I am a first-year missionary at the United States Coast Guard Academy!  I’m honored to serve the cadets here and remind them of the One Who loves them all uniquely.

I was born and raised Catholic and was confirmed in the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.  All my life I “knew” Catholicism made sense and was, always to some extent in my heart, true.  However, with all my desire to study the faith, I had absolutely no personal relationship with God.  I thought it was a Protestant thing to love God like a father, and I approached Him with fear and perfectionism.

When I went to school at the University of California, Irvine, I was at a tipping point with my faith; I believed in it, but what I thought I understood about it was torture.  I was falling into habitual sins and kept returning to confession out of fear of God’s wrath.  I was growing tired and despairing because I thought I needed to fix myself before God could tolerate me.  I knew, if I wanted at all to remain Catholic, I had to find a way to love it.  So, I reached out to my campus’s FOCUS missionaries.

My world changed.  Not only did I have access to the sacraments often during the week, an amazing chaplain, and now my closest friends, I was surrounded with people who were both Catholic and wildly in love with their Father in Heaven.  I attended a retreat hosted by UCI’s Liwanag Filipino Catholic Club and had a “no turning back” moment in adoration.  I heard God speak to my heart, telling me “I love you, daughter.”  I made a general confession and promised God that, no matter how I struggled from now on, I was going to rely on Him and trust in His radical, transformative love.

I thought I was going to grad school immediately after university, but God had other plans.  He made it very clear, through closing many doors and opening new ones, that He wanted me to be what my missionaries were for me.  I’m so humbled and so grateful to Him for the ways He restored my heart; I want so dearly to help others encounter that same love.  I’m passionate about introducing God to others, especially those who feel like their stories make them too far from Him.

One thing I’ve learned so far in my faith journey is that none of us walk it alone.  God provides, and we also work in fellowship.  Your generosity as a mission partner provides cadets with opportunities to encounter Christ on a deeper level.  It allows me to be fully available to my cadets and bring the light of the Gospel to them.  Your “yes” to mission with me through financial support can change lives, bringing them closer to the heart of Christ.