Hi everybody!!
I just wanted to give y'all an update on some recent happenings here at UNL! This past weekend, we hosted a retreat in the country for all of the students leading Bible studies on campus. It was meant to be a time for them to get away, reconnect with Jesus, and reconnect with each other. After sharing a meal together, we began a night of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with a talk about how they are all called to be missionaries and a part of the New Evangelization as student leaders on campus. Confessions were available, as well. Some of us then had s'mores and sang songs around a camp fire, while other students remained with Jesus in prayer. Students and missionaries stayed with Jesus in prayer all night long until 10am the next day. At that time, an awesome priest came and challenged us all to be joyful and share Jesus because when you're in love with someone, you tell people about them! : ) We celebrated Mass together, and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying recreation interspersed with more talks and prayer. About 70 of the 100 student Bible study leaders were able to join us throughout the weekend, and it was encouraging to see their zeal and appreciation for the encouragement and build-up time.
I think one of the most awesome things about the weekend was to see the ardent desire that these students have to reach out to their peers. We as FOCUS missionaries are of course desirous for the whole campus to realize the awesome plan that God has for their lives and the beautiful gift that He's given us in His Church. To see how the students that we are investing in as leaders share this zeal, however, is awesome! Ultimately, it's not only about helping them to make the Faith their own, but also about helping them become equipped to pass it on to others.
Pray for Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS! He is currently at the Synod for the New Evangelization at the request of the Pope. What an awesome way to begin this year of Faith!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Back to the good life!!!
Hi all! Finally, another post from the world's most inconsistent blogger....
Well, I'm back in Nebraska, and it's SO GOOD to return to the good life. We just finished Fall Outreach, which is the first two weeks of FOCUS-sponsered events here on campus. The purpose is to make students aware of the fact that we're here and up to great things, and to encourage them to become involved in all that we are offering to them to help them in their walk with the Lord. This year, I was in charge of this period of events. It was certainly a busy and stressful time, but FILLED with God moments!
One such moment happened during our event called Primetime. This event is specifically designed to introduce new students here at UNL to what FOCUS is, and to encourage them to make God a priority as they acclimate to life on campus. At a prior event that involved the whole campus called Big Red Welcome, we went around with shirts that said "husker catholic...the door of Faith is always open" and encouraged students to fill out raffle tickets for a Best Buy giftcard. These tickets also have boxes to check specifying if students are interested in a Bible Study or if they are Catholic. If students checked these boxes, we contacted them. The winner of the raffle for the giftcard was announced at Primetime.
The winner of this year's raffle was neither interested in a Bible study nor Catholic...however, after sitting through our event so that she could receive her giftcard, she signed up for RCIA because she was so moved by what she heard! Pretty awesome considering that neither learning about who Christ is nor learning about His word was something that she was initially interested in!
This is just one of the stories that make the 16 hour work days and the not-very-much-sleep-at night nights TOTALLY worth it! When it comes to souls, no sacrifice is too great. Thankfully, the initial series of outreach events has ended and our schedule is less stressful (and involves more sleeping). It is SO GOOD to be dedicating another year of my life to helping college students grow closer to Christ and discover the awesome gift that He's given us in His Church. Thank you so much for your prayers and support in helping to make it possible!
Well, I'm back in Nebraska, and it's SO GOOD to return to the good life. We just finished Fall Outreach, which is the first two weeks of FOCUS-sponsered events here on campus. The purpose is to make students aware of the fact that we're here and up to great things, and to encourage them to become involved in all that we are offering to them to help them in their walk with the Lord. This year, I was in charge of this period of events. It was certainly a busy and stressful time, but FILLED with God moments!
One such moment happened during our event called Primetime. This event is specifically designed to introduce new students here at UNL to what FOCUS is, and to encourage them to make God a priority as they acclimate to life on campus. At a prior event that involved the whole campus called Big Red Welcome, we went around with shirts that said "husker catholic...the door of Faith is always open" and encouraged students to fill out raffle tickets for a Best Buy giftcard. These tickets also have boxes to check specifying if students are interested in a Bible Study or if they are Catholic. If students checked these boxes, we contacted them. The winner of the raffle for the giftcard was announced at Primetime.
