God has called me to be His instrument and serve college students. And on this new journey, I will be serving as a missionary at Howard University, an HBCU, in Washington, D.C! This is FOCUS’ first year at Howard and at an HBCU altogether, so I am honored to share God’s Love, Truth, and Joy here alongside my teammates, Maryssa, Andy, and Ethan!

My story begins in the faith as I was raised Catholic. I’m blessed to have a devout family that always taught me about God’s love, but still, for a bit of time, my relationship with God was a bit shaky.

Fast forward to my freshman year, my sisters invited me to my first retreat with their university, which had FOCUS missionaries. On that retreat, I realized there was so much I was missing from my faith life, one of those things being having Christ-centered friendships. Before that retreat, I really only experienced my faith with my family. Having friends in the same phase of life as me who understood what, more like who, I loved the most, and were able to strive alongside me to grow in virtue and faith was such a blessing. Another thing I realized I was missing was an authentic relationship with Christ. After that retreat, the FOCUS missionaries invited me to a Catholic conference, SEEK, where I gathered with thousands of other college students to learn more about our faith, share in fellowship, and encounter Christ. I remember attending a talk that covered how to pray and have a relationship with Christ, and being mind-blown. I thought I knew these things, but there were so many more layers, and hearing these truths at this point in my life allowed me to have a greater desire to have a personal relationship with Christ.

I was growing in my faith and relationship with God, but still being in college, I placed a lot of my identity in the things I did and would come to do. This caused me to frequently feel anxious as I was putting a majority of my identity into my talents and my future career, and those things were quite fickle. Through much time in much prayer and having encounters with great people in my life, I learned: I am only defined by something timeless, God, who made me in His image, and all else that is passing, does not define me, but merely describes me.

This is something I wrote in May of 2021 in my prayer journal:

Lord, how often do I let things of the world define me? I always say I don’t know what my passions are. But Father, You are my passion, and I am Yours and that is all I need to know for now. Does the future still scare me a bit? Yeah, but I know it does not make up my whole being. I am not my future career, I am Your beloved daughter. When I asked You what you saw when looking at me, I wanted you to tell me who I was. As in what are my qualities, talents, etc. Then it hit me what better thing can I be than Your child? I need to focus on You and allow You to tell me whatever it is You need to tell me when You are ready. So, God, I have hope in Your detours for me, please bless them, and allow me to see the graces I’m receiving because I want to grow in Your time.

At that moment, I was blessed to find what I was searching for, but it made me realize how many others, particularly college students, must be experiencing this confusion. People say college is the perfect time for someone to figure out who they really are. So, students will look everywhere to find out who they are. But with no guidance in finding one’s true self, it is easy to get lost along the way. As a missionary, I truly desire to guide those who are lost and restless to Christ because, as St. Augustine declared, “You made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”  As a recent college graduate, I know the expectation to perform, but there is no performance needed to be seen and loved by God- He just delights in our existence. This type of love is one of a kind, and I want others to experience Him, who is Love.

When I answered the call to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help me through this mission. I’ve been blessed with the most amazing people who have journeyed with me as I serve on campus. If you are interested in partnering with me, please let me know of the best way to reach you and I will schedule an appointment. I’d be honored to share this mission with you.