Welcome to our page! We are serving at Northern Illinois University with our teammates Leah, William, and Andie. Go Huskies! This is Ben’s 2nd year at NIU serving the men on campus.

Ben:

As I grew up and prepared to be confirmed in the Catholic Church, many of my big questions felt unanswered. My doubts and curiosities (along with many distorted views of life and fatherhood) led me away from the Church a week before getting confirmed.

6 years of building self-made morals and wavering beliefs led me searching for meaning in a life of recklessness. I was a broken person looking for ways to fill my innocent desires; most of the places I looked turned out to be disordered and were like putting a band aid on a broken arm.

At the start of 2022 (my Junior year at UW-Eau Claire), someone finally got to me. Our Lord Jesus Christ asked permission to speak to me. I said “yes” out of curiosity, dismissing the possibility of it being God. In that moment, he spoke truth and love into my being I’ve never heard before. This was more intense than anything else in my entire life. I was sick and alone in my house. I could not help but cry and wail for hours. He changed my life here, showing me True meaning where I thought I had to make meaning up for myself. He gave me everything.

I gave such a small “yes” out of simple curiosity; now Jesus has brought me here to FOCUS to share in faith, hope, and charity with others who search so diligently for identity and fulfillment as I have. I am absolutely convicted of this mission because a small invitation can turn into a lifetime of purpose and peace. For God to use me as a simple pencil to write His mysteriously perfect story is the highest honor I could imagine. Being a FOCUS missionary is my small “yes” to this call.

Julia:

I grew up in a Catholic family, going to Mass every Sunday, praying before meals, and going to religious education classes. However, as a little girl, none of it had any importance in my heart until I started to attend Camp Gray, a catholic summer camp, summer after summer. My little heart exploded with God’s love for me. After my first summer at Camp Gray, my faith grew in importance in my life. I loved religious education classes, took Mass more seriously, and invested my time going to any youth group event in my diocese I could to meet faithful friends.

I was very blessed to have grown a strong faith in my childhood. College was a new growth in my life with many new challenges. The Newman Center at UW-Eau Claire was the place where I deepened my relationship with Jesus through the trials and joys of college. I met lifelong friends, learned how to love more deeply, created spiritual disciplines, and saw my brokenness and brought it to the Lord.

At the end of college, FOCUS’s mission grew close to my heart. Yearning for the souls on my own College Campus that were lost in their desires, they thought would fulfill them, but left them feeling empty and alone. The mission to bring those lost to the eternal love of Jesus Christ is a great joy to pursue alongside my husband.

Our partnership gives students the opportunity to gain a new, more deeply experienced life! I gave my “yes” to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help me through this mission. The amazing people who accompany me on this mission remind me of my purpose: to share the fruits of our energy, finances, and ultimately our Faith with young adults desperately searching for identity! If you are interested in partnering with me, I’d love to connect and schedule a meeting. It is an honor to walk alongside people like you on mission!