dustin.greenwald@cco.ca
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Because someone doesn’t just roll out of bed one day and decide to become a lay missionary, I thought I would share with you a little about who I am, and where I came from.
I have come to understand that life will never have a deeper purpose without knowing Jesus. My Catholic faith had been passed on from generation to generation for hundreds of years. But, I never knew it’s relevance because I never knew Jesus very well. I hadn’t taken the time to understand how He wanted to speak into my life and help me.
Growing up I knew the world was full of opportunities for me but I never knew that I had a great purpose. I lacked confidence in God’s love and favour, so I always guessed I would just end up living an ordinary life that would be forgotten after I died. But, hidden within me was a deeper desire for God and for more in my life.
I was tired of life’s disappointments and the state that the world was in. I was tired of being ashamed of my sins, and knowing I was guilty. I knew I was not a part of the solution to the world’s problems, because I didn’t know what the solution was. I wanted God to help me, and the world, because I believed He could help.
Eventually, I felt compelled to rediscover my faith, and I started with Scripture, specifically the Gospels. They were not the same old stories. I wasn’t merely reading Scripture, Scripture was reading me! When I finally returned to the Sacrament of Mercy (Confession) in 2007, I had a profound experience of God’s love and forgiveness that can’t really be explained in words. This changed my life forever. It helped me come into God’s plan for me, a plan where He uses me to invite others to discover the Father’s love and forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ. This quote of St. John Paul II will be forever imprinted in my mind and heart:
“God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.”
I agree with St. John Paul II, and so I don’t feel there is another option for me besides working for CCO, this is my calling!
See my faith testimony video online which was filmed in 2011!
I am a campus missionary, a front line soldier, in the spiritual battle – and, am currently the Campus Leader at Mount Royal University (MRU). My job is, first of all, to proclaim the Catholic faith in Christ – simply and clearly – to bring students to a decision for Christ. I do this through small group faith studies, public speaking, one-on-one evangelizing, event planning, discipling, and mentoring of university students. Once a student has embraced a deep, committed relationship to Jesus, I challenge them to grow in faith and leadership to prepare them for their future careers.
I started working for CCO in the fall of 2008, after finishing my Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Saskatchwan. I have worked in the CCO office, as well as three different campuses (University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan and Mount Royal University) across the country over the years. In June of 2014, I got married to my beautiful wife, Eloisa, who also happens to work for CCO. In August of 2014, Eloisa and I moved to Calgary to help begin CCO from scratch at MRU. We have been able to establish a good group of students there over the past 4 semesters with some awesome students that are now – with the support of a part time chaplain priest – ready and willing to evangelize with us !
Recently, there have been many men wanting to know where to go for Confession. I have been either introducing them to our campus chaplain in person, or sending them his phone number. Many of our students are returning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is very good to see happening. Once they build up the courage to do this, they begin going more often and real growth starts to happen in their relationship with God! This then translates to a desire to share Christ with the people in their lives!
In May of 2015, I got to lead a group on a mission to India. This was an intimidating thing for me to undertake. But God provided me the courage and trust necessary to lead a group. We made some amazing friends in India who belong to a Catholic charismatic movement that took great care of us. We got to share our mission with them and learn from them. We were also able to share our faith in some schools, and work with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.
Our students learned how to share their faith outside of a university context, and to see and seize opportunities. Our students developed a heart for the world. They will forever see the world differently because of their exposure to God’s work in places far away, and different, from Canada. For me, I also learned what the students learned, but in a deeper way than I had known before.
In the faith studies, I have seen light switches going on in guys’ heads. From one moment to the next you can see the ‘glazed-look’ in their eyes disappear, and God stirring their hearts when Christ is clearly and faithfully proclaimed!
I have grown in innumerable ways. I have learned about the need and the power of prayer. I have learned how to articulate my faith, and how to simply and powerfully communicate it. I have learned about many other faiths by speaking with thousands of students over the years. I have grown in my conviction that knowing, loving and serving Jesus is the heart of our purpose in life, and when we forget Jesus we become lost, even if we are doing all the “Catholic” things.
I’ve continued growing in my understanding of Jesus as the revelation of God’s love and mercy to mankind, and because of this truth, all people need to know Jesus because salvation isn’t a right, it’s a choice. “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13)
The other main way I am still growing is in my ability to multiply the mission by entrusting it to others. This means realizing that our job isn’t done until the people we are evangelizing are evangelizing others. We can do this by having a “next generation” mindset. 2 Timothy 2:2 says “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others”.
ONGOING PRAYER REQUESTS
I ask that you pray for my wife, as well as my immediate and extended family.
I ask that you pray for the student leaders that we work with, that they will catch the vision of CCO, and become the youthful and energetic disciples of Christ that the Church and the world need them to be.
Finally, I ask that you pray for my own humility, and my courage to keep striving toward the goal of bringing people to Jesus.