JollyHolly

Dear Followers, Happy Easter! What a beautiful time of year it is- the springtime of the Church! I just wanted to give a nice update as we approach this beautiful season and as time starts to quickly go by. We have a new Papa to lead us! I am so blessed to work for FOCUS. Our Web Director, Kevin, came up with the idea the weekend before the Conclave started to have a way where people could be updated through text and e-mail if the new Pope was elected during the middle of the night (in America). To say the least, Popealarm.com (http://www.popealarm.com/) went off with a big bang and we had over 100,000 people sign up for it! Our Tech, Digital Campus, Formation and Marketing teams worked super hard and endlessly to make this tool ... read more

Dear Followers, Another blog! WOO! This one specifically is about a trip I just took to Chicago yesterday. This past weekend I was on a silent retreat for almost 48 hours, which was CRAZY! It was so hard! However, I perservered and learned a lot of different things... some of them small graces, and some things haven't happened yet, but I am excited to know I have grown closer to God. To celebrate (and to get away since we had an unexpected day off on Monday) I decided to head to the second largest city in America-- CHICAGO, IL! :) My friends Cari and Sara and I went up on Sunday night and stayed at the InterContinential Hotel, which was right on Michigan Avenue! It was so fun! We decided to walk around Navy Pier for ... read more

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahatma Ghandi Dear Followers, It's been a week since I got back from my mission trip to the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky. I can't believe it. What a week it was, to submerge myself into a whole new world, even though I was in the United States. This was FOCUS's first mission to Appalachia, so our group kind was kind of guinea pigs with a new place and mission. We were blessed to work with the Father Beiting Appalachia Mission Center in Louisa. The mission center is a place that works with some of the poorest people, who have always relyed on farming, coal mining, and logging. They give volunteers the experience to do hands-on projects often side by side ... read more

Dear Followers, Wow. I am the WORST blogger ever. I told you I would be updating every few weeks, but that obviously is NOT the case. A LOT has happened over the past two months since I last wrote. Aside from my homesickness, which is thankfully over, I have been doing decently well. I am trying to continue to trust in the Lord and do what He has called me to do-- work at the national office. Sometimes it has its trials but most days are fruitful and a learning experience. I have also been blessed to work with such amazing and caring people and who help me to keep my eye on the main prize and how we are all working together to serve the college students. It's like the verse from 1 Corinthians in ... read more