The winner of this year's raffle was neither interested in a Bible study nor Catholic...however, after sitting through our event so that she could receive her giftcard, she signed up for RCIA because she was so moved by what she heard! Pretty awesome considering that neither learning about who Christ is nor learning about His word was something that she was initially interested in!
This is just one of the stories that make the 16 hour work days and the not-very-much-sleep-at night nights TOTALLY worth it! When it comes to souls, no sacrifice is too great. Thankfully, the initial series of outreach events has ended and our schedule is less stressful (and involves more sleeping). It is SO GOOD to be dedicating another year of my life to helping college students grow closer to Christ and discover the awesome gift that He's given us in His Church. Thank you so much for your prayers and support in helping to make it possible!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
An update at last!
Well, I've definitely failed at diligently updating this blog...many apologies! Hopefully newsletters have been timely and somewhat informative. Rather than try to make up for a semester's worth of failure in the blogging world, let me just say that this spring has been very busy and filled with many examples of God working in the lives of the students at UNL. Here are some fun facts about what God has been doing in the chain of girls that I mentored this year:
-The number of girls in my chain who are student leaders and leading bible studies on campus jumped from 7 (what it was as of last fall) to 17. The awesome thing is that this took place through spiritual multiplication. In other words, the girls that I've been investing in and striving to help grow in their relationship with Christ have been doing the same with their peers. I'm only directly mentoring 8 of these girls; the other 9 are being mentored by the girls that I'm mentoring. 2 Timothy 2:2 talks about how we must teach teachers to teach...and it's been working!
-3 of the girls in my chain decided to dedicate their time and talents to teaching students in grade school and high school about the Faith this summer. This was a huge sacrifice, but they were super excited for the opportunity to share the Gospel message!
-University of Nebraska sent 16 graduates to FOCUS summer training, and they will all be serving as FOCUS missionaries beginning this fall, joining about 135 other recent graduates from across the country. Including the returning staff, FOCUS will have about 350 missionaries on campus this year at about 75 campuses across the country.
I'll be at summer training for FOCUS until the end of June, and will be heading back to Nebraska in the fall for another year of service to the students there. Praise the Lord! : )
-The number of girls in my chain who are student leaders and leading bible studies on campus jumped from 7 (what it was as of last fall) to 17. The awesome thing is that this took place through spiritual multiplication. In other words, the girls that I've been investing in and striving to help grow in their relationship with Christ have been doing the same with their peers. I'm only directly mentoring 8 of these girls; the other 9 are being mentored by the girls that I'm mentoring. 2 Timothy 2:2 talks about how we must teach teachers to teach...and it's been working!
-3 of the girls in my chain decided to dedicate their time and talents to teaching students in grade school and high school about the Faith this summer. This was a huge sacrifice, but they were super excited for the opportunity to share the Gospel message!
-University of Nebraska sent 16 graduates to FOCUS summer training, and they will all be serving as FOCUS missionaries beginning this fall, joining about 135 other recent graduates from across the country. Including the returning staff, FOCUS will have about 350 missionaries on campus this year at about 75 campuses across the country.
I'll be at summer training for FOCUS until the end of June, and will be heading back to Nebraska in the fall for another year of service to the students there. Praise the Lord! : )
Monday, January 30, 2012
An amazing weekend...I mean, who needs sleep, right?
So I returned to Nebraska for approximately 5 days...only to hop on a bus with 37 of our students and travel across the country to Baltimore! 23 hour trip...praise the Lord that I wasn't the one driving it this time around! Busses are not conducive to getting a good night's rest, but it was totally worth it.
What brought us to Baltimore? Well, FOCUS was hosting a Student Leadership Summit that was meant to provide our students leading Bible studies on campus with the needed encouragement and instruction to continue to make waves for Christ. The talks given focused on the importance of spending time in prayer with Scripture, how to ask effective questions when leading Bible studies, and many more. Ultimately, the weekend was oriented towards helping them realize that they have the responsibility as followers of Christ and members of His Church to make whatever they pursue career-wise into their mission field, and to further equip them to do this. It was great!
On Monday morning, we began the day with 7am Mass and drove to DC for the March for Life. Talk about incredible!! UNL brought additional busses of students to this great event in our country's defense for the unborn, and there were probably over 150 students from UNL that marched for the unborn. It was a great blessing to have this opportunity to join nearly half a million others in Washington, and overall it could have been MUCH colder and wetter. Praise the Lord for such an awesome opportunity!
