After growing up in Eugene and attending the University of Oregon, I will serve in Fargo North Dakota at North Dakota State University. Go Bison!! I look forward to the cold weather, new adventures, and above all, encountering the hearts of the students at NDSU.

Have you ever seen someone who has been deeply loved? The way they live and act differently as if they have been fully known and seen by another? Many of us have either seen or encountered someone like this in our own lives. The way they radiate Joy or the way they live authentically themselves because they know how loved they are. Some of you may have experienced this type of love in your own lives and can attest to this knowledge of feeling seen and known by another to the depths of your core. Some people pursue this kind of love, while others, are pursued by it.

My walk with Christ ever since the beginning, has been a story of his pursuit of my heart. When I first came to the University of Oregon, like many other college students, I had a deep desire to be seen. There was a need for something more in my life, a new adventure, experience, or friendship. The campus environment and college as a whole, provided many outlets of entertainment and excitement everywhere I went. It was easy to try new things and follow the culture of what everyone else was doing. The desire in my heart to be seen led me to search for fulfillment in many places. Putting my worth in what I did and who I knew instead of who I was. It wasn’t long before I realized that each of these places I looked for love and fulfillment never really filled me.

I first encountered FOCUS when I came to our university’s Newman Center. When I first met a focus missionary I was encountered with true authentic friendship. Over time, even though I was not receptive to this invitation of friendship at first, this missionary never stopped pursuing me. Fast forward to sophomore year, a new missionary reached out to me. I was still reluctant but after seeing the way they continued to reach out I decided to get coffee with one of them. Eventually, I was invited into a bible study where I met several other women searching for more. These girls quickly became some of my closest friends and supporters in the next year of my life of many ups and downs and of course distractions. The following year Maryssa came to the University of Oregon as a first-year FOCUS missionary, her authentic friendship and desire to truly know the Lord and walk with me in doing the same, led me to a place where I encountered the love of Jesus Christ in a life-changing way. I recognized that throughout college and truly every year of my life, God has been pursuing my heart trying to show me how loved I am. He continued to pursue me with His love through the gift of true friendship.

The way I have been loved by my heavenly father has made me live differently, love differently, and truly have a joy that cannot be taken away. There’s nothing more that I want to bring to others than a taste of this joy that the Lord desires for every one of His children and, to encounter students with authentic friendship in a Christ-like way. This next year will be a wonderfully exciting adventure and I cannot wait to see where the Lord leads me next!

Maryssa and I at the UO spring retreat 2024