My Journey to Sisterhood
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Hi! My name is Amanda Parker, and I need your help!
I have been accepted for pre-postulancy with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. I am prepared to give myself entirely to our Lord, but, like so many others, I am held back by student debt.
After nearly four years of work, I still owe $34,794 on two different Stafford loans. I must also be able to pay for the first 3 years' health insurance and other costs. With my current savings paired with my remaining income through July, and using a BlueCross estimate for healthcare, my goal for this GoFundMe is set at $28,000. Any donations received will be applied to these student loans through MyGreatLakes, my loan provider. I thank you in advance for any help you are able to give. You will be in my prayers. Please read below, if you would like to know more about my Journey to Sisterhood.
I am a product of Catholic education in Alabama, and it is through this Catholic education, that I have sought out and discovered God's will for me. I attended kindergarten through 8th grade at St. James Catholic School in Gadsden, Alabama. It was there that I learned the basics of the Catholic faith. For high school, I attended St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman, Alabama. There, I had the opportunity to learn from and live with like-minded teens who loved God. I began to attend daily Mass, and I was inspired by the Benedictine monks on campus. There, for the first time, I was also able to witness young Catholics discern and devote their lives to their own vocations. That was also when I first heard God's quiet invitation to be His bride. However, I wasn't quite sure what that meant or how to go about fulfilling His will. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, so after graduating, I spent the next four years at Spring Hill College, Alabama's only Catholic college. There, I fell in love with teaching, and I knew that it was indeed to be part of my vocation. After graduating from Spring Hill, I was offered the 4th grade position at St. James, right back where this journey began. I gratefully accepted and have been teaching there ever since. Through my work at St. James, interacting with my colleagues, seeing Christ in my students, and learning from the Sister Servants as they interacted with our students, God began to remind me of the invitation He had given me in high school. It was through a student's simple question during Religion class that shocked me into actively discerning God's will: "So, what's your vocation Miss Parker?" I visited and interacted with the Sisters at three different convents: the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word in Irondale, Alabama, the Dominican Sisters in Nashville, and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, in Michigan. During Adoration in Michigan, I realized that Jesus was there waiting for me, that this is where He had been inviting me, and that this would be my new home. Now, for my journey to continue, I must repay my student debt.
I have been accepted for pre-postulancy with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. I am prepared to give myself entirely to our Lord, but, like so many others, I am held back by student debt.
After nearly four years of work, I still owe $34,794 on two different Stafford loans. I must also be able to pay for the first 3 years' health insurance and other costs. With my current savings paired with my remaining income through July, and using a BlueCross estimate for healthcare, my goal for this GoFundMe is set at $28,000. Any donations received will be applied to these student loans through MyGreatLakes, my loan provider. I thank you in advance for any help you are able to give. You will be in my prayers. Please read below, if you would like to know more about my Journey to Sisterhood.
I am a product of Catholic education in Alabama, and it is through this Catholic education, that I have sought out and discovered God's will for me. I attended kindergarten through 8th grade at St. James Catholic School in Gadsden, Alabama. It was there that I learned the basics of the Catholic faith. For high school, I attended St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman, Alabama. There, I had the opportunity to learn from and live with like-minded teens who loved God. I began to attend daily Mass, and I was inspired by the Benedictine monks on campus. There, for the first time, I was also able to witness young Catholics discern and devote their lives to their own vocations. That was also when I first heard God's quiet invitation to be His bride. However, I wasn't quite sure what that meant or how to go about fulfilling His will. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, so after graduating, I spent the next four years at Spring Hill College, Alabama's only Catholic college. There, I fell in love with teaching, and I knew that it was indeed to be part of my vocation. After graduating from Spring Hill, I was offered the 4th grade position at St. James, right back where this journey began. I gratefully accepted and have been teaching there ever since. Through my work at St. James, interacting with my colleagues, seeing Christ in my students, and learning from the Sister Servants as they interacted with our students, God began to remind me of the invitation He had given me in high school. It was through a student's simple question during Religion class that shocked me into actively discerning God's will: "So, what's your vocation Miss Parker?" I visited and interacted with the Sisters at three different convents: the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word in Irondale, Alabama, the Dominican Sisters in Nashville, and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, in Michigan. During Adoration in Michigan, I realized that Jesus was there waiting for me, that this is where He had been inviting me, and that this would be my new home. Now, for my journey to continue, I must repay my student debt.
Organizer
Amanda Parker
Organizer
Attalla, AL