RCIA | Amanda's Changed Life

Growing up, my parents and I did not attend church regularly. My parents were raised with completely different faiths (Baptist and Judaism). Some Sundays I would go to the Baptist church with my dad and granny. And a hand full of times, I went with my other grandparents to Temple before my grandfather passed away. Despite the lack of consistency, I always liked going to church, and I did attend different youth groups and church camps with my friends. 

I went to my first Catholic Mass near the end of high school, and after I graduated, I started attending Mass regularly with a friend's mom when my friend had gone off to college. I grew up knowing nothing about the Bible, or of the Catholic faith, except for what I began to see at Mass. I thought about joining the Church a few times, but I was always nervous about God rejecting me.

In 2016, by no coincidence, I met my husband Jeff, who was born and raised a Catholic. At the time, he was taking a huge risk by quitting his job in Kansas City to move to Branson in order to run a business that he and his parents purchased. He knew no one, and at the time, he had no family here. I was living in Springfield at the time; we met online and had our first date the very week he moved to Branson. As it turned out, this was not the first time our paths had crossed. I lived and worked on the Plaza in Kansas City from 2009 to 2010.  All the while, Jeff was living on the other side of the Plaza, and frequented the restaurant where I was a waitress. Knowing this now, it is obvious that it was just not our time to meet. But when God did bring us together, it took nine months of dating, and we were engaged.

A year and a half after getting married, we were expecting our first child. At that point in my life, I had not been baptized and I knew it was time to take the next step in my journey of faith for my growing family. With Jeff's support and my mother-in-law as my sponsor, we all began to attend RCIA together. 

We welcomed our little girl in January 2020 and by March, the world had shut down with Covid. Between a newborn and Covid, I missed out on some of the neat experiences that I would typically have done with RCIA. But the things that I learned, and the experiences that I did have, brought a new spark to my faith, which helped keep me going with so much unknown about the virus. Looking back at my life so far, I have no doubt that God directed the whole thing. I was meant to meet my husband, start a family, be baptized, and become Catholic. Joining the church has been life-changing, and one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has given me a whole new outlook on life, and it has made me the happiest I have ever been. I am very thankful that the RCIA program made the process easy and enjoyable and for God's grace and blessings! 

Amanda