I serve at Bridgewater State University! Bridgewater, Massachusetts lies between Boston and Cape Cod. It has a student body of 9,000 with a third of them living on campus in their 11 residence halls. It was founded in 1840, and has over 75,000 alumni. Their mascot? The Bridgewater Bear!

This is my team! From left to right: Anthony Riopel, Mary Hopi Graham, Mary Kate Zimmerman, and Max Luckenbach.

I was born and raised in Central Massachusetts. I was raised Catholic, and attended Mass regularly. Despite good attendance, I still wrestled with my faith in my teenage years. I found myself living a double life for a long time. Saturday nights would include partying and getting into trouble with friends, and then Sunday morning would be prim and proper for Mass. I made a serious change in my life my senior year of high school after realizing that I cannot serve two masters at once(Matthew 6:24). In college I had the beautiful opportunity to meet a couple FOCUS missionaries at the Newman Center at UMass Amherst. Their constant invitations and incredible witness to God’s love left a lasting impact on my heart. After a year getting to know the missionaries, I was convicted that this was something I would love to do too.

When I answered the call to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of Mission Partners to make my work in this vital ministry possible. If you are interested in joining me, please email me at [email protected] and we can schedule an appointment to discuss this exciting partnership. I would be honored to share in Christ’s mission with you!

Some give by going to the missions. Others go by giving to the missions. Without both, there are no missions. ~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta