Now don’t run away. I know sharing your greatest struggle is scary but hear me out for a second. Before you say no and run, let’s think about why you share your story. You don’t share it for you, you share to help someone suffering.

It was easier for me to say I was fine, I didn’t need help, and to say I forgive than to verbalize what had happened. The day I chose to tell my mom what had gone on, was the day I chose to let it hurt. And it hurt like hell. But it was worth it!

For me I didn’t want to confront this man. I was afraid, I didn’t think I would know what to say. God gave me the grace to have the courage and I was able to explain what the Catholic faith is really about.

“Preach the gospel always. Use words when necessary.” ~St. Francis of Assisi I agree with St. Francis. The core of any evangelization should be the example set by the person preaching.

“You just gotta do it, man. Don’t think about it. Full send!” My toes dangle off the edge, I can feel the wind biting at my bare ankles and calves. A solid 60 ft cliff filled with jagged rocks ending in a rushing and daunting river beneath me. I closed my eyes and felt the power of the wind.

I was to use my sword whenever the devil sent his minions against me. I wasn’t supposed to go and find the enemy, but I was to know, love, and serve God, by protecting my Faith that was given to me.

"Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious." Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

I miss my first-born daughter in a way no one else could possibly miss her. My relationship with her was unlike anyone else’s, and the void in my life and in my family feels so vacuous at times and it’s a very lonely and isolated place to be. The disbelief that the accident actually happened and resulted in Anna’s instant death washes over me again and again. How can it possibly be true?

There were so many things to look forward to in becoming a missionary, such as traveling, ministry, social skills, and job experience. But the thing that was always on my mind when discerning coming was being part of a community.

I learned to take the focus off me. I was afraid of messing up, stumbling, mispronouncing words, and embarrassing myself. I was standing up to read the Word of God and all that I could think about was myself.

I honestly thought that it was because when we did pushups or squats, I was always the first to fall. So every time I would mess up, Justin would say to me, “Christian on the line, SPRINT!” I would have to run.