Happy Feast of the Martyr, Saint Valentine!

Valentines day is fun. I love any opportunity to be completely ridiculous with my cheesy puns and pick-up lines, and I enjoy showing my appreciation for all my dear friends that love me despite my punny humor. I've spent every single Valentine's Day in my life perfectly single, and I still love it. I admit, at times I catch myself thinking about how it would be fun to have an admirer (and sometimes I have to resist listening to "On My Way" by Boyce Avenue - *cue emotional chastity lecture), but having an admirer would be fun every day of the year, not just on Valentine's Day. This is because I connect Valentine's day with a different kind of  love rather than romantic love. (My favorite valentines are from my mother. Seriously, isn't this the cutest?)

I do wonder what St. Valentine, a third century Roman martyr, would think of what has become of his feast day. His name is now connected to romance and sex, twisted into something far from the love that Saint Valentine truly represented.

Jason Bach Cartoons

Don't know much about Saint Valentine? St. Valentine was a holy priest in Rome at the time when there was an emperor called Claudius who persecuted the church. Claudius also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people, based on the idea that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afriad of what would happen to their families if they were to die. Valentine secretly married couples and was eventually caught, imprisoned, clubbed, and beheaded because of his stand for Christian marriage.

St. Valentine represents a kind of love in which one lays down their life for another, a Christ-like love. While this holiday has been reduced to something much less than its true meaning, I choose to celebrate  the kind of love that St. Valentine represented and died for. I celebrate Christ's life giving love. And that is truly a reason to celebrate. After all, Christ is the...

No matter who you spend Valentine's Day with, I hope this day calls to mind the love of Christ. Happy feast day of Saint Valentine!

Love in Him,

¿Quién causa tanta Alegría? ¡La Concepción de Maria!

In just five weeks I will be on a plane enroute to Nicaragua. 

Over ASU's spring break, I will be traveling with four Arizona State University students, and sixteen other students & FOCUS missionaries from across the nation to serve the poor on a FOCUS Missions trip to Nicaragua. We will be serving in a mountainous community on the northeast area of Nicaragua, Ayapal. This is where the Bishop of Jinotega has deemed 'most in need'. The community is just south of the border of Honduras. Some of the churches in this area are only reachable via horse or canoe, or simply walking long distances. Living and working with the people, we will be helping to build some of the chapels from the outside communities. The people in these areas lack much of their material needs. They are war-torn people from the recent civil war that ended only in 1992 and there are many families without the fathers and/or the sons as a consequence of the fighting. The need for the message of forgiveness and hope is what the people need and we will be there for them. 

Missions has truly grasped my heart. People often ask me, "When did you decide to apply to become a FOCUS missionary?" The answer is while I was on my very first FOCUS Mission, a trip to the Dominican Republic. There was a powerful moment as I crossed the muddy water from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, I watched the native people bathe while their children splashed in the awful smelling, cholera-infected water. Careful not to touch the water for fear of sickness, I thought to myself, “These people don’t even realize that they are swimming in infected waters.” I couldn’t help but wonder what my campus would look like if I placed a spiritual lens over my eyes. I suddenly saw my own friends unknowingly swimming in dangerous, infected waters of hopelessness, confusion, and sin. Translating the physical need of purification in the Dominican Republic to the spiritual need on my own college campus placed a sense of urgency and mission on my heart. I am so looking forward to seeing how the students’ hearts will be transformed as they serve and become a witness of God's love. 

The Feast of The Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast day of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguans call this feast "that of The Most Pure One", La Purísima. On the feast of La Purísima, Nicaraguans honor Mary with songs, processions, and firecrackers. They call this feast day celebration, “La Griteria” which literally means "The Shouting." Year round, Nicaraguans greet one another saying, “¿Quién es la causa de tanta alegría?” (“Who is the cause of so much joy?”), and the common response is "¡La Concepción de Maria!" ("The Conception of Mary!") I have a deep admiration of Our Mother, and her receptivity to the Holy Spirit and her most beautiful fiat, so I am unbelievably excited to join in "La Griteria," shouting "¿Quién es la causa de tanta alegría? ¡La Concepción de Maria!" through the streets of Nicaraga. :)

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this journey!

Love in Christ,

If you would like to donate towards my mission trip to Nicaragua please go to: www.focusonline.org/goto/emilygerman

Home for Christmas

I was blessed to be able to spend some much needed time at home with family and friends over Christmas break. It felt so good to be greeted by many dear people upon my arrival to Omaha! We enjoyed some sushi, drinks, and good conversation.

My high school invited me to speak to the students about my ministry work with FOCUS and how they can get involved in college. It was such a cool opportunity to share my journey with all of the students and to see their excitement to learn about the New Evangelization!

