Hi I am Joe! I am a first year missionary at Boise State Idaho!

I went to CU Boulder (sko buffs) for four years and got my Bachelor in Science in Electrical Engineering. Despite three high paying engineering jobs I was offered, I had to answer the call to be a missionary. Despite the massive pay cut and many other things I had to give up, I know the world needs great, holy men. 

Saint Mother Theresa describes the greatest poverty in the western world to be loneliness. We have almost everything at our fingertips and yet young people are struggling to fit in, find fulfillment, and are being diagnosed with mood disorders such as anxiety and depression like never before. So why have Catholic missionaries in the United States? Shouldn’t we be somewhere overseas? Well I said we have almost everything… but what we lack is authentic friendship. 

Looking at the college campus 45% of undergraduates are suffering from some level of depression and 65% say they are very lonely. I have noticed this trend lies with young men especially. They tend to not discuss how they are doing with others because they believe showing emotion makes them look weak.  Almost all men desire to have brothers around them who are going to be there for them in the good and bad times. 

Many guys join sports teams, clubs, or fraternities to achieve this but end up not finding fulfillment because the guys they are around aren’t seeking the betterment of the men around them. My goal as a missionary is to develop relationships with guys on campus who are in search of true brotherhood that is Christ centered. There is something particularly contagious about a group of men all striving for holiness together and the joy that radiates from it.