God bless!! : )
What brought us to Baltimore? Well, FOCUS was hosting a Student Leadership Summit that was meant to provide our students leading Bible studies on campus with the needed encouragement and instruction to continue to make waves for Christ. The talks given focused on the importance of spending time in prayer with Scripture, how to ask effective questions when leading Bible studies, and many more. Ultimately, the weekend was oriented towards helping them realize that they have the responsibility as followers of Christ and members of His Church to make whatever they pursue career-wise into their mission field, and to further equip them to do this. It was great!
On Monday morning, we began the day with 7am Mass and drove to DC for the March for Life. Talk about incredible!! UNL brought additional busses of students to this great event in our country's defense for the unborn, and there were probably over 150 students from UNL that marched for the unborn. It was a great blessing to have this opportunity to join nearly half a million others in Washington, and overall it could have been MUCH colder and wetter. Praise the Lord for such an awesome opportunity!
God bless!! : )
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
BACK TO THE CORN AND THE COLD! : )
I'M FINALLY BACK IN NEBRASKA!!!
It sounds funny for a Hilton Head Island native to be excited about leaving the balmy days and the beach for the freezing weather and the corn, but I truly am SO grateful to be returning here for another semester!
My beginning of winter semester here has definitely not been a slow one...the past couple days have involved waking up early (6:45 or 7:45), going to bed late (usually 1am or so...), and LOTS of time with students! My two bible studies have begun, the students are PUMPED for another semester of drawing closer to Christ and evangelizing their peers, and it is such a blessing to have another semester with all of them!
Tomorrow we leave on a 24 hour busride across the country...we will spend several days in Baltimore for a conference, and then head over to DC to attend the March for Life! Please keep all the students at UNL who will be involved in these events in your prayers!
Praise the Lord! : )
It sounds funny for a Hilton Head Island native to be excited about leaving the balmy days and the beach for the freezing weather and the corn, but I truly am SO grateful to be returning here for another semester!
My beginning of winter semester here has definitely not been a slow one...the past couple days have involved waking up early (6:45 or 7:45), going to bed late (usually 1am or so...), and LOTS of time with students! My two bible studies have begun, the students are PUMPED for another semester of drawing closer to Christ and evangelizing their peers, and it is such a blessing to have another semester with all of them!
Tomorrow we leave on a 24 hour busride across the country...we will spend several days in Baltimore for a conference, and then head over to DC to attend the March for Life! Please keep all the students at UNL who will be involved in these events in your prayers!
Praise the Lord! : )
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Huskers may have lost...but souls were changed!
Part of what we do as missionaries is put on retreats. This past weekend, however, I found myself in a different situation. I attended a retreat put on by some of the students at UNL. Yeah, this is NOT the norm for missionary life, just in case you're wondering!
The retreat was called "Koininia," the Greek word for "community," and I COULD tell you all about it! But then I'd have to kill you. No, just kidding. But, seriously, as a member of this community now, I really do have to keep some of what happened a secret.
What struck me most about the weekend, however, does not have to be kept a secret. All of the retreat, from the prayer and sacrifice prep, to the talks about our walk of Faith as Catholics, to the logistical nightmare of feeding over 70 people delicious and homecooked meals for an entire weekend, was entirely student-led. And almost all of the students who played the essential roles that made this encounter with Christ for their peers possible were students involved in what we, FOCUS, are doing on campus.
Basically, the weekend was a beautiful example to me of the zeal for the souls of their fellow students that these students have. Even though it involved planning, organizing, and being present for an entire weekend of talks and activities, these students made this sacrifice to have the opportunity to tell their peers how God has worked in their lives. Not quite how the average college student spends a weekend!
Our purpose is to launch college students into lifelong Catholic mission. These weekend was a beautiful testimony to me of how many of the students here are already beginning this lifelong process, and are totally willing and ready to make the sacrifices that this mission requires. There right there with us, striving to win over their brothers and sisters in Christ through radiating the love that He has for us.
Praise God! : )
The retreat was called "Koininia," the Greek word for "community," and I COULD tell you all about it! But then I'd have to kill you. No, just kidding. But, seriously, as a member of this community now, I really do have to keep some of what happened a secret.
