize our total dependence on God in a much deeper and very needed way, and that's pretty darn awesome. Ultimately, we're nothing without Him, and continually seeking His help in our re-occuring weakness reminds us of this truth.
What else has come as a surprise? God has been equipping me for this for the past 8 years!!! I was reflecting on this, and blown away by it! First of all, God was good enough to teach me some tough but important lessons during high-school that have been really instrumental in allowing me to relate to many of the girls here, which has been such a gift! Additionally, many of the students are THIRSTY for the philosophical and theological insights that I was so blest to learn while at Ave Maria, and it's been such a blessing to pass these on and help their minds to be blown away by some of the same things I was when I encountered the depth and rationality of the Truth for the first time!!
Most of all, the JOY that has come with missionary life has blown me away! So many students involved in what we're doing have the same zeal for souls that God placed on my heart, and I've learned so much from them!! They are having meaningful conversations with other students, just like us missionaries are, and we're truly sharing Christ's love together. Hearing how FOCUS has been instrumental in bringing them to this point has been really great, and their examples really attest to how God is working here at UNL.
Pray for me and the other missionaries, PLEASE!!
God bless! : )
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
So I realized that I'm doing absolutely everything that I love right now...and drawing closer to God in the process!
Well, it's still not winter here! God is good!
And what I've titled this post is actually accurate! Isn't that crazy-awesome? I wanted to give you more specifics about how this is true, so I've decided to name a couple of the things I love the best about what I'm doing right now:
1. Making absolutely awesome friends. So much of what we do as missionaries is relation-building, and it's so good! Because of the friendships that I've formed with students, we've been able to talk about really important topics. The young people who are involved in what FOCUS is doing here have such a thirst for the truth, and are willing to make sacrifices to do what's right and help their peers to do the same. It's such a gift to have this time with them! I think that in a lot of ways, they've taught me just as much as I've taught them. It's humbling, but so good!
2. Learning more about the beauty and total awesomeness of the Faith. One of the most important things that we're doing is instructing the students in their Faith, helping them to learn more about what the Church teaches and why it teaches what it does. Doing this has also entailed learning a LOT myself! It's been sweet. Being Catholic rocks my socks.
3. Working on my prayer life. One of the most important philosophical principles that I learned at school is that you can't give what you don't have. SO basic, but so important on so many levels! This is actually how Aquinas proves the existence of God...so yeah, it's an important point alright! But I digress. This principle applies to Christ's love just like it applies to everything else. Making a daily holy hour a priority has been SUCH an essential part of living order, and that time with Christ in prayer and in Mass are by far the most important parts of my days here. Ultimately, we're striving to help students prepare for eternal life with God in Heaven, and what better way to help them reach this goal than to come before God and ask for His aid in guiding His children here at UNL?
4. Working for a purpose that transcends me and my wants and whims. In my experience, living in a way that is purely me-centered is when I am by far the most unhappy. Seeing as how we're made to be God-centered and not self-centered, this is really no surprise. Right now, a pretty good majority of the time in my day is spent focusing on others and striving to help them grow closer to God. I LOVE it.
Don't get me wrong, life is exhausting and at times discouraging. Most days, we begin with a holy hour at 9am and are lucky if we're done with what we need to do for the day by 11pm...but much of what we're doing is much more friendship-oriented than work-oriented (or I suppose it just overlaps...), and when you think about the fact that each person we're serving is Christ in disguise, having long days is really a great privilege.
Well, there we go. That's why I love what I do!
God bless! : )
God bless!
And what I've titled this post is actually accurate! Isn't that crazy-awesome? I wanted to give you more specifics about how this is true, so I've decided to name a couple of the things I love the best about what I'm doing right now:
1. Making absolutely awesome friends. So much of what we do as missionaries is relation-building, and it's so good! Because of the friendships that I've formed with students, we've been able to talk about really important topics. The young people who are involved in what FOCUS is doing here have such a thirst for the truth, and are willing to make sacrifices to do what's right and help their peers to do the same. It's such a gift to have this time with them! I think that in a lot of ways, they've taught me just as much as I've taught them. It's humbling, but so good!
2. Learning more about the beauty and total awesomeness of the Faith. One of the most important things that we're doing is instructing the students in their Faith, helping them to learn more about what the Church teaches and why it teaches what it does. Doing this has also entailed learning a LOT myself! It's been sweet. Being Catholic rocks my socks.
3. Working on my prayer life. One of the most important philosophical principles that I learned at school is that you can't give what you don't have. SO basic, but so important on so many levels! This is actually how Aquinas proves the existence of God...so yeah, it's an important point alright! But I digress. This principle applies to Christ's love just like it applies to everything else. Making a daily holy hour a priority has been SUCH an essential part of living order, and that time with Christ in prayer and in Mass are by far the most important parts of my days here. Ultimately, we're striving to help students prepare for eternal life with God in Heaven, and what better way to help them reach this goal than to come before God and ask for His aid in guiding His children here at UNL?
4. Working for a purpose that transcends me and my wants and whims. In my experience, living in a way that is purely me-centered is when I am by far the most unhappy. Seeing as how we're made to be God-centered and not self-centered, this is really no surprise. Right now, a pretty good majority of the time in my day is spent focusing on others and striving to help them grow closer to God. I LOVE it.
Don't get me wrong, life is exhausting and at times discouraging. Most days, we begin with a holy hour at 9am and are lucky if we're done with what we need to do for the day by 11pm...but much of what we're doing is much more friendship-oriented than work-oriented (or I suppose it just overlaps...), and when you think about the fact that each person we're serving is Christ in disguise, having long days is really a great privilege.
