The Holy Spirit continues to amaze me. This past week a midshipmen came up to me and asked if we could talk. I could tell he was feeling down, so we found a place to talk. This midshipmen had been starting to get involved with bible studies and other catholic groups. He always seemed pretty happy and content, so I was surprised when he started to open up about his pain from a past relationship. I am pretty sure he just wanted to talk and get it off of his chest, but I was able to share my conversion story with him. I was able to share about my past relationships and how I came to know Jesus Christ. He came to the realization that he could be in a relationship and be happy or miserable, or he could be single and be happy or miserable. I also told him how Christ wanted a personal relationship with each one of us, and that night he chose to make Christ the center of his life. He knows that it must be an everyday decision, but that this choice is the beginning of his healing. Thank you for all of your prayers!
P.S. Happy Birthday Gina!!!
P.S. We will miss you Pope Benedict XVI!!!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Round Two
I hope everyone is having a grace filled Lent. Easter will be here before we know it, but Lent is a great time for us to separate ourselves from this world and cling to our Lord. It is a great time to reflect and remember who we are made for.
This second semester has been full of adventure and blessings. The Lord has poured His love on his people. He has made our hearts new and called this generation to stand up for the truth. From the FOCUS Conference called SEEK to the 40th March for Life the youth have gathered in the thousands and in the hundreds of thousands to search and fight for more in this life. If you could only see the eyes of these youth you would see their energy and hunger. The midshipmen are great examples of these men and women. It is obvious there has been a great change in their hearts, and I am honored to be a part of their lives.
On January 1st over 6,000 college students left for Orlando, Florida to attend SEEK from January 2-6. They gave up days from their Christmas break to learn more about Jesus Christ and their faith. Most of these students were people who have not lived out their faith in years, but they were seeking more in their lives. They were looking for something or someone to make life fulfilling. The world says that faith is foolish, but these men and women took a chance and amazing things happened. One of the biggest signs of this was that about 5,000 people went to confession in those five days. It was a great sight to see, and I know that same energy was sent back to each campus.
The Naval Academy is no different. As soon as we returned from SEEK, we could see a change in the midshipmen. Daily mass involvement had almost doubled. Students were inviting others to the Catholic Midshipmen Club, mass and bible studies. I think the most impressive group that was started was a men's chastity group. These men formed this brotherhood inorder to battle lust, and it is one of the most manly things I have ever seen.
There are days when I can't believe the opportunities the Lord has given me. Who am I? The truth is that I just heard His call, and I chose to follow Him. He gave me the strength, and I suppose that is all that he asks of us. I can honestly say there is nothing better. Let us all pick up our cross and follow Him.
P.S. Newsletters will be going out soon. If you do not get one then let me know.
This second semester has been full of adventure and blessings. The Lord has poured His love on his people. He has made our hearts new and called this generation to stand up for the truth. From the FOCUS Conference called SEEK to the 40th March for Life the youth have gathered in the thousands and in the hundreds of thousands to search and fight for more in this life. If you could only see the eyes of these youth you would see their energy and hunger. The midshipmen are great examples of these men and women. It is obvious there has been a great change in their hearts, and I am honored to be a part of their lives.
On January 1st over 6,000 college students left for Orlando, Florida to attend SEEK from January 2-6. They gave up days from their Christmas break to learn more about Jesus Christ and their faith. Most of these students were people who have not lived out their faith in years, but they were seeking more in their lives. They were looking for something or someone to make life fulfilling. The world says that faith is foolish, but these men and women took a chance and amazing things happened. One of the biggest signs of this was that about 5,000 people went to confession in those five days. It was a great sight to see, and I know that same energy was sent back to each campus.
The Naval Academy is no different. As soon as we returned from SEEK, we could see a change in the midshipmen. Daily mass involvement had almost doubled. Students were inviting others to the Catholic Midshipmen Club, mass and bible studies. I think the most impressive group that was started was a men's chastity group. These men formed this brotherhood inorder to battle lust, and it is one of the most manly things I have ever seen.
There are days when I can't believe the opportunities the Lord has given me. Who am I? The truth is that I just heard His call, and I chose to follow Him. He gave me the strength, and I suppose that is all that he asks of us. I can honestly say there is nothing better. Let us all pick up our cross and follow Him.
P.S. Newsletters will be going out soon. If you do not get one then let me know.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Making A Difference
I asked one of our student leaders to give a little testimony of his senior year at the Naval Academy!