What struck me most about the weekend, however, does not have to be kept a secret. All of the retreat, from the prayer and sacrifice prep, to the talks about our walk of Faith as Catholics, to the logistical nightmare of feeding over 70 people delicious and homecooked meals for an entire weekend, was entirely student-led. And almost all of the students who played the essential roles that made this encounter with Christ for their peers possible were students involved in what we, FOCUS, are doing on campus.
Basically, the weekend was a beautiful example to me of the zeal for the souls of their fellow students that these students have. Even though it involved planning, organizing, and being present for an entire weekend of talks and activities, these students made this sacrifice to have the opportunity to tell their peers how God has worked in their lives. Not quite how the average college student spends a weekend!
Our purpose is to launch college students into lifelong Catholic mission. These weekend was a beautiful testimony to me of how many of the students here are already beginning this lifelong process, and are totally willing and ready to make the sacrifices that this mission requires. There right there with us, striving to win over their brothers and sisters in Christ through radiating the love that He has for us.
Praise God! : )
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
What's sustains us...
I've devoted a lot of time to sharing what has gone on here on campus. There is plenty more to tell, as well! Each week, there are exciting new activities happening...Thursday was a Eucharistic procession all over UNL's campus, Friday through Sunday was a special conference for Greek fraternity and sorority members where some amazing conversions took place, tonight was an awesome healing Mass that ended with many students spending over an hour in adoration of Our Lord...and all the while we fill our days with meeting with students, putting on Bible studies, and evangelizing strangers. But in the midst of continually putting on events, listening to students, and directing them towards pursuit of what is good and true, how do we as missionaries continue to give of ourselves from 9am to 11pm, as often a day's work requires? Well, put simply, we don't!
What do I mean? Well, if we were giving ourselves, I personally would have used myself up the very first day on campus! The purpose for our being here is to share Christ's love, which is the only reason why we're able to keep pouring ourselves out in the midst of the difficulties that we encounter.
So what does this mean on a practical level? It means that at least one hour of each day is spent in personal prayer with the Lord (three times a week, this happens all together as a team), and that we also participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day. Twice a week, we say morning prayer together, and every other week we spend a half hour as a team praying for each other's personal intentions. Any add-ons for me personally? At the moment, I'm renewing my Marian Consecration, saying a rosary and reading Scripture daily, and also trying to do more Ignatian prayer. I've also been trying to frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation every other week, although sometimes it is more like once a month. Have to work on that one!
How does this help? We can't give what we don't have. It's only by our filling ourselves with the graces that God is continuously offering to us that we are then able to help the young people on campus encounter the reality of God's awesomeness. The joy that comes from living an authentic Christian life is very attractive! What is at the center of this life? Prayer!
Additionally, one of the most important ways to help students understand the lifelong mission that they are entering into is to help them understand the importance of developing a prayer life. It's pretty difficult to encourage them to do this if we aren't doing it ourselves! We need to instead be at their side praying with them.
So, there you go, the secret is out! FOCUS missionaries are on campus to be instruments of God's love, not because their super-human. Praise God!
What do I mean? Well, if we were giving ourselves, I personally would have used myself up the very first day on campus! The purpose for our being here is to share Christ's love, which is the only reason why we're able to keep pouring ourselves out in the midst of the difficulties that we encounter.
So what does this mean on a practical level? It means that at least one hour of each day is spent in personal prayer with the Lord (three times a week, this happens all together as a team), and that we also participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day. Twice a week, we say morning prayer together, and every other week we spend a half hour as a team praying for each other's personal intentions. Any add-ons for me personally? At the moment, I'm renewing my Marian Consecration, saying a rosary and reading Scripture daily, and also trying to do more Ignatian prayer. I've also been trying to frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation every other week, although sometimes it is more like once a month. Have to work on that one!
How does this help? We can't give what we don't have. It's only by our filling ourselves with the graces that God is continuously offering to us that we are then able to help the young people on campus encounter the reality of God's awesomeness. The joy that comes from living an authentic Christian life is very attractive! What is at the center of this life? Prayer!
Additionally, one of the most important ways to help students understand the lifelong mission that they are entering into is to help them understand the importance of developing a prayer life. It's pretty difficult to encourage them to do this if we aren't doing it ourselves! We need to instead be at their side praying with them.
So, there you go, the secret is out! FOCUS missionaries are on campus to be instruments of God's love, not because their super-human. Praise God!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)