I am blessed to serve at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA for the next few years!

I was raised in a Catholic family where I had the gift of loving parents who took us to Mass on Sundays and sent us to Catholic school for my whole life. It was not until attending Auburn University, however, until it was truly revealed to me what it meant to practice my Catholic faith. Through great mentors and friends I was showed the life of prayer, sacraments, and authentic Christian friendship along with immersing myself in the truth and tradition of the Catholic faith.

As my relationship with Christ grew deeper, I was encouraged by Focus missionaries at Auburn to begin leading others in the faith through a Bible Study, and for reasons I do not really understand, I said no. It was only a matter of time, though, that what the Lord wanted superseded my own desires. At one of Auburn Catholic’s Thursday Night Dinners early my junior year, with no thought of leading a Bible study, I sat down with a table of six Freshmen guys in an effort to help them feel welcomed into the community. It was then, after a night of authentic conversation and friendship that a thought occurred to me which, in retrospect, I attribute to the Holy Spirit: “I could lead a Bible study with these guys.” It was personal and it was real. And so, in an act of courage (again, the Holy Spirit), I asked these guys if they would be interested in joining a Bible study led by myself. And for some reason (see above), they said yes.

For the next two years, I led a Bible study with these guys every week, and the Lord blessed it abundantly. Authentic friendships were born as we discussed the central truths of the Faith and Salvation History. These guys also got to experience their own response to the Great Commission by Christ as they invited their friends to Bible Study each week, and some began leading their own Bible Studies. Through the grace of God, our Bible study grew to about 10 guys regularly coming each week from a pool of about 15 guys and every week I found myself in complete joy after we met. So much so, that in almost every weekly reflection, leading these guys in Bible Study and intentional discipleship of Christ was my highlight; and it was through this that I began to think: “I could do this for the rest of my life.”

And so, I applied to Focus with the thought of giving the Lord a couple of years of my life to continue to do His work in gratitude for what He had done those two years at Auburn. And through that simple “yes” to being on mission that I gave to the Lord at Thursday Night Dinner in Auburn, my heart has been changed and the Lord has been glorified. Why would I stop there?

I intend to serve the Lord through Focus for as long as He calls me and hope to be an instrument of evangelization for the sake of His love for the rest of my life.

Your support, in prayer and in finance, will enable me to give my entire self to the mission of bringing Christ to the whole world, one heart at a time. Please consider supporting Christ and I’s mission to change the lives of students at Louisiana Tech University. Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me. God bless.