God has called us to serve the student-athletes at Fort Hays State University in Kansas! I have been serving with FOCUS since June 2023 at Fort Hays, and Danielle will be joining me this year in Hays after three years at Emporia State University. We are excited for a new adventure living mission together!

Donovan’s Story:

I was born and raised in the Catholic Church and all my life I went to Catholic schools until I started at Emporia State University. I knew that my faith was important to me, so when I got to college I wanted to continue to pursue it, I just didn’t know how. That is when FOCUS missionaries came into the picture. From my first weekend in Emporia I was involved with bible studies, discipleship, community and so much more! And the FOCUS Team at Emporia State was right there to walk with me through the highs and lows the whole time! As an athletic training major, my days were largely consumed by classes, practices and games. So the FOCUS missionaries invited me to any and everything when I had free time. Their invitations to so many different things helped me to build a strong community of other faithful Catholic college students. As my senior year began I started to notice that the Lord was placing FOCUS on my heart and by the start of my second semester of senior year I had accepted a job with FOCUS as a missionary!

Since then, my time with FOCUS has been truly blessed! While serving at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, the Lord has continued to transform my heart in pursuit of Him and His mission that each of us is called to. Being able to walk with students in the same way I was walked with has been amazing!

Danielle’s Story:

I am well aware that so many seeds can be planted during the formative time of college. I especially feel drawn to student-athletes with whom I deeply relate, as I have lived in their shoes in the gym/court/field. Being a student-athlete is an incredible privilege, and it provides unique opportunities to draw near to God without even realizing it, through the hard practices, mountain-top victories, and countless virtues built. I know I would not be who I am today without my time in gymnastics. Similarly, I would not have the relationship I have with Christ if not for the FOCUS missionaries who modeled the love and joy of Christ to me throughout my years in college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while on the gymnastics team. Through their witness, I began to recognize a longing for something more than this world– and any of its successes– could offer. Through the grace of God, He slowly revealed His truth, beauty, and goodness to me, and invited me to learn what He says about me and what my identity is in Him, which goes beyond my performance in the gym, classroom, or life. He ultimately brought me home to His Catholic Church at Easter Vigil in 2019!! God continues to draw me deeper and invite me into freedom that can only be found in Him.

We can’t do this alone! When we answered the call to join FOCUS, we made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help through this mission. Your financial contribution is important to us because it allows us to freely extend our hands and our hearts to the students we will be serving. We also want to bring you along in this journey spiritually, so that you may see the transformation taking place in these students as they fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus Christ. We pray that you would be invested in the lives of these students and that, through this investment, your hearts might also be softened to falling deeper in love with Jesus Christ. Please pray for them. Know that we will be praying for you.

We’ve been blessed with the most amazing people who have journeyed with us as we serve on campus. If you are interested in partnering with us or want to learn more, please let us know of the best way to reach you and we will schedule an appointment. We’d be honored to share this mission with you.

Please let me know if you have any prayer intentions! I would love to pray for you. Thank you so much for your time!