Laura Bocinsky (Scharmer) - Senior Manager of Operations with FOCUS Missions

Total Number of Gifts: 406
Total Value of Gifts: $514,762.85

Special Thanks To

Mr. Stephen A. Walsh

LARRY AND BRENDA FERTITTA

Joe and Brittany Haeg

Joe and Brittany Haeg

Anonymous

Mr. Daniel Villar

Francis and MaryAnn Lapeyre

Mrs. Robin Cremerius

Ms. Jennifer Lindsay Wukawitz

Mr. Michael E. Matheny , II

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Update: FOCUS Missions

Starting August 2014, I have chosen to serve FOCUS in another capacity as a Program Director for FOCUS Missions, the branch of our organization that organizes our international and domestic mission trips.

Why did I make this transition? Because I have seen the impact that a mission trip has on college students, and I am convicted that FOCUS Missions plays a vital role in deepening college students' relationships with Jesus Christ and furthering the mission of FOCUS as a whole. Here are some statistics from 2014 to support my conviction:

-57% of students who participated on a FOCUS mission trip said that, because of the trip, they increased involvement on campus (by participating in or leading bible study or discipleship)
-1 in 8 decided they want to apply to be a missionary after their experience on mission
-2 entered RCIA
-5 decided they want to enter the seminary or religious life due to the mission trip
-30% said Christ was at the center of their life before mission as opposed to 80% by the end of mission

Here are a few reasons why FOCUS mission trips are so effective:
-Students encounter Christ in the poor when they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the dying… they are doing it to Jesus.
-They experience ionic moments those moments that change their lives because they are experiencing something that is totally new and are coming to understand God in a completely different way.
-They are docile to the Holy Spirit more than ever, on mission trips students have to learn how to be docile to God and what He wants since they are outside of their comfort zone.
-Physical poverty translates to spiritual poverty when students go back to campus after a mission trip, they recognize that their peers on campus are just as poor as those that they were serving abroad, just in a different way spiritually instead of physically.
-Charity and truth are inseparable without truth, love degenerates into sentimentality; and without love, truth is incomplete.

Why I am a Catholic Missionary

Why have I chosen to serve as a Catholic missionary? As Blessed John Paul II vehemently declared, the Church is in need of a New Evangelization. I have been blessed with the knowledge of the love of Christ, and therefore I am responsible. Christ's Great Commission calls me, therefore, to "go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28: 19)

I have chosen to reach out to college students in the first world because it is there that people choose to embrace their faith or reject it. Students are faced daily with moral opposition and attacks on chastity, sobriety, modesty, and virtue.

Because of this, nine out of ten people lose their faith in college. These are the future leaders of our country and our world.

As a recent college graduate, I can relate easily to students as they face these struggles and challenges to their faith. I desire to show them the Truth of Christ, how much He loves them, and how wonderful it is to love Him in return. I want to return to Christ that which I received from Him through the missionaries and mentors He placed in my life.

If you would like to join me in this extremely important mission, please consider joining my support team. I would love to speak with you more in person or over the phone about the mission of FOCUS and the necessity of the work we do. Alone, I can do nothing, but together,and through the grace of God, WE can transform our culture!

How You Can Help

I need your help to fulfill Christ's Great Commission (Matt. 28: 19-20).

While I give to the mission by going, you can go to the mission by giving. I invite you to partner with me in this vital work by adopting me as your missionary. Simply click the "Make A Donation" tab under my photo.

Together, we will change the world - one soul at a time.

I look forward to sharing this journey with you! Please e-mail me (laura.scharmer@focus.org) with any questions.

Thank you!

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