SEEK2013. God is good.

disciple Shannon and I

Wow, it has been forever since I have taken the time to sit down and write about life. The end of the semester kept us busy with SEEK preparations, Christmas parties, and team-time. Then it was back to NoDak for a week and a half at home. And it was so good. I was blessed to see both sides of my extended family this Christmas and spend countless hours just hanging out with my sisters at home in Fargo. It was the first time since August that we had all been home. I realized how much I crave that quality time with them, watching movies, shopping, and taking naps. Then, it was back to Duluth... to board a bus for 32 hours down to ..... ORLANDO!

SEEK2013 was the craziest week ever, not just with being busy, but also learning about myself. I'm not sure how to best share all of the blessings of conference, but here goes...




with student Catie and teammate Nicole

SEEK was the first time I had seen some of my fellow FOCUS missionaries since the summer. Many hugs and stories and smiles were exchanged during our week in Orlando. It was also a solid week with my (now former) teammate Nicole, who was my roommate for conference. Nicole and her husband Jonathon have been assigned to University of Florida for this next semester, and I am going to miss these friends dearly. It was so good to spend time each morning getting ready with Nicole during our last week together for a while.




with my cousin Josh and sister Jennifer

Secondly, I was able to spend some time with my little sister, who attended SEEK with the group from UND. Jennifer and I were able to attend a couple of the talks together and before I left, she gave me a huge hug, rather than our usual sister handshake. I loved hearing how much she was learning from all the speakers and getting texts like "Kristen, I just met Dr. Sri. He's awesome!" I'm so glad we got to share conference.







my former roomies!

It was also a great week with some of my NDSU friends who attended conference. It was great to catch up and hear how everything is going for the FOCUS program at NDSU, which was a huge part of my life for 4 years. Some of us even gathered to cheer on the Bison to a second national championship... Once a Bison, Always a Bison.

Finally, by far the best part... being with the students of UMD again. I missed my new friends a lot during my short time at home. It was great to attend mass with them (as well as 6,200 students, 100+ priests, and 350 missionaries), gather together under our UMD flag for the keynotes, and enjoy the Florida sun. On the bus ride home, we opened the mic for testimonies and I was blown away by the depth of what these students shared. Many of them had life changing confessions (some for the first time), were challenged by the speakers, and built lasting friendships with their peers. I am so pumped to get back to campus and follow up with all of them. It is going to be a good semester at UMD.

Oh yeah, I should probably mention, I'm not on campus right now. We don't go back to school for another week. So I've been catching up on sleep after SEEK, spending time at home and NDSU, and setting some goals for this next semester. Break has re-lit that fire within my heart and I am more determined than ever to live out this incredible mission to bring college students into a relationship with my best friend, Jesus Christ.




Kelsey and I

Perhaps the most convicting thing for me over SEEK was the emphasis on the need for dynamic Catholics today. We can't be lukewarm, it's not an option. At the end of our life, we are either in Heaven or hell, there's no place for mediocre. We are called to be saints and to become saints together. That's a big task, but it is totally possible. SEEK helped me realize that it can happen.. there are enough of us in the young Church today to change the world. All we have to do is help each other keep that fire going and fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.