Emily Wayson

Where I serve

Hello! My name is Emily, and I’m a FOCUS Missionary serving at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey!

My Story

I was raised Catholic and blessed with a strong foundation through my parish and attending Catholic school. However, I always viewed my faith as being more about checking off boxes and following the rules than it was about growing in my relationship with Jesus. This caused a lot of anxiety early in my life, but the Lord met me there and began to show me that His love goes far beyond my ability to “get it right”.

After a profound encounter with God’s love through His Church- particularly through the sacrament of Confession and Eucharistic adoration, I began to seek more time with Him and grow in trusting His plan for my life.

One day while I was praying in the chapel during my freshman year at the University of Maryland, I heard Jesus saying to me in my heart:

“Why are you acting like you have something to lose? You can’t lose Me”

Through this encounter with the Lord, and many more hours of prayer throughout my time as a student, I came to realize that His words to me here held a twofold meaning:

1) That I was to be bold in how I was sharing the faith with others, recognizing that everything I was scared of loosing could be found in Him.

2) That I was being called to detach my self-worth from my abilities and performance, and live my life in response to the freedom that comes from being a daughter of God.

Now as a Missionary, I desire to share the truth of God’s love and mercy with a generation of students who desperately need it, just like I do.

Your Impact

As a missionary, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners just like you! You go on mission with me through your prayers and by freeing me to dedicate all of my time and energy to share the Gospel with college students and build them up as leaders in the church.

As is often said of missionary work:

“Some give by going. Others go by giving. Without both, there are no missions”

I am incredibly grateful to you for making this mission possible, and I am confident that God will use all that we give Him to build up His kingdom for eternity!

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We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.

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Teach Others to Share Christ

We teach students how to share the gospel, who in turn teach other students how to pass it on.

Host	Retreat Type	Start Date	End Date
Tulane University	Way of the Disciple	09/05/24	09/07/24
University of Nebraska Lincoln	The Sanctifier	09/13/24	09/15/24
Parish Outreach	The Father’s House	09/16/24	09/18/24
Kansas State University	The Father’s House	09/20/24	09/22/24
University of Delaware	Rec	09/20/24	09/22/24
University of South Carolina – Columbia	Rec	09/27/24	09/29/24
St. Francis University	The Father’s House	10/04/24	10/06/24
Nicholls State University	The Father’s House	10/04/24	10/06/24
Northwestern State University	The Father’s House	10/11/24	10/13/24
University of Memphis	The Father’s House	10/11/24	10/13/24
Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville	The Father’s House	10/18/24	10/20/24
Ohio State University	The Father’s House	10/18/24	10/20/24
University of Dallas	The Sanctifier	10/24/24	10/26/24
Central Connecticut State University	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
Universidad de Monterrey	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
California State University – Fullerton	The Father’s House	10/25/24	10/27/24
Sts. Anne and Joaquim, Fargo, ND	Way of the Disciple	11/01/24	11/03/24
University of Krems	Men’s	11/01/24	11/03/24
University of Mary	The Father’s House	11/08/24	11/10/24
DePauw University	Rec	11/08/24	11/10/24
Philanthropy Engagement	Way of the Disciple	11/15/24	11/17/24
University of Passau	Rec	11/21/24	11/23/24
Texas A&M University	The Sanctifier	02/07/25	02/09/25
FOCUS Greek Southeast	The Father’s House	02/14/25	02/16/25
FOCUS Greek Midwest	The Father’s House	02/14/25	02/16/25
Worcester Polytechnic Institute	The Sanctifier	02/14/25	02/16/25
FOCUS Greek Southwest	The Father’s House	02/21/25	02/23/25
Wayne State University	The Father’s House	02/21/25	02/23/25
University of Illinois-Chicago	The Sanctifier	02/21/25	02/23/25
Queens College of the City University of New York	The Father’s House	03/07/25	03/09/25
Nicholls State University	Way of the Disciple	03/07/25	03/09/25
Grand Valley State University	The Father’s House	03/28/25	03/30/25
University of Northern Iowa	Way of the Disciple	04/03/25	04/05/25
University of Nebraska Lincoln	The Father’s House	04/04/25	04/06/25
Arizona State University	Men’s	02/07/25	02/09/25
University of Nebraska at Kearney	Rec	09/27/24	09/29/24