Anchors Aweigh!

Bible studies have begun!  Wednesday at 1900 (7 pm) about 12 midshipmen came to delve into the Sacred Scriptures.  This was a special moment for me.  After four years of waiting, I was finally able to give to these midshipmen the very thing that rocked the very foundations of my life.

But even moments like these are never void of setbacks!  I sat waiting at Gate 1 of the Naval Academy for an essential part of any good Bible study: Papa John's pizza.  The delivery time came and the delivery time went... still no pizza!  Defeated, I walked back to inform the hungry "mids" that spiritual food, the Word of God, would have to suffice for the night.  Fortunately,  they received the news with a laugh and we all sat down to pray.

I was excited, a little nervous, and eager to begin.  I opened up the night with a brief explanation of Salvation history and how the drama of human existence unfolds within its narrative.  We examined creation as the context of God's filial intimacy with man; how man's ultimate end is to know and love the Lord; Original Sin and man's fall from Grace; finally, we heard God's merciful promise of redemption.

The guys really clung to the notion that we're called to respond to God's love by "tilling" or working within creation.  We aren't too busy to be holy because our busyness is the very means by which we can become holy.  We don't need to leave the world, to leave the workplace, to be a saint because sanctity is found in the midst of the most ordinary things, if only we offer them to God!

Even though we didn't have Papa John's, I was pleased with how the night went.  There is definitely room for improvement but I'm excited to get better each week.  Thank you for making this all possible.  I gratefully pray for all of you daily. It's things like this that bring hope to the world!

P.S. I have a different Scripture study that begins this Monday!  Keep it in your prayers, please.

An Update: On "Discipleship"

"Discipleship" is the mentoring we do as FOCUS missionaries.  We call it discipleship because it uses the same evangelical logic as our Savior.  We stand alongside the many midshipmen who have engaged their faith on a deeper level and help them find other students to help in their faith journey.

Ted Murner, Brendan Belschner, and Tim Cadigan have been working with the FOCUS missionaries for at least the past year and have taken on a leadership role in the Catholic community.  They are the men I am fortunate enough to be working beside.  The formation they have received at the Naval Academy has shaped them into some of the most impressive young men I have ever encountered and it is one of the greatest joys in my life to help them find and share Christ in the midst of their daily work.

It is difficult though because I firmly believe that discipleship must be formed upon friendship and mutual trust/respect.  So one of the challenges of discipleship is finding ways to get involved in their lives so I can know them on a more personal level.  It's a challenge that I gladly embrace because I can already tell God has great things in-store for the brotherhood I find with these guys.  I have a lot to learn from them and hopefully, I can help them along the way too.

As a FOCUS missionary, I'll also be helping these guys lead Bible studies for their peers.  Bible studies start next week, so it is both an exciting and hectic time at the Academy.  Please Keep Ted, Brendan, and Tim in your prayers.  These are our Church's future leaders!  Thank you for enabling me to enter into the lives of these men in such a radical way.  God bless all of you on my support team!  Our work is underway!

Beyond doing discipleship with these men, I'll be leading a couple Bible studies for a bunch of the other midshipmen.  But I'll tell you more about that NEXT WEEK.

Leaky Lucy

The whole building was shaking and we all evacuated the restaurant.  Nobody expected an earthquake in Annapolis!  It happened Tuesday afternoon and, when the day had finally finished, I went back to the apartment to work on my car, Lucy.  Lucy had a mystery leak and I was determined to solve it!

Kyle and I figured it was coming from the windshield... nothing duct tape couldn't fix!  We proceeded to put the tape "discreetly" around Lucy's windshield and sunroof.  Kind of tacky, I know, but it did the trick!  Or did it?

Four days later, Lucy's leak was in for the ultimate test: Hurricane Irene.  I decided Lucy was in for a losing battle so I tried to help her chances by getting a car cover from Target.  The neighbor jokingly asked if I was trying to protect the paint job on my faded '94 Jetta.  Unfortunately, I didn't check whether the generic car cover fit Lucy's girlish figure until the wind and rain was full force.  It didn't fit well at all.

The next day I opened the door and experienced the overwhelming smell of mold.  It was mold from Lucy's leak.  I pulled the carpet back and tried to dry the carpet and rubber padding out for hours.  It felt dry but the smell was worse than ever!  Finally, two days ago, I was drying the car out with the girls' hairdryers and discovered a layer of insulation under the rubber padding and it was infested with mold!

Nasty Mold and Insulation

Last night, I pulled back the top two layers, ripped out the moldy insulation, sprayed the whole area down with bleach, and dried it all with a heat gun!  Lucy now wears a new scent: bleach.  It was disgusting but I'm glad it's finally over.  Kyle and I discovered the leak was coming from the passenger side door and I'm going to get it rehung next week.

In the end, I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world.  Lucy is well worth the work!