God has called me on an epic adventure to move from the sunny state of California to the chilly and great state of Michigan! In my first year of mission, I’ll be serving college students in Detroit at Wayne State University! (Wayne Wayne!) You’ll typically find me on rosary walks, looking for the best boba spots, and hanging out with students. I’d love to meet you and share my story!

Growing up, I placed my identity and worth in my ability to be successful and create the best plan for my life. However, striving for these temporary aspirations only left me feeling lonely and unsatisfied. It wasn’t until I met friends and missionaries during college at UCLA that showed me that the only thing that can truly satisfy me is the infinite love of God. Since then, I actively pursued a relationship with Christ and have discovered the true joy of a life with Him.

I’ve always been shy and thought I lacked the skills to share my faith, but those virtuous friendships I made at UCLA taught me to trust in God’s abilities over my own and that the truth and love of Christ are essential for salvation and thus, can’t be kept to myself. As Fr. Mike Schmidt said, “How can I let what Jesus did for me go to waste?” After I graduated and moved back home, I saw the need for a community of faith so I felt called to start a young adult ministry and got involved with youth ministry at my home parish, which have both been such life-giving opportunities rooted in my love for Christ. At the same time, I worked full-time as a clinical research assistant working towards my plan for graduate school in public health. I still held onto this plan because having certainty for my life made me feel safe. But I didn’t feel fully satisfied with this plan.

At a time when I was most stressed about my plan faltering, a friend from college invited me to go to the regional SEEK in California. It was there where I heard God calling me to finally let go of my plan through C.S. Lewis’s words “God isn’t safe, but He’s good.” I started to trust that God only wants the best for me and my true happiness, so I began to open up my life to Him. Through a series of yeses, He led me to a radical yes to serving Him and proclaiming the gospel full time with FOCUS. Since making this decision to be a complete vessel for God’s will, I’ve never felt so much freedom and joy being able to guide others to Christ and witness them fall in love with Him as others did for me.

When Jesus called me to become a FOCUS missionary, I decided to rely fully on God’s provision and on the support of my brothers and sisters of Christ, you! He did not call me alone, you too are called to serve Christ’s mission through your spiritual and financial partnership, for you’re not a supporter but a partner who would be serving alongside me throughout mission! As Mother Teresa said, “some give by going and some go by giving.”

If you are interested in joining this support team, I would love to share more about my journey and mission with you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone, text (661-993-4927), or email ([email protected]) and we can schedule an appointment. I would be honored to invite you to join me in serving Christ’s mission. Please know of my prayers for you!