I am Giiehti Christian, a midshipman at the United
States Naval Academy and a disciple of Marcos Niño. My time under Marcos's
discipleship could not have been better. I have gone from occasionally attending
Mass to daily Eucharistic Adoration. Currently, I am now starting to outreach to
my friends , so they too can enjoy the benefits of a personal relationship with
Christ. Without Marcos, my faith would be dormant and my path to disciplining
non-existent. Thank you Marcos!
V/r,
G.D.C. Christian
MIDN, USN
Brigade Character Advisor
P.S. None of this would be possible without your support. Thank you from both of us.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Time to Prepare is Over!
Do you remember the day I said that I would write soon about my adventures of hurricane Sandy...yeah it was a while ago. Well, better late then never.
"The time to prepare is over. The time to take shelter is now." Those were the words my roommate and I heard as we were trying to decide if we should go out and get some actual supplies before the hurricane hit Annapolis. The night before my roommate bought some pretzels and some buffalo chips and I bought a case of bottled waters. Now, we had heard that the way the hurricane was going to hit would not flood Annapolis, but what we worried about was the power going out. We needed to buy some type of food that would stay fresh, and as I said before, we did not get the best supplies.
The day the hurricane was expected to make landfall, Eric was listening to clips about Sandy on YouTube. We did not have a t.v. to watch the news, but we had Internet, and all of a sudden Eric starts laughing hysterically. "What is it?", I say, and he says to come and look at the YouTube clip. It was a map of the east coast and how hurricane Sandy was expected to hit land. The eye of the storm was highlighted in red, and as I watched the storm move I could not help but burst out laughing myself. It showed the eye of the storm going right over our little town of Arnold (right outside of Annapolis). Of course, I was concerned about not having enough supplies, so I ask Eric "Should we get some more supplies?", and I swear, as soon as I finished, a women on YouTube says, "The time to prepare is over. The time to take shelter is now." It was about 3pm and the hurricane was expected to hit at 9pm. The store was a block away, and the rain was not too bad. We got in the car and drove to the store.
All of the water bottles were gone, but luckily I had gotten those already. Now, Eric and I still didn't know what to get so we decided on the essentials, Oreo cookies, chips and salsa, sweet tea, and some turtle cookies to bake. They had chocolate, pecans, and caramel. We looked into our basket, and we both felt that we did not have enough supplies. We wondered what we should get, and finally one of us had a great idea. We would get some ready to eat fried chicken. Yeah, now we were ready to checkout! We buy our supplies and drive back to our house, and as soon as we get there I put the cookies in the oven and we start eating our chicken.
It all seemed like a good idea at the time, and as we slowly, OK quickly, ate our supplies we got bored and took out my Risk board game and started playing Risk. I bet you did not know that risk has two player rules. After we finished game one, we remembered that the downstairs had flooded from storms before, so we went downstairs to check it out. You guessed it, there were a couple of puddles. There was a large puddle in the utility room and another smaller puddle in the bathroom. We mopped both of them up, and we put a bucket next to the wall in the utility room with a little towel touching the wall, so that the towel would soak up the water, and the water would fall into the bucket. Yeah, that works. The water was leaking through the walls in both rooms, but there was drywall in the bathroom, so we could not get to the walls and there was no way to stop the water. All we could do was put a towel to soak up the water.
The reason why water was coming into the house was, because we live in a townhouse where all of the houses are connected. Our house is in the middle and there happens to be a little hill in our front yard, so when it rains the water builds up in front of our house and there is no way for the water to runoff. Eric and I tried to figure out how to get rid of all the water before it all came into our house. It was about 5:30pm and starting to rain harder. Gallons of water had built up in front of our house, and a hurricane was coming. The only thing we could think to fix the problem was to build a trench in our front yard.
Now, please understand that after years of focus missionaries living at this house no one had ever fixed the flower bed, and after about seven years of weeds I came and pulled out the weeds, planted some roses, and laid some mulch. Now I had to tear it up to build this trench. It was either the flower bed or the house, so we dig a trench on one side of the house.
We go inside, and the power goes out. It was about 6pm. Three hours before the hurricane hits. We take flashlights down stairs to see if the leaking had stopped in the basement and it had. We checked the bathroom, and it was not too bad, so we decided to go up and play some more Risk by candle light (One of those good things about being Catholic is that you always have candles.).
When we finished the game we went down stairs to check on the bathroom, and we found a huge puddle of water. Eric mopped it up (We only have one mop.), and immediately another puddle started to form. The water was coming in, and we could not stop it. At about 9pm, when the hurricane was hitting Arnold, Eric and I went outside to dig a second trench. It was raining, and the wind was blowing at about 60 mph, but we dug that trench, and saved the house. The trenches worked, and the water stopped coming in. We sat down and played a third game of Risk. The next morning our power came back on, and the storm was gone. We survived our first hurricane. Thank you for all of your prayers.
