To Cari
and her Mission Partners,
Hello,
my name is Jorin. I met Cari Devlin in August of 2014. I went to a BBQ Bear
Catholic was hosting and did not know a single person there. Cari came up to
me, saving me from every first year’s worst nightmare, and starting speaking to
me about various topics. As our conversation progressed, we found out that we
are actually from the same town and that we both dance. It was a match made in
heaven for me. As the semester progressed, Cari became my friend and mentor.
She encouraged me to attend Bear Awakening, a retreat that the Catholic campus
ministry holds. That is where my transformation began. I encountered the Holy
Spirit on this trip during adoration and truly began the healing process that I
was not completely aware I needed. I come from a very irregular upbringing and
had many walls and scars built up on my heart. It was time to begin taking the
walls down and cleaning out the wounds that had lead me away from God for so
long. I needed help and Cari was always there to listen, give me advice, make
me laugh when I needed it, and to cry with me when I could not handle the memories
any longer. She taught me through example of what Jesus’s kindness and love
looks like and how he works through others. I personally had no idea what that
love felt like for I did not believe I was worthy to have Jesus’s love. I began
to fall back into old habits and drifted back to what was comfortable. Well,
Cari was on me in a second.
She
took me to dinner one night where I told her exactly how lost, empty, and
worthless
I was
feeling. She took me to the Chapel and began to pray with me and for me.
The
other FOCUS Missionaries came down and began to pray with me as well. I am so
grateful to Cari and all the other FOCUS Missionaries for that night because I began
to feel alive again. Cari directed me to Father Brady, who had done my confession
on Bear Awakening and knew my story. She continually encouraged me to meet up
with Father Brady for spiritual direction. Father opened my eyes to where Jesus
was in these memories and the feelings that lingered after. He gave me a step
by step plan and I have been using this plan ever since. As time passed, I
began to feel lighter. I no longer had to carry my past and the weight of the
world on my shoulders.
God is
more than capable of carry them for me and he had been begging me to let him take
them from me for every long but I never cared to listen. I have learned many
things in the last months and I want to share them with you.
Firstly,
there are no coincidences. I went to that BBQ all alone and scared but
Cari, who is from the same home town as me, was there to welcome me.
Every single person is worthy of God’s love no matter how badly they feel about
themselves. He is abundantly strong and can handle anything you throw at him.
You don’t need to worry he is always there waiting to hear your story. You can
tell Jesus how your day was or the deepest, darkest depths of yourself and he
will still love you and guide you through it. Listen and wholeheartedly trust
in him. I encourage everyone to ask and accept the mercy of God for when you do
you will learn forgiveness and how to love again. My life has changed. I am
stronger, happier, and far more present in my life today. When you are constantly
running from your past, you tend to forget about today and run to the future but
eventually time will run out and then there is God. Take the time to let him
love you; because once you do your life will fall into perfect place. I found
confidence. I found myself in God and I have never been more at peace with
past, who I am, and the woman I am becoming. Thank you, Cari, for giving me the
opportunity to be complete and happy. Thank you to her mission partners and
those who have helped hundreds of young adults find the Lord. If it was not for
you, I would have never met Cari or the Lord. This testimony does not even come
close to the gratitude I feel towards all of you. Thank you truly from the bottom of my heart.
I will be praying for all of you
-Jorin
