Springing Fourth

As Spring is trying to show it's beautiful face across the country, it seems like our lives are on a similar wave-length. The students and missionaries are getting "spring fever" but are also clinging to the passing weeks that we have left of the school year.

God has tremendously blessed this semester, and before I knew it, it was already the middle of April!! Here are a few recent highlights:

Spreading Christ's Love: This past Saturday, I was blessed to bring 12 women an hour south of Atchison to the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, KS. We were there for a very specific reason: to gain experience spreading the love of God and the message of the Gospel to people who may have never heard it before. Oftentimes, attending a Catholic college can lead to a sort of complacency about the spiritual pulse of the world. In order to break out of the "Benedictine Bubble," we often need to break far out of our comfort zones. Thus came fourth the idea to take women in my senior bible studies and my entire "discipleship chain"- the women that are meeting weekly with me for mentorship or with one of the students that I mentor- on a mission to share God's love. What resulted were many Holy Spirit-filled conversations with a wide range of people on the KU campus- with atheists, pagans, preachers, lukewarm Catholics to name a few. I was amazed with the joy that I saw in the women after we returned from our hour of evangelizing. They were renewed with a missionary zeal to share the Gospel with all they encounter, which as Pope Francis says, is a "daily responsibility" (Joy of the Gospel). On the way back, we offered a rosary and some intercessions for those we encountered, and can only hope that God will continue to grow the seeds that He allowed us to sow in their hearts.

Oh Baby: Now beginning my 5th month of pregnancy, we are amazed at the support and love that we're receiving from the students and community here at Benedictine. On Sunday, we decided to throw a "Gender Reveal Party" to announce the gender of "baby Lofy" (it's a boy!!!!).  Around 45 students attended this casual event, donning their pink or blue with excitement as we anticipate our new gift of life. Here is a video recap of the night, with many joyful students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx1YVmvGcXo

Continued Beginnings: As usual, it's that time of year where options are tossed around about the coming school year. Aaron and I did not have to go through much of a discernment process to realize that God is definitely still calling us to serve within this apostolate of FOCUS. Next year, Aaron will be taking on the role of Team Director. Though we haven't gotten the official word on where we'll be placed, we will be excited to announce that within the coming weeks!

Have a blessed Holy Week, and a joyous Easter!