Diving In

Well..... thanks to some encouragement from wonderful friends, here I am, with a blog. If you're reading this, welcome to my life as a FOCUS missionary. Maybe sometime later I'll put my story up. For now, I just wanted to share some highlights of my first four weeks on-campus.

Highlight 1: Getting to be a part of the lives of young people who really love Jesus. The students here at UMD (University of Minnesota Duluth) and CSS (College of St. Scholastica) are truly inspiring. This morning, about 15 of them showed up at 8am for morning prayer and we almost filled our small chapel for Mass this evening. Not to mention how determined our student missionaries are to call their peers and start up bible studies on-campus this week. We will have over 20 bible studies on-campus this year!

Highlight 2: Hanging out with my team. We have a great group of 7 missionaries here in Duluth. And within a few weeks we've already had a several adventures, like driving up to Gooseberry Falls for the day (see picture), watching all 3 Batman movies in 24 hours, and taking students camping at the lake for a weekend.

our team on the shore of Lake Superior

Highlight 3: Learning some new life skills. My confidence in my parallel parking skills has boomed. I've also discovered how to go for runs with massive hills to go up and down (Fargo really was that flat!) Additionally, I've discovered ways to transform a room of white walls into a super wonderful looking bedroom (just waiting for some Bison football posters to finish it off!) I am slowly figuring out how to use our gas stove without setting fire alarms off due to smoke. Stay tuned on that one.

Highlight 4: Meeting new students! I've met some great women and am looking forward to starting 2 bible studies this semester - with one geared for our Bulldog athletes. I've already gotten to attend a volleyball and soccer game (picture included) and can't wait to get some UMD gear to be a big athletic fan. I'm also excited for a bible study for freshmen women - we had our first meeting tonight and it's going to be really wonderful getting to know them.

with Sarah, Nicole, and Catie at Sunday's soccer game

Highlight 5: The amazing support I've received from family and friends as I embark on this adventure. It is so awesome to know that those I love are behind me and believe in what I'm doing.

Well, I can't think of much else for now. But feel free to follow me by using the provided email sign-up or through your own blog account. I can't wait to share more about what God is doing on campus and in my life as well.  St. Therese of Lisieux, Pray for us!