What brought me to Christ in the City?
My freshman and sophomore year of college multiple good friends had visited CIC on a mission trip and came back incredibly free. I really wanted to visit and be apart of this thriving community, and decided to visit with a group of Benedictine students my junior year! Those couple of days changed my semester. I realized that the missionaries were so free because they knew what it meant to serve, suffer, and share. Encountering the poor illuminated a deep desire in my heart and deepened my relationship with Christ. The missionaries witness stuck with me all of senior year and when reflecting on what to do after college, I realized what I want most is to become more free and to love deeper. CIC knows how to form young adults in both of those things, which made my decision easy!!!
How has Christ in the City helped you grow?
Christ in the City has helped me to grow tremendously. The poor have led me deeper into Christ’s heart, places I didn’t know existed. In turn, my heart has expanded. Often growth at Christ in the City has been silent, like the snow that quietly falls, but tangibly I have seen an increase in active love. Instead of “loving in dreams” or loving the idea of someone, this year has allowed me to really love the flaws, annoyances, in other words the fullness of the person. I have many conditions in loving others, yet Christ is slowly purifying my love to become unconditional. I am so grateful to be returning for another year!
A little bit about me….
I just graduated from Benedictine College, majoring in Theology (go Ravens)!!! I was born and raised in Kansas where all my 5 siblings still live, (shoutout Lindsay, Owen, Zoe, Abby, and Marielle) and a daughter to such wonderful parents, Hal & Lori!! The Lord has blessed me with so many amazing friendships that have formed the woman I am. Especially my time at Benedictine College taught me the richness of relationships. Some things I love: reading, painting, hosting dinner parties, Mumford and Sons, laughing, having long chats, bonfires, cardinals, John Paul II, and mayonnaise (in no specific order).
Hometown?
Shawnee, KS