Is it Christmas yet?

I cannot believe how fast the semester has flown by.  I guess the saying "time flies when you are having fun" is true.  I love being a Catholic missionary.  I could not think of anything that I would rather be doing with my life right now!  Thank you again to all who support me through prayers or financial donations.  I could not be on mission without you!

Fr. James Brent is a Dominican Friar who teaches at the Catholic University of America.  He is taking the year away from his job as a professor to travel around the country and preach to college students about our Catholic faith.  Fr. James had a fireside chat with some students at Benedictine College to discuss how and why we need to reach out to others even at a Catholic school like Benedictine.

At the end of November we had 20 students from Benedictine apply to be FOCUS missionaries!  15 of those students were invited and participated in an Interview Weekend in Kansas City.  We should be hearing soon about which students were given and offer and accepted the position as a missionary.

This lovely family took me in for Thanksgiving!  Kaitlyn Schulte, a missionary at the University of North Texas, invited me to stay at her house and celebrate Thanksgiving with her and her family in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

We are blessed to have such a large FOCUS team here at Benedictine College - not many teams can create a full nativity scene like we can.  Merry Christmas!

How did you spend your fall break?

Here are some quick photos from the last few weeks here in Atchison, Kansas!  Enjoy!

Once you register for SEEK2015, you are encouraged to take a "Going" picture with your sticker.  We had fun doing this!

We had fun playing in the leaves at our October chain gathering!

While everyone else went on Fall Break, Krista and I made homemade bagels!

My roomies!

My roomies and I getting artsy!

Sr. Peter Marie of the Christ the King School Sisters

I got to see my family recently for a wedding in Pittsburgh, PA.

We enjoy taking "serious" photos.

Flannel Fridays in the Fall

Flannel Friday

Now that Fall is here, we to try to wear flannel every friday for fun!

We are starting a movement!

The sunset creates beautiful lighting on the trees by our house.

1/2 Marathon

My friend Annie and I ran our first 1/2 marathon this past Saturday in Kansas City.  

It was a lot of fun and quite an accomplishment for both of us!

Slack-lining!

A slack-line is essentially a tight rope that you tie up to two trees and walk on.  It is quite fun and a great way to get people out of their comfort zones and having fun!

SEEK2015

This January 1-5th FOCUS is hosting a national conference called SEEK2015!

We are hoping to take 300 students with us to this life changing event!

Fall Outreach is in Full Swing!

     "Fall Outreach" is a term we use to describe the critical time of outreach at the start of the year.  The first few weeks of the fall semester are one of the most influential times in a person's college career.  It is the time when your friend groups are formed and when you decide what you want to get involved with on campus.  Our goal during "Fall Outreach" is to sow broadly and meet as many souls as we can on campus.  Here are a few of the highlights from the last few weeks...

We started the year with a workshop for all of our student missionaries in which we gave them vision and practicals for reaching out to new students at the start of the year!

We hosted a Dodgeball Tournament for all freshmen at Benedictine College!

It was a lot of fun and a great way to meet more students!

Every year, FOCUS hosts a luau for students at Benedictine College.  

This is another great event to meet new faces and start forming those intentional relationships.

Bible studies are starting this week and I am very excited!  

I am so blessed to work with such amazing women who are seeking a deeper relationship with God!

Which Bible study are we going to go through this semester?

Overall, "Fall Outreach" has been going well!  Please keep our team and our student missionaries in your prayers during this critical time of outreach!

Do FOCUS Missionaries Need Training?

Yes!  FOCUS Missionaries need training!  For 5 weeks each summer all of the first and second year staff gather together for FOCUS' New Staff Training.  During training, missionaries participate in an intensive course load of classes covering four different leadership areas - human development, spiritual development, intellectual development, and apostolic development.  Not only is New Staff Training a time of learning and personal growth, it is very life-giving to be around the other couple hundred missionaries and share inspiring stories from our year serving on our respective campuses.  This year New Staff Training was held at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, FL.

This is the Oratory where we had Mass and prayed everyday.  

Ave Maria, FL is a beautiful place!

During the summer months in southern Florida it storms every afternoon.  

This image perfectly captures what the storm clouds looked like everyday around 3-4pm.

All of the missionaries live in small communities of 7-8 people while at training.  This summer I was the dean of this community.  Our patron saint was Blessed Chiara Badano.

This is Blessed Chiara Luce Badano.  Chiara lived in Italy from 1971-1990.  She is known for expressing pure joy and trust in the Lord while she suffered and ultimately died from a serious and painful form of bone cancer.  She died at the young age of 18.

During our breaks from class, time was spent with friends and religious sisters or priests.  This is a group of us enjoying ice cream with the Sisters of Life, an order from the Bronx.

Say hello to my new team!  This year we have 4 returning missionaries at Benedictine and 6 new missionaries!  I can't wait to work with them and get to know them better.

Spring is Here!

It's been too long since my last blog post!  Mission here in Atchison, Kansas has been keeping me very busy!  Here is a quick update...

Nearly 500 students are active participants in Bible study!

About 150 students are living mission on campus as disciples of Christ!

There are 28 women in my discipleship chain who are living as disciples of Christ!

The last couple months have consisted of...

 Valentine's Day Dinner

The men on campus cooked and served the ladies a nice candle-lit dinner.

Holy women going to a student formation night. 

Newest FOCUS missionaries - 2 men and 3 women from Benedictine College!

Home-made cheesecake on the feast of St. Joseph!

An afternoon of fellowship and crafts!

You can look forward to more spring time photos to come!

March for Life 2014

This year in Washington, D.C., Benedictine College was asked to lead the March for Life.  This was an amazing opportunity for our students and myself to embark on a 31 hour bus ride across the country to stand up for the rights of the unborn in our country.  Benedictine College brought over 400 students and travelled in 8 buses.  It was an amazing experience to offer sacrifices of long travels and 15 degree weather for this great cause.  This year's theme is "Adoption: A Noble Decision."

Benedictine College leading the March for Life

600,000 people gathered for this cause

March to the Capital

We made the front page of USAToday (front row with red hat and sunglasses)

Abbot James blesses us before we leave Atchison, KS