Well, there we go. That's why I love what I do!
God bless! : )
God bless!
Monday, September 5, 2011
A day in the life of...ME! : )
Ok, so this is a bit of a challenge, simply because part of what we strive for as missionaries is radical availability to meet the needs of students. This makes an average day sort of hard to describe...but I'll do my best. : )
Here's what my day looks like tomorrow (as of right now, at least. ; ). It could change...but the unpredictability means that we're open to what the Holy Spirit has in store!
I'll wake up in the morning and we'll have Mass as a missionary team with all of the Newman Center staff at 9am. Usually, this time is for Holy Hour, but tomorrow is an exception. At 10:30, we'll have a team meeting where we will discuss event and retreat planning, bring up concerns, and designate tasks. Each week, we'll be doing FOCUS nights (Holy Hours, Men and Women's nights, ongoing leadership training, etc.), and this will be one thing that we'll be discussing tomorrow. Also, we'll be organizing a C.S. Lewis reading group...all these are just examples of what's brought up during this time.
I'll then meet with one of the student leaders who I'm mentoring for lunch. She is leading a Bible study this semester, and we'll discuss the struggles that she's encountered, as well as any other issues that she wants clarification on. One thing that we'll tackle tomorrow is the issue of gay marriage and why the Church is opposed to it.
I'll then spend an hour with the Lord, and work on preparing for my Bible study in the evening (this week, I'm beginning the two that I'll be leading this semester!). The study that I'll lead tomorrow will be a FOCUS-written study on Scripture, while the study that I'm leading on Thursday nights will be exploring the lives of the saints.
I'll then meet with another student leader who I'm mentoring. We'll read Scripture together, and then talk about how her prayer life and her Bible study are going. We'll also talk about outreach, and what we can do together in this area.
I'll then come home and make some cookies for the girls coming over for Bible study. At 9pm, we'll begin! The study will go for about an hour, and then we'll hang out and chat about whatever the girls want to talk about for awhile. Hopefully, I'll be in bed by midnight, but if some students are feeling especially social, this might not happen...often the late night conversations are the best!
Some days I do more with students who aren't student leaders, while other days I work more on preparing for larger events that we organize...it really all depends!
Because there are so many student leaders involved in what we're doing at Lincoln, they are the ones doing a lot of the outreach to those students who aren't involved. It's our role to prepare them for this, and to challenge them to think about which students they know who they can reach out to and introduce us to. We often meet these other students through the student leaders that we are mentoring, and work on providing events to which students can invite their friends who have fallen away from the Faith. For example, last Friday we hosted the "Big Party," and about 400ish students came through. They all hopefully found FOCUS to be a welcoming bunch of people, and will be returning for more events that we host. Through the personal interaction that we have with them at these events, some will then become more involved and receive more instruction through ongoing interaction.
This is a very rough outline, and each day is different...but hopefully this gives you somewhat of an idea of what I'm doing out here! PLEASE keep praying for all of us missionaries and all of the students!
God bless!!!
Here's what my day looks like tomorrow (as of right now, at least. ; ). It could change...but the unpredictability means that we're open to what the Holy Spirit has in store!
I'll wake up in the morning and we'll have Mass as a missionary team with all of the Newman Center staff at 9am. Usually, this time is for Holy Hour, but tomorrow is an exception. At 10:30, we'll have a team meeting where we will discuss event and retreat planning, bring up concerns, and designate tasks. Each week, we'll be doing FOCUS nights (Holy Hours, Men and Women's nights, ongoing leadership training, etc.), and this will be one thing that we'll be discussing tomorrow. Also, we'll be organizing a C.S. Lewis reading group...all these are just examples of what's brought up during this time.
I'll then meet with one of the student leaders who I'm mentoring for lunch. She is leading a Bible study this semester, and we'll discuss the struggles that she's encountered, as well as any other issues that she wants clarification on. One thing that we'll tackle tomorrow is the issue of gay marriage and why the Church is opposed to it.
I'll then spend an hour with the Lord, and work on preparing for my Bible study in the evening (this week, I'm beginning the two that I'll be leading this semester!). The study that I'll lead tomorrow will be a FOCUS-written study on Scripture, while the study that I'm leading on Thursday nights will be exploring the lives of the saints.
I'll then meet with another student leader who I'm mentoring. We'll read Scripture together, and then talk about how her prayer life and her Bible study are going. We'll also talk about outreach, and what we can do together in this area.
I'll then come home and make some cookies for the girls coming over for Bible study. At 9pm, we'll begin! The study will go for about an hour, and then we'll hang out and chat about whatever the girls want to talk about for awhile. Hopefully, I'll be in bed by midnight, but if some students are feeling especially social, this might not happen...often the late night conversations are the best!
Some days I do more with students who aren't student leaders, while other days I work more on preparing for larger events that we organize...it really all depends!
Because there are so many student leaders involved in what we're doing at Lincoln, they are the ones doing a lot of the outreach to those students who aren't involved. It's our role to prepare them for this, and to challenge them to think about which students they know who they can reach out to and introduce us to. We often meet these other students through the student leaders that we are mentoring, and work on providing events to which students can invite their friends who have fallen away from the Faith. For example, last Friday we hosted the "Big Party," and about 400ish students came through. They all hopefully found FOCUS to be a welcoming bunch of people, and will be returning for more events that we host. Through the personal interaction that we have with them at these events, some will then become more involved and receive more instruction through ongoing interaction.
This is a very rough outline, and each day is different...but hopefully this gives you somewhat of an idea of what I'm doing out here! PLEASE keep praying for all of us missionaries and all of the students!
God bless!!!
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