I was able to meet up with my discipleship chain from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and their new FOCUS discipler, Megan, before everyone went home for Christmas break. It was so encouraging to hear how the Holy Spirit continues to work within the house of Delta Gamma.

My family and I made the trip to Iowa for the wedding of my cousin, Erin. My dad is one of eighteen children so it made for quite the family reunion! There were so many new little German babies to be snuggled, which I loved of course. 

Christmas was celebrated as the German tradition always goes:  Christmas Eve Mass (my sister played the organ at the children's Mass for the 14th year in a row!!), home cooked dinner, and Christmas gift opening. It was lovely to have the whole family home to celebrate the birth of our Lord. 

I was able to catch up with my NHRI (Nebraska Human Resources Institute) mentee, Ashlie, who is doing big things at New York University. Ashlie is on the diving team and has even been named Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Metro Diver of the Week as a freshman! From the west to the east, we were united once again in the heartland.

And of course, much more time with family and friends. :)

My friend, Wyn, was gracious enough to plan a trip for a group of our close friends to ring in the New Year in the mountains of Colorado. We spent some quality time catching up on each other's lives and enjoying good company. My friend, Emily Solo, summed up our trip best: 

"I am so blessed to have spent the past almost-week with some awesome friends: the type of beautiful souls who help strangers (with limited English) push a stuck car, make each other breakfast, build an epic snowgirl, dance with little kids in a bowling alley, and will happily kill you in a mafia game by midnight. I am grateful."

My roommate and disciple at Arizona, Lesley, was even able to meet up with us as well! She brought along her best friend, Catherine who had just returned from studying abroad in Florence for a semester. It was so wonderful to see my Arizona and Nebraska worlds collide. 

Just hours after my return to Arizona I was on a twenty hour bus ride headed to Dallas, Texas for the FOCUS Student Leadership Summit. ASU brought twenty students to Dallas to explore innovative ways to carry out the New Evangelization on campus and deepen in relationship with Jesus Christ. I loved having the opportunity to be a small group coach. All of the women in my small group were in a sorority so we were able to have productive conversations about how to spread the faith within our sisterhood.

And now that I'm back in Arizona, I am preparing to hit the ground running with outreach to greek students on campus. Elissa, a student who attended the Student Leadership Summit, has been a huge help in taking over all of FOCUS Greek ASU social media. We are ready for 2014!

May the Lord bless you in this New Year!

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Today marks the beginning of Advent. While I am fully embracing my "Beach Boys Holiday" Pandora radio station and strings of lights and ornaments, I am reminded of the true purpose of Advent. It is easy to fall into the mindset  that Advent is merely a countdown until Christmas. However, Advent is so much more than that. It is a reminder that Jesus calls us to watch in great anticipation for the most important event of all - His return in glory at the end of time! The Advent season reminds us that we are living in the end of times. The end of times begins with the first coming of Christ, His incarnation and birth in Bethlehem. The second advent is the arrival of Jesus Christ in the heart of the believer. The third, culminates in His final return - the second coming when Jesus will return in all His glory.  We must always be prepared for Christ to come, because "we do not know the day, nor the hour." (Matthew 24:36) 

Jesus' coming is good news! God is all merciful and he gives us the grace to turn away from sin and lovingly embrace Him with our whole lives. He gives us fresh hope each day so that we can keep our eyes on the eternal reward awaiting us, God himself. The source of all truth, beauty, and goodness, and the fullness of undying love and abundant life that never ends. Advent is a time to place our hope firmly in God and His kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy! As we begin a new Church year, let's refocus our eyes on Christ in hopeful anticipation of meeting Him face to face. 

In other exciting news, Papa Francesco has released a new document titled Evangelii Gaudium, meaning "The Joy of the Gospel." It is his first apostolic exhortation, and it is devoted to the theme of the New Evangelization. As a FOCUS missionary, this document is connects with my heart in a profound way. But  what I love about this document is that he is addressing the ENTIRE CHURCH. Pope Francis makes it very clear: Every Baptized member of the Catholic faith is called to evangelize and is called to be a missionary disciple. In Matthew 28:19 we hear the Great Commision: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Jesus isn't speaking to a select few, this is a call to all of us.

If you would like to learn more about this document, check out a FOCUS blog post by Kevin Cotter here! While it is a long document, I highly recommend you reading Evangelii Gaudium as well. I've only reached page 27 so far, but it's totally rocking my world. A must read. 

And now for an update on what has been going on with FOCUS at ASU!

Fro yo outting with Bible Study girls.

I so enjoyed our FOCUS West Regional gathering in San Diego. It was so good to see several missionary friends and to bounce outreach ideas off one another.

