I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve at Kansas State University! My group of young men I have been assigned to impact for Jesus will be those young men who are involved in athletics and who are everyday students. Please pray for the softening of their hearts so that God can be known more intimately to all those I am blessed to encounter!

I grew up Catholic and was in a very good environment. I have parents and a family who are still Catholic, very devout grandparents, and an uncle who is a Monsignor in the Lincoln diocese. Growing up, I did not receive the proper catechesis that I needed and thus did not really retain the riches of the faith. I went through high school and lived out my faith very poorly and viewed God as a watchmaker and even a tyrant. I did not see the love of God The Father, and this caused me to spiral in many ways. I got caught up into a life self-centered around what would please me. I went to Concordia University to wrestle for the first two years of my college career and was at the lowest point of my life. I went into a serious depression and contemplated suicide, thinking that no one really loved me, even though the reality was I blessed to be surrounded by great family and had a loving God who intimately wanted to know me. At a moment where I was going to make an irreversible decision, I felt the Holy Spirit crying out to me to call my mom, which by God’s grace I did. After that moment, I did realize that God was truly real and that He did love me.

I wish I could say that this was the end of the story, but that is not the case. I was like the people of Israel, who saw the wonders of God but wanted their life and to follow the false idols around them. I put wrestling, partying, and other pleasures high above our loving God, and was on a pathway to destruction. After wrestling at Concordia, I transferred to the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky. There I encountered two friends that really challenged me in my faith and helped me to go deeper in my relationship with God. They also made me ask the big question, is the Catholic Church actually the church Jesus established, or is there another church that is more devoted? Thankfully, I met a priest who gave me a book called Jesus Christ and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. I read that book and the Jewish Roots of Mary and fell in love with what the riches of the faith had. However, my prayer life and devotion was still not great. I was learning these facts about God but did not have the relationship that God wanted me to have, which is far more important. I still persisted in the pathway to destruction.

After my fifth year in college, God allowed me the grace of experiencing a desert, or a time of trial that would lead to him. I was busy juggling my academic life, my wrestling career, and faith was becoming a bigger reality in my life. The end of my college and wrestling career did not go how I wanted and I was left with a sense of feeling empty. I did not understand and was not accepting the plan that our good God had in store for me. After not making the post season line up, I went home from Kentucky and started to work construction. By the grace of God, I was able to get involved with the Newman Center at UNL and got to know a FOCUS missionary named Jake. I was able to get plugged into a good group of men, be surrounded by virtuous women, and this was the community I needed. This was the first time in my life where prayer, the Sacraments, and the joys of God graced my life. It was during this time that I felt the loving presence of God, and the need to spread His love to others. I applied to be a FOCUS missionary, and through discernment and trust in God, felt our Lord was calling me to lead souls who struggled in their identity as athletes to Him.

The desire Jesus has for us is to know Him, God The Father, and God The Holy Spirit. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” God invites us into his most Blessed life for the Salvation of our souls, but also so that we can live life to the fullest. Satan tries to steal our joy and lead it into despair, but God wants us to live life to the fullest in Him. Scripture says, “The thief comes to steal kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and live it to the full.” (John 10:10) May the love of the Holy Trinity, the one True God, bring us great joy and bring us to the Eternal reward of Salvation.

Holy Baptism allows us to be adopted as sons and daughters of God. This is made possible through the willing death and resurrection of Jesus. God calls us to be a part of His family, because He loves us so much. We are also called by Jesus to fulfill the great commission of spreading the Gospel, or good news to everyone. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit, teaching them all I have commanded you. And I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Your participation in this mission may not be to do what I am doing, because of your vocation or job that you have. But your impact can still be great for God. Through your generous donations, you can me to reach souls who need to know the love of our great and merciful God. If you would consider being a part of this mission, I would love to schedule an appointment to discuss your role on partnering with me to fulfill this great commission. Your generosity will not go unnoticed. I will see it, and it will impact many souls that God has placed me to shepherd to Him. Our good God will also see your gifts and will be very pleased. Know that God loves you very much. May the peace and love of God reside with you always until your death!