I had a fabulous identity, or…at least I thought I did. Then, I lost my identity. I tried to find love in all the wrong places and spaces. Then I didn't know what made me do it, but GOD did.     

Hi. My name is Irene and I would like share my story with you.       

I grew up in a typical Catholic family – attended Sunday masses, went to Sunday school, participated in church camps, basically the standard works of Catholic faith formation.  That was all I had.

As I was growing up, especially during my college years, I was exposed to many worldly things and as that was happening, I was also trying to find the meaning of love but ended up finding it in the wrong places, faces and things. I got involved in many unwanted situations that were worldly and not of of the Lord.

When I was 21, things went downhill in my life. I had a failed relationship of five years, things were not going well in my family and with that, I quit my job. I could not comprehend what was happening and nothing could have been worse than all of that. I was a mess. From a fabulous identity to a rut hole.

Along the way, someone told me about a school of mission in New Zealand. He said to me, "Hey, why don't you try out this school? It is only for five months and you might even have fun there!" Till today, I really don't know what made me decide to go but at that point, I knew that God already had a plan for me. For the next five months in New Zealand, I gave my life to Jesus. I completely surrended everything into His hands because I was away from my family, my friends and away from what I knew that was my comfort zone.

In New Zealand, my journey began first by discovering God. I got to know who God is and in knowing God, I got to know my identity in Him, that I am a child of God. The next thing that I learnt in my five months there was that He gave me meaning in life, the purpose of why I live. Today, I am so proud to have discovered all that I have and this is where I am. With so much of zeal in me, I am excited to share about Jesus with you and others because He has done so many great things in my life. I am bursting to share all of this with you because I know that He can do the same thing for you if you only believe. That was all I took, a leap of faith, and this is where I am today. 

I am proud to say that I am Catholic and that I have finally found my identity and purpose in life. See you all soon!