From Our Associate Pastor
This weekend, I invited Josue Hernandez to write a reflection for us. Josue was an altar server, youth and young adult leader, and member of the Pastoral Council in our parish. After his college graduation, he chose to serve as a missionary in other countries. My hope is that his story will inspire others, especially young people, to boldly respond to God’s call to serve others.
— Fr. Sam Nasada, OFM
We hear Jesus tell us in the gospel that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”. My name is Josue Hernandez and I have chosen to answer the Lord’s call and become a laborer for the Catholic Church. For the past two years, I have been a missionary for a ministry called NET Ministries. NET stands for National Evangelization Teams. Our mission is to challenge young people to have a relationship with Jesus and embrace the life of the Church. We do this by hosting retreats for young people all across the nation.
I spent my first year traveling 33 states with a team of 12 and we ministered to over 6,000 young people. This contributes to the total number of youth that NET reached last year, which was over 80,000. This year, I had the honor to serve in Scotland with a team of 8. Together we ministered to over 10,000 young people.
On our retreats, we have a time of prayer in which we facilitate an opportunity for young people to encounter Jesus. Many of the Scottish students had never even heard of the Gospel, let alone know of Jesus at all. I’ve personally seen some profound transformations, specifically within these times of prayer. From young people not believing in God at all, to wanting to know how to pray, from young people having a lack of desire to know who God is, to wanting to take their families to Mass with them on Sunday. These stories are the reason why I am a missionary for this ministry.
This upcoming year, I have been asked to be a supervisor for two teams in the United States where I will be making sure they have everything they need to evangelize the youth. As a missionary, I am asked to raise $8,000 for food, lodging and training. I invite you to consider joining me and this mission of evangelizing the youth across America! You can make a one-time donation or monthly recurring payments here, www.netusa.org/donate. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jchernandez.oside@gmail.com.
God bless you, Josue Hernandez
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