Doane University Lincoln Nebraska

       College is a time of change. From one career to the next for some but for others it marks a much deeper transition. A transition from adolescence to adulthood. From the comforts of home, and your high school friend group to a small or large dorm with strangers and the terrifying task of becoming your own person. It is in this hectic environment that I like many others was tasked with answering the harrowing question “Who am I?”.
        On my first day on campus, dying for some semblance of normalcy, I thought I’d visit the nearby Catholic Chapel. They were having Mass outside, and as I went through the motions all I could think was, “I miss my old friends back home” and, “I don’t see anybody who looks like me here”. After church, deflated I quickly turned to leave back to my dorm when a Focus Missionary eagerly approached me and introduced himself. He said his name was John. We exchanged the usual “what’s-your -major” small talk for a short while until out of nowhere John hit me with a curveball. He asked me “Andrew, did you know you’re a beloved child of God”. I didn’t know what to say so I sheepishly and awkwardly just said “yeah”.
I wasn’t sure what that question meant that Sunday but over the semester I slowly began to understand. Throughout the weekdays I started coming around the chapel more, and over time John and I became good friends. We got lunch, studied together at coffee shops, and even freestyle rapped together. Overall he made me feel welcomed, valued, and like I belonged.
After a couple of months, he asked me to join his Bible study and discipleship group. It was through those weekly meetings and his authentic friendship and leadership that I now say with my chest that I am indeed a beloved child of God. My missionary gave me a glimpse of the ocean that is God’s love for me at a time when I was most unsure of who God or even I was. It is the depth, width, and breadth of that ocean that I hope all students on Campus at Doane University encounter through my work as a Focus Missionary.