So instead of trying to cram all of the things I have learned and experienced while here in NJ, I have come up with a list of 5 Things You Should Know:
1. There is traffic. All the time. Everywhere. Moving quickly. Proceed with caution! I think every time I start my car, my heart starts beating faster and my knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
2. Seton Hall has one of the most beautiful chapels I have ever seen. Seriously. I get to pray here EVERY DAY. And there's a side chapel dedicated to St. Elizabeth. I am so blessed!
3. NJ beaches have pebbles, not tiny shards of various shells everywhere. And giant clam shells. It was so bizarre to dig my toes into the sand and find pebbles rather than thousands of pieces of different shells. The only shells they had were along the water line were these giant clam shells. It's amazing that beaches can be so different.
4. You know you live in an apartment with Catholics when you have over 10 crosses in your apartment (we have 12). We have completely scoured our apartment and redecorated. My parents are the BEST and drove most of my stuff up to me this past weekend, so finally my room feels like I live there (it's pink and has pictures of Pope Benedict XVI...and books. Lots of books.)
5. Anticipation can drive you crazy! All week the missionaries have been looking forward to meeting the students and diving into our lives as missionaries at Seton Hall....well, after what seems like an endless weekend, they have arrived!
Our student leaders got here this afternoon. We have 25(ish) student leaders and are praying that we will end the year with over 60. We had them over for a meal at the women's apartment (fajitas and red velvet cake) followed by a game of Apples to Apples. Over the next two days we will get to spend more time with the 15 leaders who were able to come early. We'll talk about what it means to be a student leader and pray that their hearts are just set on fire by the Holy Spirit for the work He has for us this coming year. The women student leaders still haven't been split up between me and the other missionary, so we will get to know all the women and then invite them into discipleship with us. I get so nervous that they won't like me or wish they had been asked into leadership by the other woman missionary, but then I realize that is the Devil whispering prideful insecurities in my ear. I am here to do God's work. I know He has already chosen the women who I will work with this year, and each is for a reason. And I can't wait.
There are six schools in the NJ/NY area that are within an hour of each other. This past Sunday we were all able to gather at Montclair State University's Newman Center for Mass, dinner, and games. There were almost 30 missionaries there plus a few regional directors and 4 chaplains there. One of the chaplains, a Dominican (I LOVE Dominicans) serving at NYU, and I were talking about our jobs. He proudly told me that he was excited about his new assignment "behind enemy lines". He couldn't wait to begin his work at NYU and really gut the Devil from inside the Belly of the Beast. His enthusiasm, and really the excitement of all the missionaries and priests there, lifted my spirits and rekindled the passion I have for this ministry.
In the Magnificat this month, one of the meditations for the month revolved around Matthew 16:18 "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it". The author remarks that he had never considered the obvious: that the gates need to be battered down. Battered down by an offensive Christian army. So often Christians get in the mindset of defense: defending the Church against the foe, etc., but Jesus told us to "Go forth unto all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This Great Commissioning (Matthew 28:19-20), one of the central pillars of FOCUS, calls us to be soldiers for Christ. He is asking us to go behind enemy lines and win these battles for Him. With him as our battle shield, our sword, we cannot lose. (My FAVORITE hymn...third verse is the best)
But, some may ask "Can we decline to go to war?" I'm pretty comfortable in the life I have chosen. I am mildly successful and well liked. I make a pretty nice salary and my family is doing pretty well. Do I really have to do this thing that God is asking of me? Do I really have to fundraise my entire salary and move 20 hours from home where I know no one? Do I really have to join the fight? Can't I simply opt out? The chilling reply is "the war is here already." We cannot remain indifferent. We must choose a side. Every day I must wake up and choose to be an instrument in my God's hands, ready for the crosses He will give me that day. Ready to endure for the sake of the battle being waged at Seton Hall. I pray every day for the strength to be completely His, and I pray for all of you. I pray for the struggles you endure for love of Jesus Christ. United in Christ, we are a mighty army. And standing behind the Pope, the Rock, the gates of hell surely will not prevail.
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