A little adventure to the "Secret Garden" on ASU's campus.

The Newman Center revealed a mural that will be placed in the church at the "Divine Beauty" night!

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to serve FOCUS at the Denver Interview Weekend. We had two students from ASU interview! 

My girls and I enjoyed a picnic in the park on Veteran's Day.

FOCUS held a "Get to Know Momma Mary Night" at Fuzzy's. Students were given the opportunity to learn more about who Mary is and different Marian apparations.

Some girls in my disciple chain and I went to the Hunger Games: Catching Fire midnight premiere! Sooo good!!

We celebrated Angelica's 19th birthday with a tea party at her home.

Love making new Nebraska friends. :)

We have started "Catholic Jenga Tuesdays" on campus. This giant jenga game has questions about the faith on each block. It's a great attention grabber and conversation starter!

We recently had our November Upper Room event for our student missionaries. I led the event which was focused on the Gospel and how to present it. 

My discipleship chain enjoyed some ice cream at the Sugar Bowl in Old Town Scottsdale!

Since I wasn't able to make it home for Thanksgiving, I was invited to celebrate the holiday with my dear friend and fellow missionary, Jess Kunz! Her family was so welcoming and wonderful. We even enjoyed a taste of country at a bull riding bar!

Wishing you a blessed Advent season,

Lesley Minervini: Casting Out Fear of Image

On October 27th, the ASU FOCUS team held a day retreat at the All Saints Catholic Newman Center titled, “CASTING OUT FEAR”. The entire retreat was based on 1 John 4:18 which says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.” Four talks were given casting out fear of loneliness, vocations, image, and forgiveness. Lesley, a junior at ASU and a student missionary that I am blessed to work with, shared her testimony of how Christ has cast out her fear of image.

When Lesley was in seventh grade she was diagnosed with a disease called “alopecia.” Alopecia is an autoimmune disease in which white blood cells (that are supposed to attack dangerous elements in the body) begin to attack the hair follicles because they have mistaken them as something foreign. When they attack, it causes her hair to fall out unpredictably. She was first diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, meaning her hair fell out in small patches, and later it developed into Alopecia Totalis, which is when she completely lost her hair. Since her freshman year of high school, Lesley has worn wigs, and continues to do so because Alopecia comes back in repetitive cycles. Lesley has written a book about her experience, titled “Falling Out”. The book describes the various situations she has struggled with and overcome. She talks about how each difficult experience has made her stronger, and how she now views alopecia as a blessing from God, rather than a disease. Her purpose of writing the book is to inspire those who experience or have experienced Alopecia, cancer patients preparing for chemotherapy, and anyone who battles with their own insecurity. She hopes her witness of how Christ has worked in her life can allow others to see their true beauty as well.

You can listen to Lesley's talk given at the retreat here: 
-Lesley Minervini: Casting Out Fear of Image - Part 1
-Lesley Minervini: Casting Out Fear of Image - Part 2

You can listen to a talk Lesley gave to middle and high school girls here:
-Lesley Minervini: Bella Vera Talk

In her book, Lesley describes a powerful experience in Eucharistic adoration when she encountered Christ in a very real way. This encounter allowed her to see the splendor in her value as a daughter of God and to find peace in her disease. In this moment, Christ cast out her fear of image. Here is an excerpt from her book describing this experience:

"He pointed at the water in front of me, signaling for me to look. I looked at my reflection. "Nothing too special," I thought. Jesus then gently held my face with both of hands, turning my head toward Him. He gazed into my eyes, and then, slowly, moved His hands to my hair. I hadn't realized it until then, but I had my wig on. He grabbed each edge of the wig and slowly pulled it off. He kissed my forehead and said His first words to me. 

It's okay," He smiled. He motioned for me to look again into the water. This time I took a deep breath, and peered into the water, recognizing my reflection again. But this time, I had a bald head with a couple patchy areas. It doesn't sound beautiful, but it was. I felt the prettiest I ever had in my entire life."

Beautiful Lesley

Lesley sharing her testimony

Following Lesley's talk

A tattoo Lelsey got after learning about Blessed Chiara Badano

"Chiara kept her spirits up, even when the harsh chemotherapy for her bone cancer caused her beloved hair to fall out. When a lock of her hair would fall, Chiara would simply offer it all to God saying, 'For You, Lord.'

Lesley's book cover

Check out Lesley's book, Falling Out, on Amazon here!

I am so grateful for the gift of Lesley and her beautiful witness as a disciple of Christ on the campus of Arizona State University. Please keep Lesley in your prayers as she continues to fearlessly live for the Lord.

God bless,