Week Two

This week, all of FOCUS Staff gathered together here in Champaign for Veteran Staff Training. This means that the 200+ people I was busy meeting during week one was increased to over 300 people.

The week went by a lot more quickly than last week. I think they knew that the first year missionaries were in desperate need of a break, because we had yesterday afternoon off from class, and today was casual day in class! We even played Jeopardy, complete with physical challenges such as holding Mountain Dew and Alka-Seltzer in one's mouth, and an egg toss.

In classes this week, we talked about evangelization, discipleship, the dating fast (!!), Bible studies, and of course, "Launching College Students into a Lifetime of Catholic Missions." I am SO excited to get back to Auburn to use the new knowledge I have to be a better discipler and Bible study leader, and I can't wait to strategize with my team and learn more about God's plan to draw our campus back to Himself.

In addition, my Holy Hours have been much better this week. The Lord knows how emotional I am, and I am so thankful for His healing consolation this week. A man's role is to provide and protect, and He has been faithfully fulfilling His promises to me. Prayer is ABSOLUTELY VITAL to my mission, and I have been praying diligently for my future mission partners, students, teammates, family, and fellow missionaries, who have been so encouraging and charitable. (One amazing thing about New Staff Training is the feeling of charity that surrounds me all of the time. Everyone has such great intentions, and love is definitely at the heart of sharing Christ with others.)

As promised, some quotes from the first week:

When answering the question "Why college students?," Curtis Martin said, "College students are future leaders, they live in close proximity, they are in the age which is called the critical decade (age 16-26), and they have time. This is the perfect storm for evangelization."

"If you evangelize every student on campus, but you neglect your family, you will go to Hell." -Bishop Robert Carlson

"If you cannot live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you CANNOT preach it."  -Dr. J. Reyes

"The Lord did not make us to permanently suffer our weaknesses."  -Dr. J. Reyes
This one hits hard, but I haven't fully formulated my thoughts on it so that they can be expressed.

"Moral character in itself, whether good or bad, as exhibited in thought and conduct, surely cannot be duly represented in words."  -Blessed John Henry Newman


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There are many more to come from week two, but that's all for now.

Tomorrow I am going on a spiritual impact retreat, so please pray for me and for my mission partners. I will be praying for all of you!

Saint Clare, pray for us!