P. S. Here is the picture of Max that I promised. Blog spot finally let me add some more pictures to my post's.
"The time to prepare is over. The time to take shelter is now." Those were the words my roommate and I heard as we were trying to decide if we should go out and get some actual supplies before the hurricane hit Annapolis. The night before my roommate bought some pretzels and some buffalo chips and I bought a case of bottled waters. Now, we had heard that the way the hurricane was going to hit would not flood Annapolis, but what we worried about was the power going out. We needed to buy some type of food that would stay fresh, and as I said before, we did not get the best supplies.
The day the hurricane was expected to make landfall, Eric was listening to clips about Sandy on YouTube. We did not have a t.v. to watch the news, but we had Internet, and all of a sudden Eric starts laughing hysterically. "What is it?", I say, and he says to come and look at the YouTube clip. It was a map of the east coast and how hurricane Sandy was expected to hit land. The eye of the storm was highlighted in red, and as I watched the storm move I could not help but burst out laughing myself. It showed the eye of the storm going right over our little town of Arnold (right outside of Annapolis). Of course, I was concerned about not having enough supplies, so I ask Eric "Should we get some more supplies?", and I swear, as soon as I finished, a women on YouTube says, "The time to prepare is over. The time to take shelter is now." It was about 3pm and the hurricane was expected to hit at 9pm. The store was a block away, and the rain was not too bad. We got in the car and drove to the store.
All of the water bottles were gone, but luckily I had gotten those already. Now, Eric and I still didn't know what to get so we decided on the essentials, Oreo cookies, chips and salsa, sweet tea, and some turtle cookies to bake. They had chocolate, pecans, and caramel. We looked into our basket, and we both felt that we did not have enough supplies. We wondered what we should get, and finally one of us had a great idea. We would get some ready to eat fried chicken. Yeah, now we were ready to checkout! We buy our supplies and drive back to our house, and as soon as we get there I put the cookies in the oven and we start eating our chicken.
It all seemed like a good idea at the time, and as we slowly, OK quickly, ate our supplies we got bored and took out my Risk board game and started playing Risk. I bet you did not know that risk has two player rules. After we finished game one, we remembered that the downstairs had flooded from storms before, so we went downstairs to check it out. You guessed it, there were a couple of puddles. There was a large puddle in the utility room and another smaller puddle in the bathroom. We mopped both of them up, and we put a bucket next to the wall in the utility room with a little towel touching the wall, so that the towel would soak up the water, and the water would fall into the bucket. Yeah, that works. The water was leaking through the walls in both rooms, but there was drywall in the bathroom, so we could not get to the walls and there was no way to stop the water. All we could do was put a towel to soak up the water.
Now, please understand that after years of focus missionaries living at this house no one had ever fixed the flower bed, and after about seven years of weeds I came and pulled out the weeds, planted some roses, and laid some mulch. Now I had to tear it up to build this trench. It was either the flower bed or the house, so we dig a trench on one side of the house.
We go inside, and the power goes out. It was about 6pm. Three hours before the hurricane hits. We take flashlights down stairs to see if the leaking had stopped in the basement and it had. We checked the bathroom, and it was not too bad, so we decided to go up and play some more Risk by candle light (One of those good things about being Catholic is that you always have candles.).
When we finished the game we went down stairs to check on the bathroom, and we found a huge puddle of water. Eric mopped it up (We only have one mop.), and immediately another puddle started to form. The water was coming in, and we could not stop it. At about 9pm, when the hurricane was hitting Arnold, Eric and I went outside to dig a second trench. It was raining, and the wind was blowing at about 60 mph, but we dug that trench, and saved the house. The trenches worked, and the water stopped coming in. We sat down and played a third game of Risk. The next morning our power came back on, and the storm was gone. We survived our first hurricane. Thank you for all of your prayers.
P. S. Here is the picture of Max that I promised. Blog spot finally let me add some more pictures to my post's.
Monday, January 14, 2013
First Semester at the Naval Academy
The semester is almost over, and it feels like the fastest semester of my life. I am sure that has to do with me getting older, and I assume it will only get faster. At least that is what I hear from my elders (24 and above). I just wanted to give a quick look back at the semester today, and later on I would like to go back and give more detail for the month of November and December (I am a little behind).
