Ethan Smith

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

-Mother Teresa

Where I serve

I will be spending this next year serving as a missionary at The Ohio State University, while also completing my senior year as a student on campus! Go Bucks!!!

My Story

Like many of us, I did not think much about life, I just lived it. With plenty of anxiety, boredom, loneliness, confusion. I figured that these feelings were just how life goes. Riding the waves of life up and down. With a distant hope that I would figure it all out eventually.

Through much boredom, over the summer in my first year of college, I started questioning everything, finally thinking about my life, asking life’s most important questions that I have been avoiding for so long.

Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What is my purpose?

In that interrogation, I found every answer I ever longed for within my Catholic faith. My identity and purpose as a beloved son of God. I realized that nothing I ever do would be enough, and that Jesus is the only one who will ever satisfy.

After joining a Bible study and getting involved with FOCUS at Ohio State, I begin to grow in fellowship with many others, and started to experience the power of love from great friends filled with the Holy Spirit. Virtuous friends that genuinely cared for me. I began to see the power of love through these authentic souls.

With incredible empathy, I looked around on campus and all over the world, and saw a world that is lost. A world that is lonely, that has lost their purpose, a world without hope and without friendship. Resulting in depression and great anxiety. Which just might be the proper response to living in a world without knowing God. A world without knowing what love is…

That is my why for being a missionary. I see lost souls, similar to my past self, and I want to befriend them, and share my joys and love with them. I want them to know they are loved. I want them to know there is hope, they do have a purpose, and they are made to be a Saint! I want others to know love again. A world that knows love, is a world that knows God!

This is the gift I have received from FOCUS. My full time job is make love known to others. Walking with others and allowing Christ to shine in and transform their hearts. I could not be more excited!!

Your Impact

With my yes to FOCUS, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help me through this mission. By joining my team, you can walk along me on this mission. Through prayers and radical giving, you can help be the reason a soul knows love again.

Would you like to answer Jesus’ high call and make disciples of all nations with me? I would really love your smile and gifts on my side!

If you are interested in partnering with me, please call or text me at (440)-537-9973 and I will gladly schedule an appointment. I cannot wait to share this journey with you, It would be an honor to hear from YOU!

Find other missionaries

FOCUS brings the joy of the Gospel to colleges and parishes across the United States (and beyond)!

GET STARTED

FOCUS Find A Missionary Know Love Serve God Monstrance

Know, Love and Serve God

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

Build Virtuous Friendships

By building genuine friendships, we meet students on a deeper level.

FOCUS Find A Missionary Teach Others Share Christ Smiling

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