Help Nathaniel Rall Bring Revival to Catholic Youth

What is Damascus?

If your answer was a city in the Middle East, you would be correct, but that is not the Damascus that I am referring to. Damascus is one of the fastest-growing youth/young adult ministry movements in the United States. At Damascus, we are dedicated to bringing revival to the Catholic Church in America through world-class programs and an environment of encounter that awakens, empowers, and equips future generations to live the adventure of the Catholic Faith. This is accomplished through Catholic Youth Summer Camp (CYSC). This summer we served over 6,000 campers from the ages of 10 to 18. To say that my role as a medical missionary on staff at CYSC has been a blessing is an understatement. As a missionary, I have been teaching kids how to hear the Lord in Scripture through Lectio Divina. As a member of medical staff, I have been taking care of campers and missionaries with illnesses and injuries and being able to help them recover and praying for their recovery has been such a beautiful way to encounter the Lord.

What did I learn?

One moment that I would love to share from this summer is how the Lord used me as a vessel to perform a miracle. One afternoon, after lake time, a camper came to the clinic saying that it hurt to breathe because he had gotten kicked in the chest while wrestling on the water obstacles. Hearing those words sent me into a panic as thoughts of a broken rib or damaged lung flooded my head. Despite this, I knew he needed to get back to prayer time with his group so in feeling completely useless, I asked him if we could pray for healing. As we prayed, I thanked the Lord for His blessings and His presence before asking Him to send down His Spirit of healing. The prayer was just like any other, I felt the presence of the Lord, but it didn’t feel any different from normal. As we made the sign of the cross at the end of the prayer, the camper turned to me and calmly said, “I have no pain.” I was absolutely mind-blown, I had no expectation of a full miraculous healing. I had never witnessed something like that before, and it felt like every other prayer. He then said that he was praying really hard, like harder than he had ever prayed before. As he said this, it was written all over his face that he had just discovered the immense power of prayer, and so had I.

Another moment was during week number two of camp. Before camp, there was a retreat to help prepare the missionaries for camp. During that time, I asked the Lord to reveal to me someone who I would encounter during camp that He wanted me to talk to and pray over. He showed me an image of a pregnant woman wearing an orange flowery dress. I originally thought that this woman was going to be a mother of a camper and so at both the first registration and closing Mass of camp I was looking for this woman, but found nothing. I soon forgot about the image and continued to minister to the campers. Then, at the closing Mass as I arrive and look around at how full the church is, my eye catches a young woman who clearly wasn’t a mother and who clearly wasn’t pregnant, wearing a flowery top and orange skirt, and even though it didn’t look exactly like the image I received, I knew for certain that this was her. I walked up to her after Mass and told her that this was going to sound crazy but the Lord showed me an image of her pregnant. I explained that I thought it meant that she was going to be a good mother in the future, and asked to pray for her. Before we prayed though, she told me that she had recently gone to a friend’s baby shower and the entire time she kept thinking to herself that she would never be a good mother. She then told me about how she had a dream last night that Mary trusted her to hold baby Jesus. These words were meant for her, and that was obvious to us both. This was such a surreal experience for me as it proved to me that Our Lord is a God of Promises, even when we forget them ourselves.

Why share?

I share this about Damascus because this summer has been incredibly eye opening for me. I have learned more things about myself and the Lord and my relationship with Him in the past two months than I ever have before. Being a missionary has taught me to keep the Lord not just at the center of my life, but to make the Lord my whole life! If you feel lukewarm in the faith, talk to a missionary and they will set you on fire. The Damascus community makes it impossible to be lukewarm. That being said, I would never have been able to experience the Lord in such a profound way without the spiritual and emotional support of you all here at St. Mary of the Snows, so I would like to thank you all for your love and support. That being said, as a missionary I fundraise my salary. If you feel called, and would like to support me financially, please donate here!

Thank you so much for your generosity and your commitment to supporting my mission to bringing God's children into closer communion with Him! May God bless you abundantly!

Your brother in Christ,

Nathaniel Rall