My year as a volunteer with the SLM program completely changed my life. I knew that God would use this year to bring me closer to Him, but I had no idea just how much I would grow. The biggest lesson that I learned was in how to trust the Lord completely and fully. I realized that for most of my life I was only pretending to trust in God’s plan for my life while really relying on myself and my own choices. Simply saying “yes” to serving with the Salesians was a huge step of trust for me because this was something I never would have planned for my own life. That is how I knew without a doubt that it was God’s will for me and not my own.

Throughout the year, there were many times when my trust was tested. There were times that could have (and really should have) been scary or overwhelming, but when I relied on the Lord instead if myself, He brought great comfort. He didn’t make difficult times easy, but he made them beautiful and fruitful. He brought joy into simple moments and He showed me the love of His son in daily interactions. There are a million things I learned this year as an SLM and I won’t take the time to write them out now, but I will say that I am confident that it was exactly were God wanted me to be and exactly what I needed to continue my journey to Heaven. I learned things about myself and about my faith that I don’t think I could have seen so clearly in any other circumstance and I am forever grateful.