Well, I guess the best place to begin is the beginning, and I would like to start with the car ride from Texas to Annapolis, Maryland. Some of you may know that I ventured on my journey alone. If you did not, then now you know. That is not really important except that IT WAS SO LONG!!!! I took three days to get here, and I had no one to talk to. I would surprise myself every time I spoke (You know when I would stop to get something to eat...I was not talking to myself.). Honestly, it would not have been so bad if there were not so many trees on the way. Yeah I said it, trees. Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that trees are wonderful and so beautiful, and how could I not appreciate the trees. If you are from a place where there are not many trees (some places in Texas), I know that is what you are thinking. Well let me educate you on the matter. First, I want to say that, yes, trees are nice, but I would add to that statement to say trees are nice when they are by a field or a lake. They add mystery and excitement. It is almost like dynamics in music, but when there are only trees from Georgia to Richmond, I assure you that, the car ride gets really boring. I was hoping for anything! A field, a cow, or a hay bail would have been great, but there were only trees, and trees, and more trees. Or so I thought...apparently there were towns behind those trees. Yes, towns and cities with wonderful people, but I will never see them. Nope, I will never meet them. I am not going to say that they should cut those trees down, but a big flashing sign that says "Town right here!!! Behind these really tall and dense trees!", or something like it would be great. I swear I thought there was nothing from Atlanta to Richmond. I mean I hoped there was civilization out there, and I was very confused by the lack of towns (In Texas, it is easy to spot a town by the interstate. Maybe they clear the trees or decide not to grow them by the road.), and I wondered if towns were there, but I did not fully realize that I passed every little town until I got to Richmond. As you can see, the entire tree business made me very...I don't know, but not happy. Moving on, here are some pictures I was able to take before the trees.
I finally get to Annapolis and my first day at the United States Naval Academy. I suppose you could say I was welcomed with open arms.
Then I started mentorship. I had never really mentored anyone before, but it is one of my favorite things about being a FOCUS missionary. I received five student leaders to mentor.
Well, I guess the best place to begin is the beginning, and I would like to start with the car ride from Texas to Annapolis, Maryland. Some of you may know that I ventured on my journey alone. If you did not, then now you know. That is not really important except that IT WAS SO LONG!!!! I took three days to get here, and I had no one to talk to. I would surprise myself every time I spoke (You know when I would stop to get something to eat...I was not talking to myself.). Honestly, it would not have been so bad if there were not so many trees on the way. Yeah I said it, trees. Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that trees are wonderful and so beautiful, and how could I not appreciate the trees. If you are from a place where there are not many trees (some places in Texas), I know that is what you are thinking. Well let me educate you on the matter. First, I want to say that, yes, trees are nice, but I would add to that statement to say trees are nice when they are by a field or a lake. They add mystery and excitement. It is almost like dynamics in music, but when there are only trees from Georgia to Richmond, I assure you that, the car ride gets really boring. I was hoping for anything! A field, a cow, or a hay bail would have been great, but there were only trees, and trees, and more trees. Or so I thought...apparently there were towns behind those trees. Yes, towns and cities with wonderful people, but I will never see them. Nope, I will never meet them. I am not going to say that they should cut those trees down, but a big flashing sign that says "Town right here!!! Behind these really tall and dense trees!", or something like it would be great. I swear I thought there was nothing from Atlanta to Richmond. I mean I hoped there was civilization out there, and I was very confused by the lack of towns (In Texas, it is easy to spot a town by the interstate. Maybe they clear the trees or decide not to grow them by the road.), and I wondered if towns were there, but I did not fully realize that I passed every little town until I got to Richmond. As you can see, the entire tree business made me very...I don't know, but not happy. Moving on, here are some pictures I was able to take before the trees.
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| I don't know what this is supposed to be, but it looked like St. Michael, and it looked awesome! |
 |
| Leaving Texas. Goodbye. I will miss you!!! |
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| Well, this is awkward. Should someone tell that box it is blue? |
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| Excuse the fact that I was driving...look it's a giant peach!!! |
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| My first time stepping on the yard. |
 |
| I received my first stars with FOCUS company. |
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| The midshipmen were hungry for truth and...food. |
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| Patrick |
 |
| Scott |
 |
| John |
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| Joe |
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| Giiehti |
Then I asked four more guys into mentorship.
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| Tim |
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| Kevin |
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| Will |
I think I might have maxed out on pictures, which is a little "punny", because the last guy I was going to post is named Max.
They have all grown so much in their faith, and in the spring semester many of them will begin to lead their own bible studies and mentor other students. It is great to see their new zeal for souls. Most of them were beginning to ask me "When can I start leading a bible study?" Great things are happening. Thank you for all of your prayers. We could not do this without you. Please, let us know if you have any prayer intentions.
P.S. This might be my best post so far, and I will post Max's picture next time.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
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.
P.S. Building a fire is a great way to bond. Who would have thought that? Too bad it was the wrong fire pit.
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