I will be serving at the University of Akron!!! GO ZIPS!

My Team from left to right: Juan Pablo, Me, Mary, and Jack

“Have you ever thought about being Catholic?”

“No… I was never invited.”

These were the words from a priest’s homily that pierced my heart on a random Sunday in July 2025. Looking back, this was the moment that awakened in me a new sorrow for souls. I felt in a new way Christ on the Cross when He said, “I thirst”

My journey to Jesus was never a dramatic, mic-drop moment. Instead, it was a series of small adjustments. God gently moving my eyes until they met His.

I was raised in a deeply faithful Catholic family with two loving parents and four older brothers. Being homeschooled with a classical education gave me a strong foundation in the teachings of the Church and what we believed. However, I had little community with others who shared that faith. As a result, I found myself much more comfortable relating to God on an intellectual level than on a personal one.

When I was eighteen, I attended a Come and See retreat with the Nashville Dominican Sisters and read a little pink book called Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Philippe. My mind was blown by how many lies I had unknowingly believed about God throughout my life. I saw Him as thief and a dictator, someone who wanted me to endure extreme suffering in order to earn His love and who wanted to shame me.

Fr. Jacques Philippe, presented to me who God actually was: a God of immense mercy who grieves when His children suffer. That realization changed everything. For the first time, I deeply desired to know God relationally, not just intellectually. And I realized what I thought I knew about Him were lies.

During my freshman year at the University of Memphis, I walked up to a FOCUS table and asked to join a Bible study. The missionary pursued my friendship relentlessly. She taught me what it meant to have a relationship with Christ, how to be led by Him, and how to lead others to Him.

Fast forward to my junior year. I was trying to discern my future and, as usual, daydreaming during the homily when the priest shared a story about a woman who was lost and alone.

“Have you ever thought about being Catholic?” he asked.

“No… I was never invited,” she replied.

Those words pierced my heart in a way I can’t describe. 

After that, little moments began affecting me in ways they never had before: a friend battling depression, someone struggling with severe addiction, a voice on the other end of the phone saying, “I just feel so alone, Sarah, like no one cares. What’s the point of my life”

Heart PIERCED. 

I found myself grieving the reality that so many people had simply never been INVITED into a relationship with Christ. Never given the chance to freely accept or reject God’s love for them.  More and more, I felt the Lord speaking to my heart: “I want everyone to be invited to My table in My Kingdom.”

And so, He sent me.

And through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I said YES.

Answering the call of a Focus Missionary has been a great blessing in discernment and a grace of leaning on spiritual and financial support of mission partners. Who joined me on mission, changing the lives of college students, creating missionary disciples, and Jesus’ Great Commission.  I am grateful for the support of those who are supporting me living out a missionary life on campus. I would be honored to have your support in partnering with me or learning more about the mission. Please reach out to me by text (901) 604-1595 or [email protected]. I would love to schedule a time to meet, God bless you.