My Stories:
On Good Friday, my teammate and I went out on campus to meet students. We stumbled upon a woman sitting by herself and started up a conversation. We asked her if she knew what was special about today and she said no. We told her it was Good Friday, the day that Jesus died on the Cross for us. She looked a little confused and said she’d heard that name before somewhere. After thinking for a moment she decided it was in her art history class where they were studying a painting… she couldn’t remember the name, but it was of a woman and an angel… some long A word. It turned out to be a picture of the Annunciation where it is announced to Mary by an angel that she is going to be the mother of God. This gave us the opportunity to share the love of God with her and tell her about Jesus - because she'd never heard of Him before!
Student Testimonies:
Allie:
FOCUS has had a huge impact on my life. I was never very religious, but the first semester of my freshman year I went on the Bear Awakening Retreat. It changed my life! I was always afraid to go to a Catholic Mass because I was afraid I would do something wrong during it. During the retreat when we had Mass, I was so nervous. However, during that hour, I had a sense of peace and felt more comfortable than any other moment in my life. I knew that God was calling me to become Catholic. I joined RCIA and received my First Communion on Holy Thursday and was confirmed on Divine Mercy Sunday. While I was in RCIA I was asked into discipleship. I was so excited because all I wanted to do was learn more and more about my faith. God and FOCUS have brought me back to life. I was very sad and hated myself all during high school, but being on this campus and the love of God has set me free. This community is so welcoming and supportive. I am the only Catholic person in my family, so FOCUS has become my new Catholic family: people I can go to talk to, to learn from, and to grow with.
Jim:
FOCUS has played a large role in my life at the University of Northern Colorado. As a music education major, I am extremely busy and my schedule prevents me from living a consistent life from week to week, especially my prayer life. FOCUS has allowed me to not only keep the faith, but practice, admire, foster, and grow more strongly in a loving relationship with the Resurrected Christ who is present in every person’s life.
Next semester I will tread on new waters: the teaching world. Secularism in the schools will be my greatest personal challenge, but the study of music is generally half sacred and half secular, so I believe it is a win-win situation. As my music teachers throughout the past twenty-two years of my life have contributed to my core knowledge to lay a foundation for my future students, I believe FOCUS has done the same. If there were no FOCUS, there would be no “light” on campus.
Anonymous:
A few months ago I went through a crisis. I was living every young girl’s worst nightmare. I found out I was pregnant. At the time I found out, I was single, alone, and afraid. I literally felt I had no one to turn to. The weight of my own embarrassment, shame, self hatred, and loss of self worth was too much to bear and I chose to get an abortion even though I knew it was wrong. This decision weighed heavily on my heart and led me into depression. The devil works when we are alone. Mercifully, the Mass before I was to have my abortion changed my life. The message pierced my soul; it was all about God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. For the first time I felt peace take over my mind and heart – peace about keeping the child. It was in that moment I knew I had to tell others I was pregnant; I could not do this alone. First, I told my parents, and then I told those closest to me in the Catholic community I was involved in. The FOCUS missionaries were some of the few people I felt comfortable telling early on. The reason - they were real and genuine. The people involved in FOCUS did not judge me for one second like I feared, but instead embraced me and loved me in the midst of my brokenness. This expression of true, unconditional, Christ-like love is what saved me and my baby’s life. If it were not for my family and Catholic community showing me love when I was that weak and broken, I would have had an abortion.
God got through to me through the human love that was showered over me. God rewards those who make themselves vulnerable to Him. Now, I am proud to say I am 15 weeks pregnant. I have gotten involved in FOCUS discipleship, and go to nearly all of their events. I deliberately chose to surround myself with people striving for holiness in an attempt to change my life and turn my brokenness into something beautiful. FOCUS provided me with the means to do just that. FOCUS provided me with the support and fellowship I needed to be healed and to grow more fully in my Catholic faith. FOCUS gave me a solid group of people to surround myself with that are good influences and are striving for holiness. I have found my lifelong friends with the help of FOCUS. I have been involved in discipleship and have been mentored and led by amazing women. Bible studies have given me the opportunity to truly study the life of Jesus and relate it to my own life. Most of all, the FOCUS missionaries invested in me. They sought me out and asked me the tough life questions, the questions that force you to grow. The most valuable thing FOCUS has done for me is cared. When the world hurt me, they cared for me, when the world ignored me, they invested in me, when the world hated me, they loved me, when the world beat me down, they brought me to the foot of the cross. I am forever grateful for the life changing impact FOCUS has had on my life, and on the life that I will soon bring into this world. Thank you FOCUS.
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