HURRICANE!!!

I am sure that most of you have heard about the destruction of hurricane Sandy on the east coast.  It swept through on October 29th.  I know it was a few weeks ago, but I am tyring to catch up with the weeks, and I don't want to miss anything.  If you have not heard about Sandy, know that there was major damage on the east coast.  Almost entire electric grids were destroyed and millions of people without power.  There was also major damage in Cuba and the surrounding islands.  Please continue to pray for everyone effected by the storm.  Many have died and many others are homeless. 

As I look back on this post I realize how dark it may seem.  I know many people ask "How can GOD do this?  Why would He allow people to die and evil in the world?" I have heard this from many people over the years.  Honestly, I am not sure if there is an easy answer.  The real question is why does GOD allow suffering?  One answer I have heard to explain these natural disasters is that man was meant to take care of the earth and the earth was rebelling.  I don't know if that is true, but what I always say is that it has to do with the nature of suffering and GOD giving us an opportunity to become closer to him.  Now, I am not saying that when a person does something horrible to another, then GOD must have willed it.  That is crazy!  We have free will, but in the situations where we do not decide to choose the suffering, such as natural disasters or illness (Though, some might say that we even choose these sufferings, but I am not sure.), I think that GOD might be inviting us to grow closer to him.  Now, before you decide I am crazy and stop reading, think about this.  When you are truly suffering, what do you do?  Maybe you pull out the ice cream?  Maybe..., but I bet you share your suffering with someone.  In fact, I bet that someone is a close friend you trust, and I know after you share your suffering you feel a lot closer to that person (or dog...).  It is part of the nature of suffering.  Suffering can be an opportunity to bring people together.  If it was not for Christ, then I would say that a god that allowed suffering would be evil.  I would not worship that god!  But the truth is that GOD became man, so that He could suffer with us.  He shares our suffering and invites us into a closer relationship with Him.  Now, let me say something first.  If He needed our love, then again I would say that this god was evil, and he was making us suffer to satisfy his need, but the truth is that GOD does not need our love.  We need His love.  We are made for Him, and no matter how painful a situation is just remember that it can be an opportunity to unite yourself with Jesus Christ. 

I think you also might be happy to here that even the so called "cold" people of the northeast can unite in suffering.  I have heard from another missionary in New Jersey that the storm had actually brought people together, and people were beginning to open up.  It shows that suffering can be wonderful. 



P.S.  Another post will be coming soon to share my personal adventures through hurricane Sandy. 

I Love Retreats!!!

Focus helped the Catholic Midshipmen Club (CMC) put on a retreat for the midshipmen on the weekend of October 28th.  I know I am little behind.  Sorry!  Either way, we had about forty-five midshipmen come to the retreat.  We invited one of Eric's friends, Brother Paul from Colorado, to give most of the talks for the retreat.  This was one of the first times that some of the mids had ever met.  Like I said before, there are many strong catholics on the yard, but there is little community.  This was a great opportunity for the mids to bond and start Christ centered relationships, and I know it worked.  Mass attendance has almost doubled, and I can see new friendships blossoming.  In fact, one of the mids said that the retreat brought him back to the faith.  Praise the Lord!  I can really feel a change happening, and I can feel the Holy Spirit working on people's hearts.  I know something great is about to happen.  Please continue to pray for all of the midshipmen, and ask the Lord to open their hearts. 


P.S.  Building a fire is a great way to bond.  Who would have thought that?  Too bad it was the wrong fire pit. 

FOCUS Freakout

Every Tuesday the mids have their Catholic Midshipmen Club or CMC for short.  They usually invite a speaker to share about different topics on the faith, but once a month the FOCUS team plans the event.  In the past, one of the missionaries would give a talk or the team would invite a guest speaker, and this year is no different.  We call this meeting FOCUS Freakout, and I was put in charge of the event for the year.  We always get pizza for the students, and have a great time sharing our faith and meeting students.  It is always a big hit!  The first month, one of my teammates, Eric, gave a talk about living in the present.  He shared how it was important to live our lives in the present, and not by past mistakes or future worries.

This past month, I gave my testimony on how I came to know and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  I think it went really well, and the other missionaries said that it came up in their bible studies, and that the students could really relate.  It felt so good to be in front of an audience after an entire year of giving talks with TOBET.  I really missed giving talks and interacting with the crowd, but what I think I missed the most was telling my story to an audience.  I would usually get really nervous right before walking on stage, but as soon as I started to speak I would feel this great peace.  I think it is the Holy Spirit, and I am truly grateful for His help. 

In two weeks, the Dominicans from D.C. are coming to give a talk on how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and what that should mean.  I am super excited, and I know the midshipmen will love it.  If you have any ideas about good topics or great speakers in the area, please let me know.  Thanks! 


P.S.  To all the Texans, autumn in Maryland equals winter in Texas.   Brrr...

October Student Leader Fun Day

 

We had a great weekend with our student leaders.  We took about twelve student leaders to go pumpkin picking at a pumpkin patch outside of Annapolis.  We had really hoped to pick apples for some desserts we planned to make later that night, but when we got there we learned they only had about seven apple trees, and apple picking was not allowed.  I suppose they wanted to pick the apples themselves to make sure they were ripe, and then sell them at their fruit stand in the front.  Either way, we had a lot of fun searching for the best pumpkin.  The girls split off in one direction, the upperclassmen in another, and I was granted the freshmen.  I was reminded of Charlie Brown and his great pumpkin, and after searching through the entire patch I feel like we picked the best pumpkin.  (This usually means the largest and most round pumpkin, but for the girls it was all about the stem.  Apparently the stem adds character.)

 After we picked our pumpkins we went to the grocery store to pick out some apples.  I guess you could call it city apple picking.  Funny thing when you go to the store is that you often get groceries you never planned on getting.  The midshipmen got donuts, whip cream, and a cake mix.  They never go shopping. 

When we finished checking out our groceries we all went to the guy's house (mine and my roommate's house), to continue our fun day.  The girls chose to make the desserts, such as two different kinds of  apple pies and some apple bread.  They were delicious!  The guys decided to make dinner, which was individual foil dinners that were thrown into the fire until done (we had a fire pit outside).  They were pretty good too.  We also had a little dance party, carved pumpkins, and made s'mores.  It was a great night, and I think it went a long way to help build a strong catholic community at the Naval Academy. 

P.S. I think the best carving was the classic pumpkin face, but that had little to do with me carving that pumpkin.  Seriously...