13 Inches Later

Statue of St. Elizabeth Seton in the snow!

It's true! We had 13 inches of snow the other day! But it was such a beautiful transformation in the sky. The days leading up to the big snow dump were over cast and brutally cold. Then it just started snowing....and didn't stop. I remember never having seen that big of snowflakes before. The next morning the snow was piled up around our cars.

 

My poor baby.

We have the best men. That whole week it had been snowing/freezing in the morning, yet every time I went out to scrape my car, the guys were pulling out of the parking lot with mine and the other woman missionary's car having already been scraped. And after Nemo hit they shoveled my little Yaris out from under the snow as well! In the story of creation, Genesis 2:15 to be exact, God places man in the garden to "work it and take care of it". The Hebrew word for 'take care of' is shamar. But the definition goes deeper than that. Shamar implies guardianship, to exercise great care over, or watch over. The intricacies of shamar is a part of all beginning Bible studies and given some attention at FOCUS missionary training. The general consensus is that men still need to shamar women. They are still charged by God just as Adam was to care for and protect creation. The men missionaries say it to each other, challenging each other to care for us women. They open doors and dig our cars out of the snow and lead us in prayer. It's really cool to see them helping each other to become holier and follow God more closely. Also, my car wasn't buried when I went to drive it 2 days later. Don't worry, we made them cupcakes for Valentine's day.

Yes, we were standing in a foot of snow...in our tights.

Curtis Martin is coming!!!! There's a parish about 40 minutes away from SHU and one of the women there is very zealous about reviving parish life and encouraging the parishioners to bring others to Christ. Naturally, when she found out about Curtis, she had to have him come and speak. And this woman is not a person who accepts no. She reminds me of St. Catherine of Sienna in that way. We spoke after the Masses last week to encourage the parishioners to attend these mission nights with Curtis. After the Saturday night Mass, she took us to dinner at a local restaurant. The conversation was incredible! We were as inspired by her story as she was by ours. As a travel agent turned lawyer turned high school teacher, her joy, tenacity, and zeal for the Lord provided a breath of fresh air to our ministry. Tomorrow and Monday we are headed to her classes to share our testimonies with her high schoolers and invite them to the mission nights.

Maura :)

On top of the usual crazy that has become my life, FOCUS has been working to bring Maura Byrne to Seton Hall to give a talk. Maura ran cross country at Seton Hall and is also a former Varsity Catholic missionary. Now she runs a non-profit called Made In His Image. It's main purpose is to help women who have been victims of abuse or suffered from eating disorders. Maura and MIHI have been such a blessing in at least 2 of my good friends' lives who have struggled with eating disorders. I was blessed to be able to help work to get her here! Of course that entailed countless emails and reports to the team at our meetings. Fortunately both Maura and our campus ministry contact are both wonderful so although the three of us exchanged emails hammering out details off and on for about 5 months, it was like working with old friends. The talk was a great success! Both men and women came to hear Maura's testimony of how she went from a victim to a survivor. It was incredibly moving. She is just a beautiful witness to God the Father's love. Even though I have never struggled with what she has overcome, I found myself tearing up because I desired to know God's love in that same powerful way!

Happy Valentine's day and belated Ash Wednesday! I pray that this Lenten season brings you closer and closer to God. May you know the love that God the Father has for you as we contemplate His Son's sacrifice. "In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Sn as expiation for our sins." ~1 John 4:10