I will serve at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, for the fall semester!

I was raised in a Christian household and spent my younger years very active in my childhood Baptist Church. Despite the childhood formation I received my view of God was deeply wounded which led to me no longer considering myself Christian by the end of middle school. I spent the next few years of my life trying to fill the God sized hole in my life with all the things the world told me would fulfill me.

Despite my best efforts I was always left with a deep yearning in my soul and eventually right before I left home for college, I broke down and decided that I would try this Christian thing again. I threw myself into researching Christianity I repeated the mantra “If I’m going to do this I want to do this right” at the time converting was not even on my mind but I just knew I wanted my faith to be more solid than what I grew up with. I wanted to truly know the person of Christ if I was going to commit my life to him.

Going to college at Northern Michigan University was truly the beginning of the end of life as I knew it. I was in search of Christian community because I knew I would not be able to continue on this new path alone and I was beyond lucky to be connected to the Catholic Center one of my first few weeks on campus. The joy and peace radiating from the students at the catholic center was the most attractive thing I had ever encountered. I knew from my first visit there that whatever was so life giving for those students I wanted a part of.  So I began the very scary process of converting to the Catholic Church.

Suddenly the God I viewed as millions of light years away and apathetic to pain became a God who desired an intimacy with me so deep that he comes to us in the Eucharist.  College campuses are full of things that give your counterfeit joy but sold to you as the truth and despite choosing to convert I still struggled and fell victim to those lies my first semester of College. God in his divine providence knew exactly what I needed to help get me over the hump so that following winter semester we received Focus Missionaries on our campus.

I had the privilege of being walked with by a missionary named Maria that helped me realize that not only was a made for more but that I would lose nothing by following Christ but gain everything. Focus was instrumental in my journey of personal holiness all because some random girl from the Midwest gave a radical yes to God. I was not owed anything I was given yet God gifted it to me nonetheless and there is nothing better I could think to do with my life than to love others in the way I was loved. College campuses are full of broken hearts longing for the Lord if my little yes can be a vehicle for the Holy Spirit in the same way Maria’s was then who am I to not be docile to His will.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”– John 15:16

We are all called to mission as a response to the gift of life and love from God. Let us all be like the Samaritan woman and go proclaiming the healing found in the Lord!

When I answered the call to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help me through this mission. I have been blessed with the most amazing people who have journeyed with me as I serve on campus. If you are interested in partnering with me, please let me know of the best way to reach you, and I will schedule an appointment. I would be honored to share this mission with you. There are so many souls we can reach together!

You can email me at [email protected]