As a junior in college in the fall of 2023, I felt a desire to dive deeper into my faith. Up until that point, I had been a practicing, but lukewarm, Catholic. I was almost a year into dating this cute girl from my statistics class (who was Protestant) whom I planned on marrying upon graduation from college. She often challenged my Catholic faith and had little positive to say about it. This led me to take a deeper dive into the apologetics that I learned while I was in Catholic high school. I had so many questions and so few answers. So I put my name down on Fr. Nick’s Excel spreadsheet for a meeting. I formally introduced myself and told him that I wanted to get back into my faith because I wanted to love my girlfriend Sydney better and show her the richness of the Catholic faith. He offered simple advice like “come to daily Mass” and “pray about it.” Finally, before our meeting concluded, he gave me the phone number of one of the new FOCUS missionaries that were recently added on Hope’s campus. “What the heck is a FOCUS missionary and why isn’t he a missionary in a different country?” I thought as I left. But the Holy Spirit nudged me, and I finally sent a text to missionary Ben to meet for lunch sometime.
Ben and I met at Jimmy John’s and talked about all the things men talk about. We talked about our girlfriends, sports, what we were studying, and why we were interested in deepening our faith in Christ. Ben said nothing special or life-changing in the conversation, but like any great missionary, he knew this was only the start. He invited me to join a Bible study with him, and we developed a great friendship. He called one day and asked me to come to SEEK 24 with him. I didn’t have the slightest idea what SEEK was, but I immediately accepted (thank you, Holy Spirit). I shared the news with my girlfriend and she reluctantly agreed to join after a couple weeks of convincing.
Ben’s invites were so simple, and I am sure that he didn’t think much of it at the time, but my life was forever changed. At SEEK, Sydney and I were absolutely blown away by the number of students our age who were burning with passion for our Lord. We were seeing the beauty of the Catholic faith from a unique angle. Dr. Sri, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Mnsg. Shea, and many others gave talks that we still talk about today. On the third night, we attended adoration and a Eucharisitic procession. 24,000 people were kneeling, singing, crying, and most importantly, worshiping the Lord. Sydney encountered Jesus that night in the Holy Eucharist. He broke through her heart that was hardened toward his Church. His love was overwhelming that night, and we will never forget the way that Christ showed us his face.
Once we returned to campus, Sydney and I knew that things were going to change. SEEK was an invitation from Christ to become true disciples. We began to attend daily Mass, Sydney enrolled in OCIA with Fr. Nick, and we even joined the Exodus 90 program on campus to help us develop a deeper relationship with Jesus through prayer. About a month later, I proposed to Sydney, and a month after that, she was confirmed in the Catholic Church and received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. Attending daily Mass together as we began marriage preparation was transformational. As I struggled with temptations of lust and pride, Jesus encountered me in the sacraments and transformed my desires. The graces that I received from SEEK had truly allowed me to prepare myself for my vocation of marriage. On August 3 of the next summer, I was married to my best friend. It was an indescribable experience to be joined into one flesh as we professed our vows to each other, and then to be joined into one flesh with our Lord just moments after. Our alignment in our Catholic faith has made our marriage so much stronger.
We returned to Hope College for the last time this year. We vowed to fill our year with as much of Jesus as possible: Bible studies, Mass, adoration, Rosaries, fellowship, and hopefully SEEK 25. When we learned what it was going to cost to attend SEEK this year, we were very frustrated. SEEK was the greatest week of my college experience, and I would give almost anything up to go again. However, we had just found out that Sydney was pregnant with our first child. We decided that SEEK was not a responsible decision and we couldn’t make it work this year. Then we received word from our missionaries that they had received additional scholarships from donors as well as the diocese. With the very generous scholarships we had received, we were able to attend SEEK 25 (all three of us).
The experience was just as incredible this time around. Sydney and I had a much deeper appreciation and love for the Mass after a year of learning. We heard from amazing speakers at the “making missionary disciples” track on how to live out your vocation in marriage. I feel so inspired by men like Curtis Martin and Edward Sri, who have allowed God to take the reins throughout their life. It is easy to see that they have kept their priorities straight in life, and Sydney and I hope to have a big family like theirs someday. I soaked in as much information as I could so that I can apply it to my time at Hope and my future parishes. SEEK 25 inspired me to be more confident in inviting my fellow lacrosse teammates to get involved. By the grace of God, seven of my teammates have signed up for the Exodus 90 program with me and many others have joined our Bible study and began to attend Sunday Mass with me. I am so hopeful for my generation and I can see the revival happening right before us. I am so thankful for the generosity that allowed me to get here. Sydney and I have vowed to pay it forward to others when we are able. Jesus is doing big things in the youth of America and I am so excited to be a part of this revival with my family.
God bless,
Owen, Sydney, and baby girl
